What Is Happening?

[Moo]

I need to write this - in fact I dont even want replies, I just need to get this out....my own personal message for cyberspace.

I never before in my life have felt that the world has gone so absolutely mad.

Thousands die and our best excuse so far is the other guy who ran it killed more. I was taught I can only control what I do.

The world has changed since Sept 11 - that night I watched, and feared so very much about our reaction. The deaths of so many innocent people and it has excused us from the basic rules of our society. Yes, Terrorism is flying a plane into a building and killing innocents - it is so very wrong but am I the only one that thinks we are being drawn deeper and deeper. 100 000 (argue semantics - 15000, 35000, 75000) dead - that is a lot of brothers, sisters, children. mothers and fathers to avenge. Our elected leaders are also getting what they want - a massive swing to extreme positions and personal justification that they are doing the right thing.

Basically, moderate Islamics are stuffed now, just as stuffed as moderate westerners. We in the west are being fed the politics of patriotism and fear (as are the other side),did the politics of revenge, hate and killing ever do mankind any good? Truth - crap I dont even know anymore.

I hear US soldiers talking about killing people like it is some sort of game, I see young Muslims chanting they hate the west, I hear people I know and respect - good people talking to me like 100 000 innocent deaths is somehow an acceptable price as it may save another Sept 11. It wont......where are we going?

Religion, both Christianity and Islam is being used as an excuse. Does anyone think Jesus (whether you see him as son of God or historical figure) would see this action as rightful? yet we do this in his name. Nor would Mohammed condone the action of the Sep 11 bombers. Man does this, religion is the excuse

For the record, I am not a weak man. I believe I have always shown courage in life but I have lived long enough to know that hate and revenge are easy, it is hard to be just ...hard if you are Australian, if you are American, if you are Iraqui, if you Arabic.

Let me finsih on this - At the start of all of this I saw an image of an Iraqui man holding his dead daughter after a missile strike she looked to me to be about 3 years old. I have a daughter 3 years old and I love her more than life itself.... I could not live if this happened to her. I saw her little body in his arms as she came out of the rubble, it is one of the worst things I have ever seen and for a fraction of a second I saw my little girl and I could not help but hate. I dont speak Iraqui but he was screaming Why. I understand Sept 11 and I understand their loss.....this is not right, none of it is right.

My daughter is in bed asleep and I'm typing on a footy political forum, where is that father? I want to tell him I feel his pain, that it is not right, fair or just, that my God would not want this but I'm absolutely hopeless to help.

We are failing our children - all of us. If there is a God, whether it be Allah or Jehova - I'm sure he has turned his back on all of us, if not - how do I turn my back on mankind?

 

[SaveFeriss]

Hard to turn your back on mankind while you have a daughter, Id imagine impossible.

I understand every word you typed, and can feel ur frustrations and sadness.

I used to think too much about the world, and I used to wonder "why". This feeling 1st swept over me when Julian Knight opened up. I was about 6 or 7, and That same year I watched a mini-series called "Holocaust" and from that moment on Ive never respected Man, nor Mans rules, nor money or men of percieved power.

It didnt make sense to a very quiet and shy child. In fact the human race scared me. Now Ive learnt to care a hell of a lot less.

We wont change, we cant. We've always been this way and perhaps this is one of the more peaceful periods in Humans existence.

We are a greedy selfish race that take take and take, from each other and ultimatley from ourselves.

All you can do is make a good home for your daughter and raise her the best you can without predjudice. Man will continue on his greedy, selfish and warmongering days until he finally obliterates himself and all his kin.

For all our brilliant inventions and wonders, we're still simple minded savages ruled by selfishness, greed and instinct.

 

[- PC -]

Truly truly one of the best posts I have seen on here ...I wont pretend to have any answers and I know those on here who have vested interests be they Christian,Liberal,Republican,Labour,Democrat or Hawk will think they have or that your too soft.

One of the concerns I had as I watched the buildings tumble was what kind of retribution would America have and thankfully it was a considered and thought out process..flawed... but at least it wasnt the hammer strike everyone was waiting for. Because then we would be in a lot deeper darker place than we are now.

A lot of laws have been passed, justified by the one line I hate hearing when a law is passed..'' if you dont support it your one of them'' Now watching and seeing the mood of America and its Dept of Homeland Security and the power they have and use and abuse I fear a backlash internally against the American Government which they dont have the knowledge or time to deal with.

I am a firm believer that we dont bow down to fear and fearmongering..yet with those laws a lot of people are starting to fear their own government..and that is a hotbed of anarchy there IMO. We all must stand up to those who try to use fear and terror to instigate change, whether they be outside or inside.

I would hope sanity prevails but I trust your right when you say religion has caused more trouble than no religion. How can we not look at a Muslim without fear or disgust? Is that who we want to be? Does the mosque down the road have less of a right to be there than the church 100 yards away?

As posted by SaveFerris look after your daughter and keep her safe and teach her to judge people as individuals and not as part of a group..maybe thats a start?

