Date: Tue, 09 Apr 2002 13:00:49 -0400
From: Steve Smith <sgs at aginc.net>
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Political Inventions
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

ronkean at juno.com wrote:

> When the Washington Post reports on violence in Israeli occupied
> Palestine, the term 'Palestinian gunmen' is routinely used to describe
> Palestinians carrying or using guns, and the term 'Israeli soldiers' is
> used to describe Israelis carrying or using guns.  Of course both of
> those terms are not incorrect, but the subtle implication seems to be
> that the 'soldiers' are somehow more legitimate than the 'gunmen'.

Of course!  Guess who defines the rules.

Ideally, the "Palestinian gunmen" would all put on uniforms (becoming,
in the process, "soldiers"), so that the Israelis could round them all
up.

What "legitimate" means of protest do the Palestinians have?  Complain
to the UN?  Been done pretty continuously for the last 50 years.
Petitions are useless -- they are just ignored.  Can't even hold rallies
or marches -- illegal assembly.  Remember also, the Arab world has no
concept of "democracy", even as a theoretical idea.  The King runs
things.  Period.

A Ghandi/Martin Luther King - style nonviolent protest is a fascinating
idea, but I can't think of anything more at odds with Arab culture and
personality (except, possibly, giving up).

--
Steve Smith                                           sgs at aginc.net
Agincourt Computing                            http://www.aginc.net
"In the animal world it's eat or be eaten.  In the human world, it's
define or be defined."