Re: [metatuning] Re: If you were president, what would you do?.2

In a message dated 11/13/01 1:27:55 PM Eastern Standard Time,
jdl@... writes:

> You are a guest in a large house. The manager has assured you that you
> are welcome. You awake one day and realize that you are _not_ welcome
> to the vast majority of the people who live in the house. Do you:
>
>

Governments are not large houses. And no, I don't run away when a vast
majority of people are not welcoming. I had that feeling when I was in
Erfurt, just after the wall fell down. People would not look me in the eye.
Swastikas were everywhere painted on walls. A door was held against me so
that I could not enter the building where my room was located. Jews have
always had these reactions.

Jews stayed in Islamic countries until it was no longer safe for them.
Hence, Israel.

> Afghanistan falling from Taliban hands may or may not be an improvement.
> I'm sure you are aware of the lousy past histories of the factions in
> the Northern Alliance. The U.S. didn't even want them to take Kabul,
> but they did. Now what?
>

Don't live in the past. People were not "living" under the Taliban. That is
not life. Would you have been a Tory that fled to Canada?

> [
> [Johnny:]
> >As for Israel's aggressive posture, they have long held that if they
> >lose a battle, they lose a war. If one had SHARED the experiences of
> >the Jews of Israel, one might feel quite differently. I guess the
> >suicide bombers of the Intifada are considered "okay" to some in a
> >rationalization of Palestinian rights. But to others, it remains
> >terrorism of the worst kind. It is not a basis for negotiation, which
> >is the Israeli experience.
>
> Where is "okay" coming from? Please tell me if I'm wrong, but I feel
> that you're saying, "either you support everything Israel is doing, or
> else you're saying that suicide bombers are 'okay'". It seems self-
> evident to me that the possibilities are not this limited.
>

No, there is no binary thinking on my part. All people on this planet are
guilty of horrors, collectively. All do bad and good. Murdering through
suicide is perhaps more of a virus than we have admitted. That is the danger
that could spread which is so fear provoking. Now, I wouldn't like to an
autopsy, but there are people who can. Thankfully, these people are in place.

Congratulations to the Afghani people, they are given a new opportunity to
make live worth living again.

> Israel's settlement building policies have been a major scandal in and
> of themselves. What kind of long-term seeds did they think they were
> sowing with such behavior? This is _not_ how anyone makes peace with
> his neighbors.
>

Israel was attacked by ALL of the Arabic world as soon as it was mandated by
the British. Great neighbors, huh? The Ramadan war (which would have been
more accurately called the Yom Kippur war since it usually goes with the
winner) was a kick in the collective crotch of Israel. Suicide bombers take
off, with apparent PLO monies (see DebkaFile), to destroy Israeli children,
and there is little to no mention of it in the Left press. Sorry, but to use
your words, "this is not how anyone makes peace with his neighbors."

> All of us know of the suffering and death that Jews suffered during WWII
> at the hands of the Nazis. The U.S., too, was very unsympathetic to
> Jews who were trying to escape Germany before the war was over. But
> this can _not_ excuse the aggressive and brutal actions that the
> Israelies have undertaken in the last 50 years.
>

Read this paragraph following my points preceding it and it seems that you
are not that familiar, still, with what is going on.

> And bin Laden: what's to be proved by saying he changed his tune when
> the U.S. stopped giving him arms? I am concerned, not with him (he's
> destined to die or stand trial for his apparent crimes in any case),
> but with the millions or billions of Muslims who have not yet declared
> war on us, but _do_ feel they have grievances against us.
>
>

Yes, you are afraid. That is fully understandable. Luckily for you, there
are people who will defend you, and I believe they will succeed. I trust
that the billions of Moslems will come to realize that we all have to live
together on this globe. The infidels have inalienable rights.

I respect your right to disagree.

Johnny Reinhard

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