 

[agitator]

this is no time to go all 'neville chamberlain' and try to appease the terroists, we must front them up and not give an inch to these medieval meatheads.

they must be taught a terrible lesson that the west will not tolerate any religious hatred or racial bigottry and we will respond with sledge hammer force. these towel heads are beyond any rational logic and will happily murder all the infidels because their kookie koran tells them to.

we are in a life and death struggle and we must eliminate them before they get their hands on nuclear or biological weapons. thank god we have a strong leader like gwb to lead us in this crusade.

let's not make the same mistakes we did with adolf.

 

[CharlieG]

they must be taught a terrible lesson that the west will not tolerate any religious hatred or racial bigottry... these towel heads are beyond any rational logic and will happily murder all the infidels because their kookie koran tells them to.

 

[Lestat]

this is no time to go all 'neville chamberlain' and try to appease the terroists, we must front them up and not give an inch to these medieval meatheads.

they must be taught a terrible lesson that the west will not tolerate any religious hatred or racial bigottry and we will respond with sledge hammer force. these towel heads are beyond any rational logic and will happily murder all the infidels because their kookie koran tells them to.

we are in a life and death struggle and we must eliminate them before they get their hands on nuclear or biological weapons. thank god we have a strong leader like gwb to lead us in this crusade.

let's not make the same mistakes we did with adolf.

The D(ckheads board is thatta way --------->

 

[agitator]

what are you trying to say??

 

[CharlieG]

what are you trying to say??

religious hatred or racial bigottry... these towel heads

Speaks for itself, doesn't it?

 

[SaveFeriss]

You say:

they must be taught a terrible lesson that the west will not tolerate any religious hatred or racial bigottry and we will respond with sledge hammer force.

Then go on to say:

these towel heads are beyond any rational logic and will happily murder all the infidels because their kookie koran tells them to.

we are in a life and death struggle and we must eliminate them before they get their hands on nuclear or biological weapons. thank god we have a strong leader like gwb to lead us in this crusade.

let's not make the same mistakes we did with adolf.

Quite possibly the most hypocritical and pathetic post Ive seen, and that's saying something!

Your name is apt, cept you don't really have the intellect to actually agitate.

It's your stupidity, bigotry and blind ignorance that compelled me to reply.

 

[- PC -]

this is no time to go all 'neville chamberlain' and try to appease the terroists, we must front them up and not give an inch to these medieval meatheads.

I think the point is what if we are the terrorists? In that Iraqi fathers eyes arent we as culpable? You obviously are either a shyte stirrer or you genuinely believe that your side is always right and everyone who opposes is wrong. Read my comment above and those who advocate ''if your not with us your against us''

. thank god we have a strong leader like gwb to lead us in this crusade.

I will assume through lack of personal knowledge that you are one of our American members who visit us because you love Australians....last time I checked MY leader/Head of Government was John Howard.

 

[Lestat]

what are you trying to say??

What do you reckon???

Which part of d(ckhead don't you understand??

 

[Mr Q]

I need to write this - in fact I dont even want replies, I just need to get this out....my own personal message for cyberspace.

An excellent post Moo (as always). We sometimes all forget in our race to make our point that there are real people and a real world behind what we're discussing. All I really hope is that we (the world) can find the route through the current dark time to peace again, so that people like Moo can watch his calves grow to be people happy and secure in their lives. I'd rather be wrong and see the world get back to what it was pre-2001 than be right and have the world fall down around my ears. Although whatever happens a bit more humility from those with power would be nice.

 

[MGREG]

The D(ckheads board is thatta way --------->

lestat, this is at least one time that I agree with you.

 

[PA HOG]

Congratulations Moo. You have the skills to describe, basically, what so many of us think.

 

[PA HOG]

this is no time to go all 'neville chamberlain' and try to appease the terroists, we must front them up and not give an inch to these medieval meatheads.

they must be taught a terrible lesson that the west will not tolerate any religious hatred or racial bigottry and we will respond with sledge hammer force. these towel heads are beyond any rational logic and will happily murder all the infidels because their kookie koran tells them to.

we are in a life and death struggle and we must eliminate them before they get their hands on nuclear or biological weapons. thank god we have a strong leader like gwb to lead us in this crusade.

let's not make the same mistakes we did with adolf.

Assuming that you believe what you have said, I truly feel sorry for you. Please have a good think about it and you'll possibly come up with a more mature attitude .... the world will be a little better off.

 

[Tim56]

Saying 'life is sh*t' makes a lot better story than 'life is great'. The truth is that we've really never had it better. It's all very easy to say that the world is flawed, but the truth is, the world has never been as democratic, never been as free, and never been as prosperous. Increased levels of communication and media coverage have served to highlight things which are not good, and most of the feelings expressed by Moo are the result of media hysteria and scare mongering. Things in the world aren't perfect, and can obviously get better, but the 'it was better in my day' argument is flawed and doesn't stand up to proper scrutiny.

