Soccer Dad

Letting others do my work

One of the things about blogging is that you don't have time to cover something or are just tardy, there's probably someone else saying what you want to.

Pillage Idiot has been covering the execution of Wesley Baker. The Washington Post delivered one more defense on banning executions in Maryland by publishing an op-ed by former Governor Parris Glendining called "The Value of Black Life in Maryland". Pillage nicely demolishes Glendening's arguments. And I would add (as I did in the comments) that Baltimore is a city where scores of black people are killed every year. If one wishes to show the value of black life in Maryland wouldn't it make more sense to propose ways of reducing Baltimore's murder rate instead of focusing on the one or two murderers who are liable for the death penalty every other year?

Not one to miss the opportunity to kick a straw man when he's down DovBear recently wrote:

The problem, I think, is this: Zionists of a certain age and generation think of the Arabs as cartoon villains, with greased mustaches and diabolical plans. To them, Palestinians are symbols, not people. And this tendency to simplify, to rob people of their humanity, cuts both ways: The IDF and Mossad, in their eyes, are flawless, and faultless, the just and glorious warriors.

Fortunately a couple of bloggers have responded well. For example the Muqata notes:

When upwards of 80% of a "people" can justify suicide bombing attacks against Jewish civilians it automatically robs a "people" of their humanity. To even suggest that they are cartooned villains shows a basic lack of understanding of what Israel faces today. The IDF is statistical model of the Jewish people in Israel -- and for the most part, they really are just and glorious warriors.

Israelly Cool! offers a more detailed rebuttal:

Take yours truly for example. I am a staunch Zionist. I believe that Israel is the religious and historical homeland of the Jewish people. I believe terror needs to be fought with all of our might and resources. But here's the newsflash, Dov. I do not hate Arabs nor Muslims. I pity those who just want to get on with their lives, and share their hope that the situation improves for them. I am fully aware that they are people. I encounter them here, I interact with them..I even work with them. I do not apply any preconceived notions to them, and judge them on their merits.

However, I am not afraid to judge those who do the wrong thing. Those who murder in the name of religion. Those who seek to wipe us from the map. They are cartoon villains. They are mindless droids programmed to destroy. At least they forfeit the right to be considered anything else the minute they try to kill innocent people.

DovBear's response has been (as I've read it) simply to say that he views the villains as people too. But that wasn't his original charge it was that Zionists viewed all Palestinians as villains. But that's changing his original standard.

Meanwhile, on a related front, Daled Amos notes a troubling assertion by Austin Bay:

Of course there are those who agree that the Palestinian Arabs are on a par with the Iraqis when it comes to nation-building. Austin Bay writes:

Despite the violence, Iraqis and Palestinians are creating democratic alternatives. The world's free people need to encourage the Iraqis and Palestinians, not disparage them with defeatist rhetoric and myopic pessimism.

Iraq's and Palestine's victories, now matter how incremental, must be recognized and rewarded.

That's because the democratic revolt's biggest payoffs are at least 10 to 15 years away.

A long haul? Indeed, 15 years is a large chunk of an individual's lifetime. However, in terms of fundamental political and economic reformation, it's no eon.

Peace, the rule of law and steady, honest leadership will make Iraq one of the wealthiest countries in the region. It has water, agriculture, a source of capital (oil) and a population willing to work. Palestine lacks Iraq's natural resources, but Palestinians are aggressive entrepreneurs. Babylon and Bethlehem make Iraq and Palestine prime tourist destinations.

Peace, the rule of law and steady, honest leadership--are there any hints of any of these in the PA? While in Iraq, the insurgents are either in opposition to the Iraqi government or from outside of Iraq altogether, when it comes to the PA, the terrorists are either associated with the Fateh and Abbas or are in the process of being brought in by Abbas--along with their guns.

Exactly, for those who counsel patience with the Palestinians there must be an acknowledgement how little has changed among the Palestinians. There have been no shortage of promises of change, but precious little actual change.

Similarly Dry Bones observes the difference between the Iraqi and the Palestinians.

UPDATE: DovBear in a baldfaced attempt to increase his ranking asked me to link to his response to Israelly Cool!. Here it is. My critique that DovBear changed his initial charge from a general one (Jews of a certain class view all Arabs as caricatures) to a less sweeping one (Jews of a certain class view Arab terrorists as caricatures.) It's a typical DovBear bait and switch technique. Since he switches his targets he can't lose the argument.

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