As I said in the post below, I've lived all over the damn world. I try to respect others' cultures and religions. If it gives you peace to worship some kind of deity, well have at it. That said, I got big problems when cultures use their god to take vengeance on the defenseless.
BEIRUT, Lebanon - A leading human rights group appealed to Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah on Thursday to stop the execution of a woman accused of witchcraft and performing supernatural acts....
Hmmmm ... Didn't we go through this a couple hundred years ago? Women, generally defenseless in a male-dominated society, being scapegoated for their society's ills? Ah yes, I believe they called it Salem.
...The most frequent victims are women, who already suffer severe restrictions on daily life in Saudi Arabia: They cannot drive, appear before a judge without a male representative, or travel abroad without a male guardian's permission.
...
Of course when we killed American witches (usually by very cruel methods), we had ample evidence of their treachery. At least as much evidence as the Saudis have against this woman:
...In Falih's case, the judges who convicted her in April 2006 relied on a coerced confession and on the statements of witnesses who said she had "bewitched" them, according to the group.
...
Now, I've been bewitched by women, I rather enjoy it, but all I want to do is make love to them. I certainly don't want to kill them. Is there something wrong with me?
...The Saudi court cited an instance in which a man allegedly became impotent after being bewitched by Falih, the rights group said.
...
You know, being a first generation American of German descent, I know about finding a scapegoat for one's problems. It's easy to do. I believe the Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, and crazy people were all responsible for the downfall of Germany after the First World War and stood in the way of the Fatherland's return to glory, just as women are responsible for making Saudi men impotent.
Reiterating: I don't care who one worships or what kind of culture they built for themselves as long as they don't force me to believe or adopt their ways. I do care, however, when a culture commits inhuman acts in the name of god or 'national security'. I do care when my nation embraces those who commit such acts as 'friends', just because they control a resource we have become addicted to.
Instead of using what we've learned from experience (and I'm talking about the 'white, western experience' over the past 500 years) to pressure our 'friends' to put a stop to such practices, we conveniently look the other way, so long as the oil continues to flow.
But, then again, the United States is no longer in a position to be the moral arbiter on anything.
Comments
Post a comment