Socyberty » Irgun

The Anthropology of Thanksgiving

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 14:59:56 +0000

“I’m nervous, Marlene.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll do just fine. There’s something on your lips, let me wipe that for you.”

I stood there before a door. Marlene made sure I look good. Her hands were all over my face, and bowed my hair like I was a Barbie doll to her.

“No politics,” Marlene whispered.

“No politics, okay.” I pressed the door button. “What’s your father’s religion?”

“Jewish.”

“Jewish… You never told me.”

“Don’t worry. My mother’s not.”

“Oh.” I spoke low and quiet. A shadow was coming to door in light that is resonant through blurry glass blocks around the door. Well, of course– that doesn’t mean anything anyways. Hitler’s father was Jewish. Though Hitler never knew his father, and he hated that. Okay. No politics, I told myself. This is just a Thanksgiving dinner. At least be thankful for what I have.

“Hello, Marlene!” Mother gave her a hug. “John E. Stefanovich.” Pause.

“John, we heard so much about you. Come in,” she gestured to me.

________________________________________________________

“So, who is your favorite politician?” Father asked me.

I choked a little. I needed water. I gulped cupful of water to clear the dry meat in my throat. Turkey has never been this good.

Her foot kicked at my tibia bone slightly. Marlene was mouthing me, don’t be too obvious.

“I don’t know.”

“Surely you have someone ideally,” he said. “For example, I heard that Arnold Schwarzenegger might be next mayor of Moscow.”

Marlene gave me a sign of go ahead.

“Yeah, that sounds good. It would be a sign of goodwill bridge between Europe and Russia,” I said. “Especially that the Ironclad Cross is no longer an issue…” I tried to be minimal.

“I don’t believe that.”

“Me too,” I responded. “Russia hasn’t really changed much. And Austria is usually the one that Communists have no concern about. Perhaps that is why that Arnold Schwarzenegger held such a honorable position…” I slowed down and stopped.

“So, you haven’t answered my question.”

Panic mode. This is how her father talks? Well, authoritarian family isn’t so rare. It is probably common in households. I was analyzing Marlene’s family and their personality.

“John, did you hear me?”

I was snapped out of dream. “Oh. Favorite dictator?”

“Dictator?”

“Sure…” oops. I meant politician. I was quick to point out. “Like Irgun, for example. The leader…”

“Ah. You’ve studied.”

“Yes. Although Irgun was a terrorist organization…” Marlene kicked at my tibia. “According to the British, I mean.”

“You know your history well,” her father said. “I didn’t say dictator. I said a politician.”

“Any dictator is as good as any politician,” I said. “One has to dictate his words of mouth to appeal to the masses.”

“Interesting. You’ve studied Latin? Greek?”

“Well, not Greek. Latin, yes.”

“I see,” Father ate some. Then silence broke out. “You haven’t answered me.”

“Am I authorized to?” Marlene gave a killer look at me.

“I’m head of this house, and you are the man that my daughter here is interested in,” Father said.

Good point. “Well, ideally, Anton Pavelic…”

“Who’s he?” Father asked. Whew. At least many people haven’t heard of him. Only Marlene would know. This time, kick was the hardest under the desk.

“A dictator of Croatia,” I coughed.

“Oh. Ethnic disputes. Bitter and complicated politics.” Father knew his history, although I couldn’t tell how much.

“What about the president of USA? Who would you like to see run?”

I could picture someone running and hail under his father’s name in Austria bloodline.

“Heh. Arnold Schwarzenegger,” I grinned. “He would make a good Republican leader, especially between Europe and Russia, as well as former satellites… Hungary and such. I see why not insert him in the election. Obama had a forged paper, didn’t he? So go ahead and pass over the forged paper through Switzerland, and Schwarzenegger would surely…”

Image via Wikipedia

Marlene kicked me. I cannot endure this any longer. Each kick only builds up the pain. What a powerful high heel shoe! I pray that she won’t squash my foot with her heel support just below the shoe.

“Good choice. Pass over that salad bowl, will you?” I handed the bowl to Marlene, then to mother, and to father.

“So, about your family,” Father scooped the salad to his dish.

