I’ve been conspicuously absent over the last few days. I was trying extrememly hard not to comment in any public forum about the Nick Berg video and its consequences. However, comments keep popping up over at Kevin’s on his entry about the whole thing, and they make me sad.
Let’s be frank: the video was gruesome. It was horrifying. If you haven’t seen it, don’t. It does just what it was intended to do: it incites fear and hatred. Certainly I, along with most Americans, want these killers put to justice. But here’s my dilemma: I don’t agree with the strong (and getting stronger) anti-Muslim sentiment that this has seemed to spark. I don’t even remember there being such a powerful anti-Islam uprising after 9/11. I give you the following examples:
i watched the video of nick berg and was totally pissed, i hate them all and hope they die horrible deaths n rot n hell. I want to join the military just to have the legal power to kill those motherfuckers.
We should let the dog off the leash, sterilize the Earth of all Islamic militant murders. Do it now, swiftly and with resolve.
After seeing the brutal murder of Nick Berg, I am more convinced then ever that Muslims are animals that we must all work together to irraticate. the muslim religion is based on violence and terror and must be destroyed.
Muslim’s are the garbage of the world. This religion is a threat to freedom and democracy. This religion wants to use the sword, then they will die by the sword. Muslim’s have contributed nothing to modern day society. It is a religion that has poisoned the middle east and now they are trying to invade the western world. We must get them first. President Bush clearly understands the issues facing the US and the western world. Let him finish the job.
These are real comments from real people, and they leave me sad and angry, and they inspire one question: What the hell is wrong with you?
Here’s the thing: Timothy McVeigh, Randy Weaver, David Koresh, William Pierce. All Christians. All very bad men who happened to leave a stain on the religion. Should we kill all Christians? I can hear you now (those of you who even know who some of these people are. Go ahead. Go Google William Pierce. I’ll wait). “These guys didn’t do near as much harm as Al Qaeda. Muslims are evil!”. Actually, they did. You just didn’t see the pictures.
Kill ’em all is not the answer. Trust me. Let’s ruminate a minute on that phrase. “Kill ’em all”. Hmmmm. That sounds a lot like genocide to me. Genocide’s okay by you, then? Okay. That puts you in the ranks of Hitler, Charles Taylor, Omar Serushago, or Elizaphan Ntakirutimana. Sure, you know who Hitler is, but did you know that Elizaphan Ntakirutimana lived in…..wait for it…..Texas?!?!?! The real point is this: The names I’ve just mentioned are the names of mass-murderers. You probably don’t recognize a couple of them. With the exception of Hitler, you’ve probably never seen pictures of their (thousands) of victims, you have probably never taken the time to research their crimes, and as such, I’m willing to bet that you have a sense of general apathy. But know this: each of these men contributed to the loss of American lives in addition to the thousands of other lives they mercilessly took. And they were all Christians.
So “kill ’em all” doesn’t really work for me. That would be kind of hypocritical, dontcha think?