 

[MrMeaner]

I agree Tim. The thing is though, the media is not the only thing to blame. Cynical politicians continuing to push fear as an electioneering tool have some role to play too. There are some real parallels with the red-scares of the post WWI and WWII eras.

 

[kirky]

Increased levels of communication and media coverage have served to highlight things which are not good, and most of the feelings expressed by Moo are the result of media hysteria and scare mongering.

Not wanting to get political but wasn't it both Conservative parties on either side of the Pacific that played up the "fear" factor in the recent campigns (more so than their opposite numbers). Yes, convenient to blame the media when it suits you but their job is to report. If you don't throw the lines out, you won't catch the fish.

Yes, we live in a less safe world and I congratulate all those parents (of any race or creed) who have chosen to bring youngsters into this world. A medal to all of you...

 

[mantis]

Excellent post Moo.
The world is going to shyte, people are becoming greedier, care less about other people, racism, homophobia & religious hatred is getting worse, the gap between the haves & have nots is increasing rapidly, violence & criminal acts are all growing & people won't take responsibility for their mistakes.

I certainly wouldn't want to be bringing children into this world at the moment, it is far too dangerous.

 

[evo]

I have to agree with you MR Meaner and Tim.

My dear old grandmother now into her 90s, thanks to the media and politicians on both sides, is absolutely convinced that Australia is an absolutely diabolical place and that people have never had it worse.She thinks you can't walk down the street without being attacked and that most workers are living in a state of utter improvrishment.

This is a women who was born just prior to the first world war,lived in London during the DEPRESSION,saw here husband go off to WW2 while she manned a spotter light pregnant with my mother during the battle of Britain!

I'm sure a few are thinking oh she 's just some senile old biddy.This isn't the case.She fully has her marbles,but unfortunately she can't go out much these days so has to get her "facts" from the mainstream media.

 

[jim boy]

Saying 'life is sh*t' makes a lot better story than 'life is great'. The truth is that we've really never had it better. It's all very easy to say that the world is flawed, but the truth is, the world has never been as democratic, never been as free, and never been as prosperous. Increased levels of communication and media coverage have served to highlight things which are not good, and most of the feelings expressed by Moo are the result of media hysteria and scare mongering. Things in the world aren't perfect, and can obviously get better, but the 'it was better in my day' argument is flawed and doesn't stand up to proper scrutiny.

You've totally missed the point of the post. It isn't about how easy or how difficult life is now, of course things are much better now. It's about how fear, xenophobia and questionable religious grounds are used to push actions of dubious morality. It's about scaring the electorate in condoning acts of sheer wanton violence against a population who are de-humanised through tricks of lexicon. It's about how this has become notably more prevalent in the last 3 or 4 years. It's more than about mere materiality.

IMO, it is overly gloomy, but I can see where he is coming from.

 

[SaveFeriss]

You reminded me evo.

"I love a Sunburnt Country"


That actually used to mean something to me. I heard it last night on the wireless, and it made feel those days are over. Australia is over.

Australia isn't the land of opportunity, Australia is a land of scared lil mums and dads who lock themselves in their homes and watch fantasy shows to take their minds away from having to SEE reality.

Well that or the pokies. If we had a responsible Government that put it's people and social services 1st instead of populating the poorest towns and regions with the Largest venues/clubs that have more pokies.

How many pokie venues to you see in the 'wealthy areas'?

If I was in power, along with making Public Transport free, Id close all casinos and Pokie venues, and build a big city in the desert.. ala Las Vegas.

that way when the Poor mums and dads get their welfare cheques, they wont be tempted to pour em into the fatcats wallets.

i.e. It would take effort and planning if you wanted to have a Gamble.


I better stop now

 

[evo]

You've totally missed the point of the post. It isn't about how easy or how difficult life is now, of course things are much better now. It's about how fear, xenophobia and questionable religious grounds are used to push actions of dubious morality. It's about scaring the electorate in condoning acts of sheer wanton violence against a population who are de-humanised through tricks of lexicon. It's about how this has become notably more prevalent in the last 3 or 4 years. It's more than about mere materiality.

IMO, it is overly gloomy, but I can see where he is coming from.

Tim may have gone of on a bit of a tangent but I still think it was worth saying.I can't believe how negative alot of people are on here.Look at Mantis' diatribe.You'd think we were living in 1930s Germany.

 

[mantis]

Evo

If you want to live your life wearing rose coloured glasses, that's your perogative, but with the different people & organisations I am involved in at the moment, there are a lot of people who are worried & suffering because of the way the world is.

When elderly people aren't safe in their own homes, because some junky wants to take their few meagre possessions so he can get high & bash them senseless when they don't have enough to give him, then when the crim goes to court, he gets a rap on the knuckles, because he was under the influence, or makes up some bullshyte story how he was abused as a child.

Then there are the shop/home owners who do fight back & end up in court, getting a heavier penalty than the crim.

I repeat, the world has gone nuts.

Edit: The increase in paedophillia & child pr0n is another very real concern for parents.

 

[bunsen burner]

I almost feel sorry for the pessimists on this board.