RE: The terrorism meme

From: Lawrence DeBivort (debivort@umd5.umd.edu)
Date: Sat 16 Nov 2002 - 23:42:06 GMT

  • Next message: joedees@bellsouth.net: "RE: The terrorism meme"

    Grant, I must challenge you again, I'm afraid. You said "He feels anything done to the infidel is justified, and says as much in words and deeds." Let's leave aside the deeds as they are subject to interpretation, as our earlier discussion demonstrated. So: to the words: What words has bin Laden said that state that 'he feels anything {sic] done to the infidel is justified.' I have been reading quite a bit of bin Laden material, and haven't seen anything like this at all. It would be especially helpful if you could give actual examples (one would do!) of these words, rather than arguing by inference.

    Cheers, Lawry

    -----Original Message----- From: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk [mailto:fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk]On Behalf Of Grant Callaghan Sent: Saturday, November 16, 2002 9:59 AM To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Subject: Re: The terrorism meme

    >
    >At 07:02 AM 15/11/02 -0800, you wrote:
    > >Jeremy,
    > >
    > >If the people of Iraq were fighting for freedom using terrorist tactics,
    >I
    > >could buy that. Even the Palestinians have a fair claim to being held
    > >captive. But how can anyone compare a worldwide terrorist organization
    >to a
    > >people held captive and fighting for their freedom? Freedom from whom?
    >
    >As has been said before, and what makes this a valid list discussion, is
    >that this is a clash of meme-teams. The perception of AlQ, and their
    >supporters, is that Western cultural imperialism is enslaving their world.
    >It is the imposed values, compulsory memes which ride on this domination,
    >which are unacceptable.
    >
    > >These terrorists are fighting to enslave the rest of the world under
    >their
    > >concept of the will of God. They are the ones people need to be set free
    > >from. We all need to be set free from mindless terror carried out for no
    > >rational purpose other than to scare the hell out of people.
    > >
    > >Grant
    > >
    >
    >IMHO both sides are fighting to free the world from evil. It is just that
    >their memetic constructs are at varience.
    >I love you Grant, but I can't agree that mindfull and rational terror is
    >any better than the mindless and irrational sort. After all these
    >subjective adjectives, like good and evil, are only relevant within
    >meme-team.
    >Jeremy
    >

    I never said one type of terror was better than the other. Both are irrational to my mind. But I can't see people belonging to a worldwide organization who travel freely to carry out terrorist acts against civilians of all nations as "freedom fighters." In every case where they have made attacks on embassies in foreign countries, they killed more civilians of that country than they did Americans. In other words, they don't care how many collateral deaths they cause in a country if they can kill one American. They are only "freedom fighters" in their own minds, not in the minds of the rest of the world. The fact that bin Laden praises such acts shows that it is a clash of cultures and what he is out to destroy is all non-Muslim governments and unbelievers. He feels anything done to the infidel is justified, and says as much in words and deeds.

    Grant

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