Hi everybody--
Thanks Ana for the interesting reflection provided by Noam Chomsky. I
think he makes important points although I do not fully agree with him
since he seems to put too much agency on Western countries at expense of
other countries and people whom he seems to consider victims who just
react to aggression...
Here are my concerns. While we are mourning this tragedy, new tragedies
are being in preparation... Bush administration threatens everybody who
in their view supports, harbors, or sympathizes with terrorists with a
war. Many Palestinians celebrating the successful on streets
automatically become a target. Afghani and Iraqi (Iranian? Libyan?
Syrian? Pakistani? Chechen? Irish? Basque?) people fit the description
of the target for the Bush's anti-terrorist strike as well, of course.
I think it is very productive to focus on what defines "terrorist
action." Are bombings of Dresden (no military targets at all, more than
100,000 civilian casualties) or Hiroshima in WWII, or Tripoli (in
1986?), or Baghdad (1991), or Belgrade (2000), or Grozny (Chechnya) are
acts of (state) terrorism? Where are boundaries of "non-terrorist,
military action"? How is terrorism defined: by the target and intention
of the action or by impact on civilians (so-called "collateral damage")?
Is it OK for the sake of fighting terrorism to bomb a city? These are
difficult questions that should be decided before any military action is
taken place.
One more concern. I understand that a shock caused by the tragedy can
disrupt one's thinking and it takes different time for different people
to regain a sense of control. However, I noticed anti-intellectual
sentiments among people I interact with probably based on the
emotion-cognition dualism. Some people believe that it is almost immoral
to think ("intellectualize") during tragedies like we all faced. I do
not think that thinking is "cold" by definition. Moreover, if one
refuses to think someone does it for him or her. I'm not comfortable
when currently "thinking" is mainly done by "political experts" and
politicians. I think we should engage in public/civic dialogue before
rushing in "the war of the XXI century".
What do you think?
Eugene
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Angel Lin [mailto:ENANGEL@cityu.edu.hk]
> Sent: Friday, September 14, 2001 1:42 AM
> To: xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
> Subject: Re: tragedy in New York
>
> Dear Everybody,
>
> I really felt shocked and sad for what happened--saw it just minutes
after
> the event on Hong Kong TV--couldn't believe it at first, and
immediately
> hoped that members in the xmca community are well and alive.
>
> Eugene is right--it's an extremely violent way of communication, if it
can
> be seen as communication at all, by those who somehow felt/thought
that
> they had exhausted all other peaceful ways of communication. Mike, I
have
> to point out the danger of your metaphor, though--perhaps it's
precisely
> the (irrational, unjustified?) feeling of being positioned as
"children"
> (in relation to US) that has motivated such an inhuman way of
communication
> to make a statement about their position in the world?
>
> In mourning...
> Angel
>
> At 01:18 PM 9/11/01 -0700, you wrote:
> >I don't think its difficult to understand why the people who carried
out
> >these acts of destruction, and many to come, did what they did.
> >
> >It never ceases to amaze me how convinced we are that God is on our
side,
> >so we are not only justified, but morally required, to act in such
ways.
> >
> >I shudder to think of the sequalia, with the bloodbath in the middle
east
> >as a ready-to-hand model.
> >
> >One of the few clear generalizations from the developmental
literature
> >on the use of physical punishment with children is that it creates
more
> >violent children...... just to bring the conversation down to a level
> >where I have some professional competence.
> >
> >Meantime, I am waiting to hear from friends in New York whose
children
> >just may have been working downtown today.
> >
> >mike
> >
> >
> ***************************************************************
> Angel Lin, Ph.D.(Ontario Institute for Studies in Education,
> University of Toronto)
> Assistant Professor, Department of English and Communication
> City University of Hong Kong
> Tat Chee Ave., Kowloon, Hong Kong
> Fax: (852) 2788-8894; phone: (852) 2788-8122
> E-mail: enangel@cityu.edu.hk
> http://www.cityu.edu.hk/en/staff/angel/angel.html
> http://www.tesl-hk.org.hk
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