June 24, 2004
Learn by Example
The following images come to us courtesy of video footage released yesterday on Sheik Abu Hamza's website, www.shareeah.org. The photos are incredibly disturbing, not for being truly gruesome per se, but for the fact that the Muslim children shown are emulating Islamic terrorists by pretending to behead another child.
(To view the video and read the entire story, please visit the Northeast Intelligence Network.)
What these images demonstrate is something we all know at a gut level -- children learn by example. So what does this tell us? These Muslim children are learning, by way of video taped coverage of recent beheadings, that this type of behavior is normal, accepted, and the quickest way of showing someone that you mean business. They are learning to take drastic measures to get what they want. They are learning to devalue the meaning of human life, especially that of non-Muslims (a.k.a, infidels). They are being desensitized to the graphic nature of what they are viewing and will more than likely come to see beheading and other similar measures not as terrible acts of barbarism and cruelty but as a means to an end. They are learning to be ruthless and cruel.
Based on what I've seen here, I am particularly concerned about the future of our country. If this is what Muslim children are learning and using as "play" entertainment, we can easily extrapolate that they are also learning that Islam is the only religion and all non-believers should be exterminated. What we see here is the next generation of terrorists intent on furthering the expansion of radical Islam throughout the world. Make no doubt about it, if America sits idly by and allows this type of behavior on the part of terrorists to continue, these children will continue to be indoctrinated and brought up learning to kill all infidels. And guess what? They see America as a land full of infidels.
We need to nip this in the bud right now. President Bush should take a much firmer stand and be willing to stop tip-toeing his way through Iraq for fear of inciting the "insurgents" (read "terrorists").
Wake up, Mr. Bush. Tip-toeing only works through fields of dandelions and daisies. It doesn't work when you're trying to bring a country living in the Middle Ages into the 21st century. If you don't take decisive action while you still can, you're bound to find yourself a single term president. Look, the American people don't expect immediate improvement, but we do expect some improvement. Continual beheadings on the part of the terrorists just don't cut the mustard.
If you want to be effective, you need to take firm, decisive and immediate action. We, the American people, want a proportional response. We want retribution for what these terrorists are doing to innocent civilians. Mostly, however, we want to see our leader act the part of a leader. If you can do that, you will not only help ensure the safety and security of the American people, but you will ensure yourself another four years in the White House. With all due respect, Mr. President, you need to stand up to these terrorists on behalf of Americans and stop hiding behind lofty speeches. Remove the handcuffs and shackles that have been placed on our military and return to them the ability to actually fight. Rebuilding Iraq is a noble goal; however, it does no good to rebuild a house infested with termites until you first get rid of all the termites. Terrorists are like termites. Unless we exterminate them all, we will never see an end to this conflict. Do the right thing, Mr. Bush; stop the castration of our military. Allow them to unleash hell on these terrorists and reaffirm that America will not be pushed around like a weak kid on the playground.
Posted by Kasey on June 24, 2004 10:59 AM | Filed Under: Conservative ThinkingIt's a sad, sad world we live in I'm afraid to say. :(
Posted by: Bruce on June 24, 2004 11:53 AMThat's just plain sad.... and sick.... :(
Posted by: Bunni on June 24, 2004 04:20 PMI don't know what to think about this video. On the one hand it seems kinda of disturbing to see little muslim children learning to be terrorist. On the other hand I remember as a child playing soldier, playing cowboys and indians and playing star wars.
Posted by: Clyde Hutchins on June 24, 2004 06:03 PMClyde,
I can certainly see your point about playing games like cowboys and Indians when you were a child. This is still disturbing to me, however, because I think we all knew as kids that cowboys and Indians or Star Wars was make-believe. These kids are emulating real-life based on what they're seeing on television (or wherever else they may have seen the video footage). I have a hard time thinking that these children are differentiating between a make-believe world and the real world. While we knew that cowboys and Indians wasn't real, I'm not so sure about these kids -- seeing the beheadings on TV makes the reality of it hit home.
Still, I appreciate your insight and alternate view of these photos. I sincerely hope you are correct that these kids are doing nothing more than we did as children playing our make-believe games. Otherwise, we've got a serious, growing problem on our hands.
Posted by: Kasey on June 24, 2004 07:25 PMGawd I hope and pray Clyde is right too. :-/
Posted by: Bunni on June 25, 2004 07:14 AMKasey, you are referring to TV shows of cowboys and indians. But the fact is there really were cowboys and indians and the white man did massacre quite a few indians. I see the parallel Clyde is bringing up but I think in this case it's really screwed up.
Posted by: Bruce on June 25, 2004 08:55 AMBruce,
Guess I wasn't very clear in my previous post. Yes, I know about the history of the white man's movement across the continent and the wars between Indians and white men. What I was trying to say was that when we were children playing those games, the Indian - white man strife was a part of our history; it was not happening all around us in contemporary times. For the most part, I feel our society had become much more civilized, and we no longer really identified with either the cowboys or the Indians. That's why I referred to it as a "make-believe" world; our only encounters with that part of our history was through shows like Roy Rogers and 'The Lone Ranger', John Wayne movies, comic books and story books. We knew that type of stuff wasn't going on around us. As much as I loved horses as a kid, I never expected to grow up to be a cowboy (or cowgirl, in my case) because cowboys and Indians were not a part of our world. They just didn't exist anymore. Actually, I should rephrase. They didn't exist anymore in the way they were depicted on television or in movies and books. Going out and conquering the Wild West was no longer an option.
I find the opposite to be true with respect to how these children were playing. Not only are beheadings taking place in current times, but unlike my childhood where the cowboys and Indians we watched no longer existed, these kids can actually believe that it's possible to grow up and become a part of the terrorist gangs. Terrorists groups are alive and well, and may likely remain so for the foreseeable future unless someone in high places does something about it. So while I most sincerely hope that this is just innocent play, I cannot completely convince myself of that idea.
Posted by: Kasey on June 25, 2004 09:27 AMI agree with you. I guess I should take my own advice and read more carefully. :)
Posted by: Bruce on June 25, 2004 06:06 PMKasey makes a good point about the fact that these muslim kids are emulating contemporary society. That is an important distinction. Sure, we never expected to be real cowboys and indians when were playing.
And now that I think about it, I expected to be a soldier when I played war as a child and when I grew up I did a stint in the army. The implications of which makes these muslim children's actions kind of scary.
Posted by: Clyde on June 25, 2004 09:22 PM