Thursday, November 11, 2004

Dutch Uncles

Fires were set at mosques and Islamic schools in the Netherlands. That is contemptible and inexcusable, I say, but then I've been told I'm a right-wing bonehead whose worldview is so simplistic that I actually pulled the lever for Shrubbie McChimpler. So before I officially weigh in on mosque-bombing, maybe I ought to try to see the world through the nuanced ethical lenses of the moral gods of my wise co-workers.

MOOKHAL MIRE: Why do we ask, 'why do the firebombers attack mosques?' What's wrong with asking the people in those mosques to just sit down for a minute and think about what they might have done to bring this on themselves.

CHOAM NOMSKY: I agree. The fire-bombers do not hate Muslims. That's just the kind of lie that the power-structure and its media lackeys want people to believe. The kind of lie that serves their corporate interest of keeping firebombers and head-choppers separated, fighting one another, instead of empowering themselves through their common interest.

MOOKHAL MIRE: The fire-bombers don't hate Muslims. Look at this footage of the mosques and schools in the Netherlands. They were standing for years. Nobody tried to burn them down. The Dutch fire-bombers loved them. So what made them change their minds?

CHOAM NOMSKY: Clearly it was specific policies of the people in the mosques. Names, the specific policy of sawing off the heads of unbelievers in the middle of the street in broad daylight.

MOOKHAL MIRE: And when you get right down to it, folks, it's all about natural resources. These people came to the Netherlands to exploit the country's rich welfare system, soaking it up like it was their birthright.

CHOAM NOMSKY: Driving up the crime rate, too. The true nature of the violence is revealed upon simple analysis. Only a tool of the mass media would fail to be surprised when the victims rise up and say, 'enough is enough!' While we must all deplore the unfortunate incident of mosque-burnings, it is our duty not to condemn them, but to look for the real crimes, the real criminals, and ask, 'What does Uncle Muhammad want?'