Silence. “Steve,” Mother said. “Dear, don’t start.”

I paused. Marlene didn’t kick this time. Instead, her foot seem to caress my legs of sorrows that has long been a ghast of past. I barely know my family. And I stood up. “I better go and find myself a bathroom.”

__________________________________________________

I looked and studied on mirror, washing away my face. “Who the hell are you?” I can picture Marlene’s father saying mockingly. “You are the last of your family, aren’t you?”

Happy Fucking Thanksgiving. Great.

℠ Bad Robot

The Myth That Begin Was a Terrorist

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 08:52:17 +0000

Whenever the issue of Palestinian terrorism is mentioned, we keep on hearing how the Israelis [Zionists] “introduced” terrorism [thus ignoring the Arab terrorist aggression then by genocidal Arabs like the Nazi collaborator Haj Amin al-Husseini] and that Begin was once a terrorist. We get told about the King David Hotel bombing and all this other nonsense [not denying that the bombing happened].

First off, the bombing of the King David Hotel was not a terrorist act. The Irgun sent warning that the bombing was going to happen. The arrogant British refused to carry them out. The King David Hotel was a British headquarter.

Zionist militias did conduct attacks against the British in response to their policy of not allowing Jewish immigrants in in order to appease Arab Nazis [not that all Arabs are Nazis] like Haj Amin al-Husseini. The British violated their promises to the Jews in the Balfour declaration and the obligations they got from the international community [League of Nations] to carry out those promises.

What about what the British did with the exodus ship, in 1947, when they captured the ship and denied entry Jewish refugees, at least many of whom were Holocaust survivors? The British put them behind barbed wire.

Also with Deir Yassin, it’s also another exaggeration. We get told how the Irgun indiscriminately murdered innocent Arab civilians. Yet Iraqi troops were hidden there and were dressed as women. The Irgun told the civilians to leave in order to minimize civilian casualties. Many did flee. The events there are grossly exaggerated, in order to include another fairy tale of an Israeli massacre. Of course, the Arab radio station Voice of Palestine made up horrible lies about what the Jews did in Deir Yassin to encourage Arab nations to butcher the Jews in the holy land. The plan backfired. Tens of thousands of Arabs, who believed these false messages, fled, which played a big role in creating the Arab refugee problem, which is still a hot and controversial issue even today.

The Irgun is used in order to say that the Zionists “introduced” terrorism. What’s also not mentioned is that the Israeli army fought the Irgun in order to make sure there was no rival Jewish militia.

We get told that Palestinian terrorists are like the Irgun in that, like how the Irgun tried to drive the British out to establish Israel [actually, it was to force Britain to allow Jewish immigrants in], the Palestinian terorrists just want to “drive” Israel out of the “Palestinian” territories. However, there are two arguments wrong with that assessment. First, unlike the Palestinian terrorists, the Irgun was not fighting for the destruction of an existing country, let alone a democratic one. Second off, unlike the Palestinian terrorists, the Irgun did not intentionally kill innocent civilians. These Palestinian terrorists, who are compared to Zionist militias fighting Britain to change its illegal policy on Jewish immigration to the holy land, attacked innocent Israeli civilians before the so-called “occupation” of the “Palestinian” territories, which was the result of Israel’s victory in the 1967 Six day war, another war where Israel defended itself against Arab nations that sought her destruction.

So Begin was a militant, perhaps even a freedom fighter. But he was never a terrorist. He was a war hero and was a great Prime Minister [I'm not saying that I agree with all his policies as Prime Minister].

How Can We Get Rid of Terrorism?

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:11:46 +0000

Terrorism is a major cause of fear, anxiety and destruction all over the world, in countries like India, Pakistan, USA, UK, France, China or Spain.

Can anyone ever get used to terrorism? No, terrorism is always a traumatic event for the people involved.

Image by Brave New Films via Flickr

A survey, funded by the National Center for Food Protection and Defense, conducted over the Internet by TNS-NFO 2005 among 4,260 U.S. residents over the age of sixteen found that 98 percent of U.S. residents believed there will be another terrorist attack during their lifetime.

What is Terrorism?

