Quote:
Originally posted by dhamsaic
Tony -
I hear what you're saying, and I agree with you (if I'm interpreting you correctly). But now you're talking about <b>people</b>, not a religion. That's a mighty big difference, I think. And that's my point, and it frustrates me to no end that some don't see this as a fight between <b>people</b>, they see it as us vs. their religion. It's not so.
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It's not, but that's how both sides choose to portray it.
Echoing part of my overlengthy Pledge rant, how do the minority who _do_ want open religious warfare escalate it so that the moderates will go along? Make it appear as though the moderates are being attacked or repressed. Generalize the other side, don't name names or seek specific targets, just paint them as a dark and evil country/organization that wants to destroy everything you stand for.
Thus is America generalized as the Great Satan, a bully that lurches around the world and bombs, shoots or screws with anyone it chooses to. There's some truth to that, of course, but the leaders of America (and those who drive its foreign policy, military and intelligence agencies) perform actions and 200,000,000 everyday Joes are held accountable, whether or not they have any idea what's going on overseas (much less whether they'd approve).
Thus did the post-WTC War On Terra morph from Osama: Dead or Alive, to The Sinister Forces of Al-Qaida, to Terrorists Wherever They May Lurk In The World (and they're everywhere, maybe hiding in your back yard, and never mind that Osama character, we'll get him someday). It's a lot easier to keep a war revved up when your end-of-engagement criteria keep shifting and becoming more unreachable -- and when you're not chasing individuals, you're just bombing and shooting lots of Faceless Evil Brown People Who Hate America And Freedom.
An average Afghani sees a friend or neighbor die at the hands of American bombing, someone who had nothing to do with terrorism or even cared about America, and it might as well be an Al-Qaida recruitment film. If X opposes Y, and Y just waltzed in and did something unspeakable, X must be correct. Right?
An average American sees the WTC collapse on TV, sees our leaders declare that shadowy terrorists from a country most Americans couldn't find on a map did it, and suddenly everyone in that country is Public Enemy Number One. We root for America and against Afghanistan (and Al-Qaida) as if they were sports teams, and the team that blows up the most things wins. Right?
Religious hatred is like an Outlook virus. Not everyone is dumb enough to fall for it, but all you need are isolated incidents to keep it propagating.