To me, this event is as tragic and disgusting as, say, 9-11 or the events in Mumbai. In those instances, we have individuals who believe themselves to be oppressed lashing out at the oppressor, at least. Here we have a human life ended by greed, callousness and ignorance. Which is worse, I ask you? Lives taken out of rage, or lives taken out of selfishness and apathy?
It's fun to compare competing nihilisms, isn't it? But which nihilism rounds up the Jews and tortures them before shooting them, rather than looking to fill its void through consumption? (Begging the question: why is it that the Jews are always the (perceived) oppressors of nihilistic bigots?)
Even if the killers in Mumbai didn't torture the Jews at the Chabad (and some stories have since cast that report into doubt), the Chabad and the people in it were indeed a target.
If these terrorists felt oppressed, and it's that feeling, not a desire to establish sharia (of course, the two aren't mutually exclusive), that motivated them, what do some American Lubavitchers have to do with it?
I do agree that those who put themselves into a trampling herd are morally culpable, even though they're moral idiots.
Nazis were nihilists? I thought nihilists believed in nothing...
(I do think killing someone on purpose is worse than killing someone by accident, no matter how repugnant the actions that led to the accident. My 2¢.)
5 comments:
To me, this event is as tragic and disgusting as, say, 9-11 or the events in Mumbai. In those instances, we have individuals who believe themselves to be oppressed lashing out at the oppressor, at least. Here we have a human life ended by greed, callousness and ignorance. Which is worse, I ask you? Lives taken out of rage, or lives taken out of selfishness and apathy?
It's fun to compare competing nihilisms, isn't it? But which nihilism rounds up the Jews and tortures them before shooting them, rather than looking to fill its void through consumption? (Begging the question: why is it that the Jews are always the (perceived) oppressors of nihilistic bigots?)
The Nazi were evil and took control of half of Europe. These people are stupid and probably could not take control of a canoe.
In terms of a Holocaust metaphor, the tramplers are pretty much the folks who allowed it to happen and who fell for the Nazi rhetoric.
Even if the killers in Mumbai didn't torture the Jews at the Chabad (and some stories have since cast that report into doubt), the Chabad and the people in it were indeed a target.
If these terrorists felt oppressed, and it's that feeling, not a desire to establish sharia (of course, the two aren't mutually exclusive), that motivated them, what do some American Lubavitchers have to do with it?
I do agree that those who put themselves into a trampling herd are morally culpable, even though they're moral idiots.
Nazis were nihilists? I thought nihilists believed in nothing...
(I do think killing someone on purpose is worse than killing someone by accident, no matter how repugnant the actions that led to the accident. My 2¢.)
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