There is no universally valid common definition of terrorism. Terrorism is commonly understood as a systematic use of terror for ideological goals, especially targeted at civilians (non-combatants). If anyone uses terror for making profits or snatching other people’s possessions, it’s robbery, piracy etc and not terrorism.
The United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373, in response to 9/11 attacks on the USA unanimously imposed on all members that all members shall not finance, support terrorists or provide safe havens for them. Most countries, especially those that have suffered from terrorism, have some form of legislation specifically authorizing anti-terrorism measures.

Criticism of Terrorism Definitions

There is much debate about the definition of terrorism and what is considered lawful response. Historically, the main argument against terrorism is the unlawful use of violence. Depending on the point of view, unlawful violence has been used for centuries by many nation states to further their own commercial, political ends and further their hegemony ambitions as well as destabilize or delegitimize political opponents. Thus, nation states themselves can be seen as becoming guilty of practising the same crimes they accuse the terrorists of doing.

Further, the response to terrorist attacks seldom addresses issues that produced terrorism in the first place. Significantly, the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373 does not require nation state members to investigate the reasons, which produce these horrendous acts of violence.
Most of the known terrorists today are networks. Some are home grown inside nation states, with or without support from powerful groups inside that nation state or with external support even from other nation states. Many are loose international movements functioning as autonomous cells with sophisticated support and functional systems.

Terrorists Can Become Good Guys

There are many notable instances of people called terrorists by others abandoning violence and actually becoming peacemakers.

In 1947, the New York Times describe Irgun, the militant Zionist group fighting against the British occupation, as a terrorist organisation after the King David Hotel bombing in 1946, which killed 91 people. Eventually, their leader Menachem Begin became the prime minister of Israel and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978.
Nelson Mandela, another Nobel Prize winner respected all over the world today, could enter the UN only in July 2008 after being taken off the US list of terrorists by President Bush.
Samuel Adams, one of the leaders of the 1773 Boston Tea Party, a terrorist from the British government perspective, is respected as the “Father of the American Revolution”.

Wikipedia Approach to Terrorism

Terrorism machinators have now adopted a Wikipedia approach, where planners rely on users (media, terrorism analysis industry and media users) for maintaining and contributing to their aims of spreading terror.

The masterminds behind the recent November 26,2008 Mumbai attacks have understood how important their terrible actions are for a terrorism-hungry media, a terrorism analysis industry, local politicians and power groups eager to capitalise on the event.

Celebrity Terrorism?

By showing their faces on CCTV cameras, the terrorists assumed that their images would be broadcast all over the world, and they were. The media response has been a guarantee of instant fame (notoriety) for the perpetrators.

A few days ago the news of the British terror suspect Rashid Rauf being killed in a US drone attack in North Waziristan was spread in global media along with his picture and biographic profile on major media sources.

Do these incidents reveal a new culture of instant attention and fame? Is it the same psychology driving people to take part in programmes like reality shows, Idols and Big Brother? Are we experiencing celebrity terrorism? The psychology behind their recruitment is fame, which they would never get otherwise.

The machinators have understood this emptiness in the inner lives of the young men and fill them with hatred and commands for doing terrible violence.

A Different Solution to Terrorism

Photo Credit: Ajay Singh
The standard response to terrorism has been to fortify borders. Well, can we have a fortress USA, a fortress UK, China or India in this contemporary world of globalization, transparency, and interdependence?
What about understanding that “terrorists” have a grievance as a starting point, which gets misinterpreted and hijacked by vested interests! This requires treating everyone as a human being with needs and then examining those needs impartially by detaching needs from the means they have wrongly used to satisfy those needs.
What about seriously directing efforts and a part of these hundreds of billions spent on anti-terrorism wars etc., at creating social, educational, and entrepreneurial structures that would give create jobs for young men in areas where terrorism originates?
Would making roads, building houses, schools, hospitals, and energy production facilities for the local people drive most of the young angry men away from the clutches of the evil machinators who design terrorism?
Surely, it would boost the struggling economies of the developed world by giving jobs to their workers too. There is always going to be, in every country, people who are hate mongers and choose evil ways. But by choosing not to give in to hate and responding with hate is humanity’s only hope for peace.