Yesterday, when the war begins (again).
I woke up this morning and made my coffee as usual, sat down to read the paper as usual.Yesterday, Origins win afterglow. Today, terrorism in London.
I was watching TV on my dinner break at work last night when I found out about the bombings in London. Everyone tuned into AM radio to hear more glimpses of information. People crowding around the supervisor's computer to read the Reuters reports online.
Anxiety and fear. Heads shaking. Sighs and silences.
For the rest of the night, two things struck me. One, that Australia could well be the next target. Bush, Blair, Howard. US, UK, Australia. It's almost like a logical sequence, like those IQ questions where they ask which answer comes next in this pattern. The thought of this provokes great anxiety. It allowed me to understand that true meaning of terrorism. Instilling terror into society, paralysing it of peace and normality. It is not so much the act in itself, but the anticipation, the fear. Really, terrorism is the infliction of torture on a societal scale - physical damage yes, but it is the psychological torment which really breaks the donkey's back.
My second thought was, how blessed we've been up until now. Or rather, even now. I drove home, got out of my car, went to close the gate, and looked out at my front yard. I live in suburbia in the quiet night. It's not the most fancy area in town but I have water, electricity, streetlight and peace. My family are all inside safe. We in the Western world are so appalled by these incidents, yet they are commonplace in so many parts of the world. Sierra Leone, Sudan, Iraq, Zimbabwe, Columbia, India, Pakistan, Palestine. We sit around in psychiatrists' lounges lamenting about divorce, bankruptcy, car accidents. Who gives empathy to those who've seen their mothers raped and tortured, their fathers beheaded or blown up, or all their schoolfriends killed in the one day?
People are so evil. I had a lecture on management of torture victims and refugees on Wednesday and got picked on cos the lecturer thought I was falling asleep. But I actually put my head down cos listening to the description of injuries being inflicted made me so ill that tears were welling up in my eyes. I swear I would have walked out but I didn't want to make a scene. How can people torture other people. How can societies inflict terror onto other societies.
As a third point, I'll end off this post with an excerpt of the superbly written comment that Dor popped on my blog a while ago.
Terrorism is despicable and should be condemned. Every act against an innocent should be condemned. But by the same token and with the same level of vehement anger, we should condemn state-sponsored terrorism - popularly known as "war".
(Hey hon if you drop by my blog again, leave a comment? I really wanna hear what you think regarding this...)
posted by me. @ 12:00 PM
2 Comments:
Cant imagine how a Londoner would be feeling right now. The highs from the Olympic annoucement and recent sporting triumphs , suddenly and abruptly shaken and broken by this terrible event. A real rollercoaster ride.
pax omnibus
Hmm I think it depends on whether there was intent or not - people often disrespect other people and cause them grief without knowing it, but it's more carelessness than selfishness. I'd hesitate to say they were evil...
Emotional manipulation where you wanna make them hurt, that's a different matter altogether...
Adr: Um... peace... everyone? everywhere? Am I even close?
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