Thursday, July 21, 2005
Prolific Nuclear Exchange
As Talib wrote yesterday, Colorado Republican Tom Tancredo has suggested using nuclear weapons against the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina in response to another terrorist attack on America, should one occur. There is some troubling logic behind Tancredo's statements.
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where some idiot actually said, "Well, all y'all look the same to me." This is essentially the thinking behind Tancredo's words. Why sweat differentiating between the culprits and innocent bystanders when all of those people are as good as guilty? Collateral damage of millions of murdered Muslims being nothing more than grist for the mill? It's that kind of stinkin' thinkin' that gets you to Auschwitz.
Oh yeah, holocaust and/or Nazi references are out-of-bounds in political discourse, they're unfair comparisons in polite discussion, right?
Well get over it. Tancredo blew polite out the window when he exercised his nuclear option.
Tancredo waded right into those heavy waters when he proposed a "Final Solution" for the "problem" of Islam. Understand, destroying Mecca & Medina would not be merely "tak[ing] out their holy sites" - it would be the equivalent of invading a man's home, raping his wife and daughters on his kitchen table, and then murdering them before his very eyes. After that, one of you is going to die - there would be no negotiations, no conversations, no compromises, and no restraint. There would be war without end or mercy, and billions - not millions - billions would be killed on both sides. Nations and peoples who have been tacitly friendly to the West would become murdously hostile - and justifiably so. Suffice it to say that this was possibly the single-dumbest thing to come out of the mouth of an elected official since Neville Chamberlain crowed about achieving peace in his time.
But this isn't simply a matter of political stupidity - it's a matter of American character. George Bush hasn't distanced himself from Tancredo's words and the Republican Party hasn't even censored Tancredo, let alone insist on his resignation. If you thought the Newsweek article caused a stir in the Muslim world, what do you think a Republican Congressman threatening to destroy one of the five pillars of Islam (hajj) will do? Tancredo should be ousted from Congress, unless the Republicans actually endorse that kind of talk - a man of character would resign for putting such shameful ideas into the public square that will inevitably make it more dangerous for the troops on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. Is Tancredo such a man of character? Tancredo must go - if he lacks the character to resign then will the Republicans have the character to oust him?
Threatening nuclear war against an entire religion is not something that most American families value.
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where some idiot actually said, "Well, all y'all look the same to me." This is essentially the thinking behind Tancredo's words. Why sweat differentiating between the culprits and innocent bystanders when all of those people are as good as guilty? Collateral damage of millions of murdered Muslims being nothing more than grist for the mill? It's that kind of stinkin' thinkin' that gets you to Auschwitz.
Oh yeah, holocaust and/or Nazi references are out-of-bounds in political discourse, they're unfair comparisons in polite discussion, right?
Well get over it. Tancredo blew polite out the window when he exercised his nuclear option.
Tancredo waded right into those heavy waters when he proposed a "Final Solution" for the "problem" of Islam. Understand, destroying Mecca & Medina would not be merely "tak[ing] out their holy sites" - it would be the equivalent of invading a man's home, raping his wife and daughters on his kitchen table, and then murdering them before his very eyes. After that, one of you is going to die - there would be no negotiations, no conversations, no compromises, and no restraint. There would be war without end or mercy, and billions - not millions - billions would be killed on both sides. Nations and peoples who have been tacitly friendly to the West would become murdously hostile - and justifiably so. Suffice it to say that this was possibly the single-dumbest thing to come out of the mouth of an elected official since Neville Chamberlain crowed about achieving peace in his time.
But this isn't simply a matter of political stupidity - it's a matter of American character. George Bush hasn't distanced himself from Tancredo's words and the Republican Party hasn't even censored Tancredo, let alone insist on his resignation. If you thought the Newsweek article caused a stir in the Muslim world, what do you think a Republican Congressman threatening to destroy one of the five pillars of Islam (hajj) will do? Tancredo should be ousted from Congress, unless the Republicans actually endorse that kind of talk - a man of character would resign for putting such shameful ideas into the public square that will inevitably make it more dangerous for the troops on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. Is Tancredo such a man of character? Tancredo must go - if he lacks the character to resign then will the Republicans have the character to oust him?
Threatening nuclear war against an entire religion is not something that most American families value.
Read or Post a Comment
The comics are going in the Family Values thread - humor just doesn't seem appropriate in this thread. Let's do discuss Tancredo's disgusting remarks here.
"Have you ever found yourself in a situation where some idiot actually said, "Well, all y'all look the same to me." This is essentially the thinking behind Tancredo's words. Why sweat differentiating between the culprits and innocent bystanders when all of those people are as good as guilty?"
I would argue that this is exactly the rationalization behind Bush's tying of Iraq to 9/11. It is an implicitly racist approach to justifying his war. It is the rationalization behind the flypaper theory. Forget the fact that none of the hijackers or Al-Queda leadership were Iraqi's... we'll fight them in their lands so that we don't have to fight them here in our lands.
All them A-rabs look the same.
Haven't heard the justification as rationalization put in quite this way.
the language does reveal a lot about the presumptions underneath.
Oscar--not sure if you've seen Dean's comments on this or not:
Dean Lays the Smackdown on Tancredo (R-Racist Nutcase)
by: Raybin