Of course people are sensitive, emotions are heightened. The bodies *are* still warm and for thousands, if not millions, the tears are still flowing.
So we hear cries of not speaking about it, because that would be distasteful, don't you know?
At some point, though, the conversation has to be about what the problem is and how to fix it, rather than just expressions of sympathy for the victims.
Well may we say "at the appropriate time" or "not while the bodies are still warm." But new bodies are added while the previous *are* still warm. There is no break in the massacre.
So tell me, when *is* the right time to say this has got to stop?
When *is* the right time to say your God is NOT helping? That *people* need to act?
They say 'Pray for Paris' but to whom and for what? Are we praying to tell 'god' what happened because he doesn't yet know? Or he knows, but doesn't know it's bad? One thing is clear - either god is not real, or he simply doesn't care to intervene. Pray if you really must, but people need to wake up, the prayers are NOT working.
This by @Godless_Mom sums it up succinctly...
Prayers are expressions of faith. When faith is the problem, adding more faith isn't the answer.
We can pretend we don't know what caused a group of men to murder over 100 people in Paris. We can pretend we don't know what caused a group of men to murder 200 students in Syria. We can pretend we don't know what has caused Islamic state to murder thousands and thousands of people. But we don't have to pretend two things:
1: They're doing it because of what they believe, what they have faith in.
2: No one is speculating as to whether or not they are secular humanists.
Whatever their driver, be it religious, or political, it is not reason based, logically worked out, nor compassionately discussed.
Whilst the world continues to value faith and superstition over reason and logic, tragedies like this will continue to occur.
We need to keep promoting reason and logic. We need to keep expressing the values of secular humanism. Lives are at stake. We need to do it all the time, and not be shamed for doing so.
Sure, we could wait until the bodies are cold, but if we do, it'll never happen. Because they're killing people every single fucking day.
Spot on as always @MrOzAtheist. I don't know if you follow Iraqi blogger Faisal Saeed Al Mutar, but his latest comments on the regressive-left's "it's all fault / blame Western Imperialism / ISIS have nothing to do with Islam" rubbish were right on the money:
ReplyDeleteBy Faisal Saeed Al Mutar:
It must be incredibly frustrating as an Islamic terrorist not to have your views and motives taken seriously by the societies you terrorize, even after you have explicitly and repeatedly stated them. Even worse, those on the regressive left, in their endless capacity for masochism and self-loathing, have attempted to shift blame inwardly on themselves, denying the terrorists even the satisfaction of claiming responsibility.
It's like a bad Monty Python sketch:
"We did this because our holy texts exhort us to to do it."
"No you didn't."
"Wait, what? Yes we did..."
"No, this has nothing to do with religion. You guys are just using religion as a front for social and geopolitical reasons."
"WHAT!? Did you even read our official statement? We give explicit Quranic justification. This is jihad, a holy crusade against pagans, blasphemers, and disbelievers."
"No, this is definitely not a Muslim thing. You guys are not true Muslims, and you defame a great religion by saying so."
"Huh!? Who are you to tell us we're not true Muslims!? Islam is literally at the core of everything we do, and we have implemented the truest most literal and honest interpretation of its founding texts. It is our very reason for being."
"Nope. We created you. We installed a social and economic system that alienates and disenfranchises you, and that's why you did this. We're sorry."
"What? Why are you apologizing? We just slaughtered you mercilessly in the streets. We targeted unwitting civilians - disenfranchisement doesn't even enter into it!"
"Listen, it's our fault. We don't blame you for feeling unwelcome and lashing out."
"Seriously, stop taking credit for this! We worked really hard to pull this off, and we're not going to let you take it away from us."
"No, we nourished your extremism. We accept full blame."
"OMG, how many people do we have to kill around here to finally get our message across?"
(post here: https://www.facebook.com/faisalsalmutar/posts/906729506085781?fref=nf)