With the war in Iraq in full-swing, the idiots on both sides start coming out of the woodwork (or wherever oriface in which they usually burrow themselves).
The people that are speaking out against the war in Iraq piss me off - not because they're anti-war, or they think that this was was unprovoked, or they disagree with U.S. foreign policy - but because they're so poorly informed about it, and don't really have a true opinion as much as a stance. They're against the war for the sake of being against the war. And heck, those protest rallys give them something to do for a few hours.I won't delve into the question of whether or not these people have anything better to do with their lives than stand around holding signs that say "No more Bush," because they obviously don't.
Nor will I point out the futility of their actions, or say much about how being a nuisance in a major metropolitan area will have little effect on hostilities occurring 5,000 miles away.
These things are a given.
I just wonder about the hypocracy of the people who are so worried about the innocent Iraqi civilians that they think being slaughtered and tortured by their own government is better than the chance of maybe being accidentally killed by a U.S. attack. I have noticed that a lot of the protesters seem to also attend rallies to legalize marijuana, so that may account for some of the contradictions.
Saddam Hussein has been torturing and killing his own people for YEARS. He's used chemical weapons on thousands of Kurds in his own country. I don't recall hearing of rallies protesting that, because the world's protesting public (consisting usually of poorly educated college age kids with much free time on their hands) tend not to care about such things.
These are the same people who, if they lived in the 1930s, would have said "Oh, that Hitler guy isn't so bad. So he kills a few Jews. It's not like he's doing anything to us."
Let's reiterate this: killing Kurds is okay with these people. Killing Iraqi soldiers isn't.
Why the distinction? Why are some lives more important than others?
This morning some "protesters" in San Francisco got out of hand and began assaulting commuters on their way to work, then broke some shop windows (mostly electronics stores and high-end clothing shops - these looters have discriminating tastes) and started stealing things.
But of course assaulting people and looting will help end the war in Iraq, so it's okay.
Protesters are no longer simply voicing their opinions and trying to turn others towards their point of view. They've become terrorists, gathering together so that they can form a greater threat. They're not hurting the government, they're not doing anything to stop the war - they're trying to hurt those whose opinions differ from theirs. Instead of convincing the "other" that their opinions are wrong, they're trying to use muscle to silence opposing viewpoints.
Protesters always represent the losing side of an argument.