I remember some of the first acts of ‘terrorism’ when Westerns were being kidnapped and held hostage on the streets of Beirut, Lebanon. Someone did a study of who these early ‘terrorists’ were and discovered that many were people whose families had suffered at the hands of Western powers. A number witnessed homes and family members destroyed by US planes flown by Israeli over Lebanon to get at Palestinians who had taken refuge there. The kidnappings were called ‘terrorist’ while the bombing by planes were called ‘defensive actions.’

I remember a friend telling me a story about a boy watching his younger brother die in a hospital in Iraq due to the US boycott of Iraq in the 90’s. The hospital did not have the very basic and simple supplies, due to the boycott, to save the child’s life. As a brother watched the death of his younger brother he told his mom and my friend that when he grew up he was going to kill Americans for what they did to his brother.

Now we are back in Iraq helping the Shiite president we installed in Iraq to fight the Sunni militants called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, (IRIS). This is the same group, IRIS, who is fighting on the rebels’, our side, in Syria to overthrow the secular government of Syria. Iran, an Islamic State who the USA dislikes, is supporting the secular government of Syria against rebels like IRIS and is now also supporting the government of Iraq, our side, against the militant IRIS group. If all this seems confusing and stupid it is because it is. Our enemies are on friends and when they are on ‘our side’ and terrorist when on other side. People are fighting and killing each other over land, country or wealth. War is hell but profitable for some like the USA military/industrial/educational complex.

In some ways, and in more subtle way, the endless wars at home are happening. A few years ago there was a conflict over the long time basketball courts in a nearby county park when African American youth started to play basketball there. They were disruptive to some neighbors but instead of talking with them a few neighbors gathered and had the basketball rims on some of the backboard removed. After a complaint to County Government by some of us that this was discrimination the rims were restored on all the courts. For a year and half white, Asian and African American youth and young adults have been playing basketball on the courts without any major incident. Last night there was a conflict on the courts and some claim gun shots were fired in the air. The youth scattered and now the neighbors will meet again. I am hoping that race and basketball will not be a factor but already one of the leaders to remove the rims, someone who grew up playing basketball on the courts but since has moved out of the neighborhood, is associating basketball playing with shooting. He is calling again for removal of rims although he does not live here. In any all white neighborhood, all black neighborhood, all Hispanic neighborhood if there was a gun fired in the playground, basketball count or park and if the person doing the firing of gun and any victims were of the same race of the neighborhood people, would there be a move to close down the basketball courts or park. Of course not. I recently attended the prayer vigil of a young man, African American who was killed over a dispute at a basketball court in an African American neighborhood. There was talk of making the neighborhood safer, of removing the guns but no talk of eliminating the basketball courts.

As with the wars so with the park incident, violence breeds violence and discrimination breeds discrimination. The way to end endless wars and endless violence is to stop making war and reacting to violence with discrimination and more violence.

Comments

Please send any comments on this post to . Let us know which day’s post your comments pertain to. If the comments are appropriate we will post them here for you.