Insignificant Others

Yesterday was a great day for all those of us who truly value freedom and strongly believe in the right to self-determination. The people of Kosovo are finally free. And they definitely deserve their independence and their freedom from Serb domination and oppression. Simply put, they wanted their own country and, therefore, they deserve their own country.

And, hey, you know it's a rare day indeed when I applaud a decision by George W. Bush, but, after his quick recognition of Kosovo as an independent nation yesterday, he simply must be praised... even by the likes of me. And, no, I'm not being sarcastic here.

Would you go after children, I mean really go after them in a vicious heartless sort of way, just to win a campaign? Because that's exactly what Bush has just done. As you're probably already well aware by now, Bush, for some years now, has been running an aggressive, some would say ruthless, campaign for the title of Worst President Ever (WPE). It's true, sometimes he does blow it by showing tiny amounts of concern or even regret - no, regret is too strong a word - about the nearly-4000 dead American soldiers in Iraq, but no one can deny that he's mastered the whole aura of indifference when it comes to the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi dead and the destruction of their country. And, really, you have to admit he's run a brilliant campaign when you consider not only the debacle in Iraq, but also other things such as Katrina, the American gulag at Guantanamo Bay, his passionate defense of torture, his massive budget deficits, etc, etc. But going after poor sick kids like he's doing now, well that's truly a masterstroke. I really don't see how he could possibly lose after this.

Ok, I know what you're thinking: "This guy isn't really going to rant about Mandela, at least not THE Nelson Mandela. The same Nelson Mandela who spent 27 years in prison and inspired his country and the world in the fight against apartheid. There's just no way he has the nerve or the audacity to attack one of the greatest men of the past century. One of the greatest, most dignified, most inspiring people in world history". Well, maybe I do, maybe I don't.

It just doesn't get much more blatant than this! Usually you have to compare your Insignificant Others to your Significant Beloveds in general comparative terms, it's a rare chance indeed to be able to compare their relative value in real time. In fact, I do believe this is what scientists would call absolute proof of a hypothesis. But this is exciting for more reasons than that. I mean, how often do you get a chance to see the lives of a group of people treated with such complete and utter disdain, contempt and indifference right before your very eyes as you sit and watch the news?

Westerners are killed and it's a tragedy, non-Westerners are killed and it's a minor item. It goes on and on like this. It drives me crazy! While watching the news this morning I was once again completely struck by the different value put on Western lives compared to those of The Insignificant Others. I mean, I notice it just about every single day, but today was pretty extreme.

Last night I watched Avi's fourth show on CBC (The Big Picture with Avi Lewis Part 4 - Hot House), which was about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and, more specifically, at least as a starting point, the Palestinian leaders in Israeli jails. It was, as you'd imagine, a fiery debate, the most intense of the four shows so far. Avi said at the outset that if you already have a fixed perception then you'll simply see what you already know, but I couldn't help being unable to see past the fact that there are 10,000 Palestinians wasting away in Israeli prisons for supposed crimes against Israel, but no Israelis in Palestinian jails serving time for crimes committed against Palestinians - even though far more innocent Palestinians have been killed over the years than Israelis. Like everything else in this conflict it's a ridiculously unfair, unjust and unbelievable reality. Once you reject the silly notion that Palestinians killing Israelis is "terrorism" while Israelis killing Palestinians is not, you're left with the pretty asinine situation of 10,000 Palestinians in jail, while all the Israeli killers walk free, often right into the highest posts of government.

I'd like to ask one simple question: Just what kind of country are we? What kind of people are we? And I'm not just talking about Canada and Canadians, but the whole Western world. Do we really see ourselves as the champions of the strong over the weak? Are we really for the oppressors rather than the oppressed? The colonizers rather than the colonized? Yes, I'm at least partly referring to Israel and their treatment of the Palestinians (and at times the Lebanese as well), but I'm also talking about many other conflicts around the world. It seems that we now, in almost all cases, side with those in power; that is, those doing the most killing, oppressing and terrorizing; those committing the worst war crimes and human rights abuses. And when I say "we" I, of course, mean the "we" represented by our governments and the majority of our media. Aside from the Darfur conflict in Sudan, it seems we've taken sides AGAINST the weak, the oppressed, the downtrodden and the victimized in just about every conflict and struggle around the globe in recent years; AGAINST people who are only fighting for that which we all take for granted and accept as our inherent rights. So, seriously, what the hell's wrong with us? That's what I want to know.

Ok, so first thing this morning, as I ate my breakfast, I turned on the news to get me off to yet another depressing start to yet another day and what do I find but these 2 bozos, Bush and Blair, doing a comedy routine in the guise of a press conference. They were taking turns spittin' out identical ideas and even identical phrases. First I thought they were going to start rapping, you know, tradin' rhymes; but then suddenly it seemed like they were so in love with one another's fantasy of the world that they were about to simultaneously expold in ecstasy, right there on live TV.

Well over 100 civilians killed in Lebanon and the headline on all the mainstream news websites is "8 Israelis killed in Haifa". 15 Lebanese children killed in one strike alone and Bush just keeps going on about Israel's right to defend itself from "terror". And, I repeat, 15 Lebanese children killed and the news that just has to be reported is "8 Israelis killed in Haifa". The entire country of Lebanon living under Israel's reign of terror, mass killings and destruction and the talk is, as always, of Islamic "terrorists"... and "8 Israelis killed in Haifa". Thousands of Arabs kidnapped and taken away to rot in Israeli gulags, after ridiculous show trials, and the emphasis is on 2 kidnapped Israeli soldiers held in Lebanon... and "8 Israelis killed in Haifa". Is there something wrong with this picture or what?