Posted on 08/16/2003 12:28:29 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Right, they cannot even accept their own self loathing and self hate, so they project it on to some "cause" that allows them to extinguish themselves.
... Rachel Corrie [was] killed in March after she stood in front of an Israeli army bulldozer ...
Rachel Corrie died because she laid under a bulldozer. While that is a good way to kill oneself, it's not a particularly good way to stop a bulldozer. And unless there's the threat of harm, her action would hardly be considered "placing oneself in harm's way," would it?
Like so much of the Left's philosophy, this one places all the burden for right behavior on the object, not on the objector. The bulldozer driver was supposedly under some obligation to do what Rachel Corrie wanted, rather than vice versa. Physics -- in the form of a 5-ton bulldozer -- won.
The Perils of Designer Tribalism***Part of what makes The Tears of the White Man such an important book is Bruckner's sensitivity to the aerodynamics of liberal guilt. He understands what launches it, what keeps it aloft, and how we might lure it safely back to earth. He understands that the entire phenomenon of Third Worldism is fueled by the moral ecstasy of overbred guilt. Bruckner is an articulate anatomist of such guilt and its attendant deceptions and mystifications. "An overblown conscience," he points out, "is an empty conscience."
Compassion ceases if there is nothing but compassion, and revulsion turns to insensitivity. Our "soft pity," as Stefan Zweig calls it, is stimulated, because guilt is a convenient substitute for action where action is impossible. Without the power to do anything, sensitivity becomes our main aim, the aim is not so much to do anything, as to be judged. Salvation lies in the verdict that declares us to be wrong.***
I have a life long friend that has evolved into a raging liberal/socialist and I can tell you first hand that guilt is the #1 factor (with jealousy running a close second). If it could be put into a few simple statements, it would sound something like this:
"I "feel" guilty that there are "Have-Nots" (worse off than ME)"
"I am jealous of "the Haves" (who have it better than ME)"
"I hate the American way because it has failed ME."
It never occurs to this person that there is a direct link between her liberal socialist ideals and her daily struggles. (Side note: Too much "ME" can put people on anti-depressants.)
Exactly. Most play it like the operator of the dozer just plain ran her over. Heck, he probably never saw her....Hmmm, will she make the "Darwin Awards"?
It is amazing the seething hatred these people have for the USA when you talk to them, yet they never leave for good...
I did notice in college certain individuals who always protested and organised everything. Years later, they were still there and doing the same thing, just taking some part time courses and organising protests. Nice off campus apartments and no visible means of jobs,etc. Several friends and I , all conservative, figured them to be plants and recruiters for someone higher, who was channeling monies to support them. Scary, when you really think about it, as it was a two bit college compared to others...imagine the web out there of recruiters planted in high schools and colleges....
Placing one's self in harm's way is not a nonviolent act. It is a willful act, particularly when the political movement you represent is based on extreme violence.
The oatmeal-colored tent would have been familiar to Rachel Corrie, who put her life at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., on hold to be a peace volunteer in the West Bank and Gaza.
Another absurdity of leftist thinking. It is not possible to put your life on hold. As long as you draw breath you are living life. Life is not a telephone conversation that you can put on hold by pushing a button, and then resume after an interval of self-righteous protest.
Me-me-itis - a disease my mother told me to lose real quick.
It's on hold now.
<grin>Yes, you are right. Committing suicide does put your life on hold.
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