The BBC's Lyse Doucet criticises news coverage of the Afghanistan campaign, saying that it overlooks "the humanity of the Taliban"."The humanity of the Taliban"? I had to read that at least three times to make sure I hadn't misunderstood. No doubt that is true in the same way that Khmer Rouge's good points were misunderstood as well, but being totalitarian murderers bent on conquest, enslavement, and genocide will do that for you.
How this remarkably silly woman manages to navigate through life without the smallest fraction of common sense or moral judgment is beyond me.
Evil is a purely human foible. Animals don't indulge in it, so yes, it's Al Quaeda's "humanity" that they're expressing in their actions.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that "humanity" = "niceness" is one of the blunders of post-modernist thought. Much like the naturalistic fallacy of "nature" = "good".
Oh, but it's all about the nuance. And the subtlety. And not seeing the world as black-and-white. [Expletive.] One realizes some time in high school that there is also such a thing as gray, but somewhere on the way to becoming an adult, one should notice that some shades of gray are pretty close to white, and some are dark indeed. I do not understand why it is currently fashionable to ignore this. Or pretend to. No one can really be that stupid and still be able to operate a word processor, right?
ReplyDeleteOf course, there is also the deal with the Noble Savage, who needs to be understood and loved. Because he's all Noble and stuff. And Savage. I can't wait for someone to invent a time machine so I can go back and personally strangle that froggy bastard Rousseau. The Time Patrol probably wouldn't let me, though.
It's tough to get to know these Talibaners though, they're mostly youngsters, and they blow up so soon these days...
ReplyDelete(ok I stole that line, but I love it)
The Taliban's humanity?
ReplyDeleteA bleeding heart can be bad for your health, you know, Lyse!