Comments on: Criminal Behavior? http://aldacron.net/blog/2008/05/18/criminal-behavior/ Searching for reason in an unreasonable world. Sun, 23 Nov 2008 17:29:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: Aldacron http://aldacron.net/blog/2008/05/18/criminal-behavior/#comment-25652 Aldacron Mon, 19 May 2008 00:58:35 +0000 http://aldacron.net/blog/2008/05/18/criminal-behavior/#comment-25652 If I didn't make it clear in the post, I have no beef with the apology by itself. I understand the need to soothe hurt feelings in order to maintain as stable a relationship as possible (but I do have a gripe about the apology being necessary -- see below). My biggest problem is with the assertion by the general that this was a criminal act, that it was wrong, and that it was unacceptable. Couple that with the kissing of a Quran by another officer before handing it over to a tribal leader and you have a shameless display of subservience. I do think it's ridiculous that people often react more assertively toward and are more offended by the 'desecration' of cloth and books than the taking of human life. Hence my remark in the second to last paragraph that it's disgraceful that we are apologizing for damaging a book and not for killing all those people. It's disgraceful that people would even be upset over such a thing. If I didn’t make it clear in the post, I have no beef with the apology by itself. I understand the need to soothe hurt feelings in order to maintain as stable a relationship as possible (but I do have a gripe about the apology being necessary — see below). My biggest problem is with the assertion by the general that this was a criminal act, that it was wrong, and that it was unacceptable. Couple that with the kissing of a Quran by another officer before handing it over to a tribal leader and you have a shameless display of subservience.

I do think it’s ridiculous that people often react more assertively toward and are more offended by the ‘desecration’ of cloth and books than the taking of human life. Hence my remark in the second to last paragraph that it’s disgraceful that we are apologizing for damaging a book and not for killing all those people. It’s disgraceful that people would even be upset over such a thing.

]]> By: Shukri http://aldacron.net/blog/2008/05/18/criminal-behavior/#comment-25640 Shukri Sun, 18 May 2008 16:22:51 +0000 http://aldacron.net/blog/2008/05/18/criminal-behavior/#comment-25640 The Quran is a book the same way the US flag is a piece of cloth. The point is that "desecrating" what people hold sacred (ex. burning the flag/ shooting a quran) generally causes seious anger as those to whom it is sacred take it personally. It is hence appropriate for an apology to be issued because lack of an apology would endanger Americans in Iraq even moreso than before. Kind regards, Shukri The Quran is a book the same way the US flag is a piece of cloth. The point is that “desecrating” what people hold sacred (ex. burning the flag/ shooting a quran) generally causes seious anger as those to whom it is sacred take it personally. It is hence appropriate for an apology to be issued because lack of an apology would endanger Americans in Iraq even moreso than before.

Kind regards,
Shukri

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