Are you sick of my Tamil genocide rants yet? Too bad.

[sabotabby]

This shit seems to be the general sentiment among Canadian honkies, at least if you watch the mainstream news. Tamils have the "right" to protest--we'll give them that because we are oh-so-generous and believe in abstract rights that cease to exist as soon as they inconvenience us--but said protests must conform to the tame and ineffectual standards of the impotent Canadian left.

Let's be honest here. White people in Canada, including the government, did not give a flying fuck about the plight of the Tamils until Tamil-Canadians escalated their protests. White people in Canada still don't give a flying fuck about the plight of Tamils, so this concern troll talk about alienating Canadians and losing support is bollocks. They never had that support, or any hope of gaining it, no matter how saintly and impeccable their behaviour.

Some points need to be made, though they ought to be self-evident at this point. First off, the protesters are as Canadian as the descendants of pillagers and murderers who are currently whining about being held up in traffic, the poor babies. Secondly, the less dramatic demonstrations were met with utter indifference. I know, I was at them.

What it comes down to is that white people hold brown people to a different ethical standard than they hold themselves to. The death toll in Sri Lanka now stands at around 8,500 over the past few months, and Tamil-Canadians have responded with peaceful protests. When a few thousand or so Americans and a handful of Canadians died on Sept. 11, 2001, the response was anything but non-violent. It was a brutal, bloody rampage against the people of Afghanistan and Iraq (who, like the Canadian commuters, had nothing to do with the murders). We demand not only pacifism from our fellow human beings in the face of their suffering--though we, the pasty-faced we, are anything but non-violent ourselves--but worse, we demand utter passivity.

Royson James is frequently wrong, but he gets it dead-on with this column. He seems to be a minority voice though, and it's increasingly frustrating to see the anguish of the Tamil community up close, every day, while reading largely unsympathetic coverage in the news.

Among the worst thing I've heard is the accusation that the LTTE (and from some fetid corners of Toronto, the Canadian protesters) are using "human shields." If it's okay with everyone, can we consign that term to the dustbin of doublespeak along with "homicide bomber," "freedom fries," and "collateral damage"? I've only ever heard it used by war criminals or those defending war criminals. What is a human shield but an innocent civilian who has gotten in the way of your bomb or bullet? These pundits and commenters, safe and secure in Canada, seem to envision some sort of gallant, quaint form of warfare, where two equally matched sides clash swords on a battlefield removed from the general population. War ain't like that, not anymore if it ever was. It's ghastly and asymmetrical. One side drops bombs on houses from the safety of airplanes and proclaims itself to be the good guys no matter how indiscriminately it targets its victims. The other strikes ruthlessly from the ruins of these bombed villages and cities. Yes, the targets and the victims live in the same places--why should anyone expect otherwise? In what bizarro-universe do these guys live?

Freedom of expression, freedom of protest--as immaterial and abstract as these supposed rights are, we in the West profess a belief in them. These rights, and every privilege that we enjoy, were not won by being polite and letting the flow of traffic supersede basic human dignity. They were gained through ugly battles that are seldom taught in history books. Some people in this country remember this, or understand it intuitively. Some people, I suppose, would gladly give it up so that the metaphorical trains will run on time.

Shorter sabotabby: Fellow Hogtowners, grow the fuck up.

Comments

[smhwpf.livejournal.com]

WIN!

I was just earlier reading of Sudan's President Omar Bashir's BBC interview in which he denies human rights abuses in Darfur. It's just remarkable how precisely he mimics the sort of language of the Israeli government. Even to the point of "human shields". Obviously learnt a few tricks. Except, unlike the Israeli and Sri Lankan governments, he's an official baddy so we're not supposed to believe him.

Anyone asked fucking Ignatieff about RTP in the context of Sri Lanka?

[sabotabby]

Actually, Ignatieff has not quite been as bad as expected. Certainly he hasn't shown much spine on the matter, but the Libs did bring it up in Question Period. frandroid has the relevant passages here. That's what ended the bridge protest.

I still think Ignatieff is an asshat though and, while I don't really get a say in who the Liberals choose as I'd never vote Liberal let alone join the party, I don't know what the fuck they were thinking when they gave him the leadership.

[frandroid.livejournal.com]

I had posted this article on my facebook regarding Iggy on Tamil/Tigers: Jonathan Kay (!!!) on the legacy of Neelan Tiruchelvam: The Tamil Tigers have reaped what they've sown

[ginny-t.livejournal.com]

Dear self: Please to be not editing sister-organisation's work. They have their style; we have ours. (Even if it is a comma splice.)

Thanks for the links!

Today was intense. O_O

[hopita.livejournal.com]

Mmmm ... Freedom Fries ...

[princessrugger.livejournal.com]

*applauds*

[lovableatheist.livejournal.com]

If I ever need someone to build me house, I'm coming to you because you've got a knack for hitting the nail right on the head.

[sabotabby]

Also I teach Shop. But I'm useless around the house; ask zingerella.

[cyborg-kitty100.livejournal.com]

We'll get you a nail gun!

[zingerella.livejournal.com]

Please don't!

[cyborg-kitty100.livejournal.com]

Practice makes perfect, and heavy machinery makes practice!

[zingerella.livejournal.com]

It's the stages before perfect that I worry about. This is a rental!

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

Among the worst thing I've heard is the accusation that the LTTE (and from some fetid corners of Toronto, the Canadian protesters) are using "human shields." If it's okay with everyone, can we consign that term to the dustbin of doublespeak along with "homicide bomber," "freedom fries," and "collateral damage"? I've only ever heard it used by war criminals or those defending war criminals. What is a human shield but an innocent civilian who has gotten in the way of your bomb or bullet?
That, right there.

I really liked this post.
I like you!

[sabotabby]

<3

Icon appropriate.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

"human shields." If it's okay with everyone, can we consign that term to the dustbin of doublespeak along with "homicide bomber," "freedom fries," and "collateral damage"? I've only ever heard it used by war criminals or those defending war criminals. What is a human shield but an innocent civilian who has gotten in the way of your bomb or bullet?


Thank you! I totally agree

[constintina.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you're LJing abt this cuz that's largely how I'm following what's happening...

[sabotabby]

Are you friends with frandroid too? He's been posting some good stuff.

I'm getting a lot of information from my kids. Protests and news dissemination is largely happening through Facebook and texting, which the techie in me just finds fascinating. This is also a good site.

[constintina.livejournal.com]

Don't know Frandroid, I'll check him out. Thx for the link!

[awwh-snap.livejournal.com]

Among the worst thing I've heard is the accusation that the LTTE (and from some fetid corners of Toronto, the Canadian protesters) are using "human shields." If it's okay with everyone, can we consign that term to the dustbin of doublespeak along with "homicide bomber," "freedom fries," and "collateral damage"? I've only ever heard it used by war criminals or those defending war criminals. What is a human shield but an innocent civilian who has gotten in the way of your bomb or bullet?

Heh. NPR/BBC used that phrase today on the radio. It was revolting.

[courtly.livejournal.com]

Actually, I'm not sure I see the problem with "human shields" as an abstract term, except that it presumes and implies that the innocent civilian is in fact: a) wanting no part of the struggle, and b) is being kept against their will.

I think neither fact is probably guaranteed to be true in Sri Lanka. I would totally understand huge public sentiment against the Army, (and towards LTTE as the main organization that isn't the Army), so I'd say that yes this wouldn't apply (either here or in Toronto... that application is just totally ludicrous).

But I think it's entirely possible for any group to be soundly accused of using "human shields" if they can be shown to be deliberately endangering one or more civilians in their self-protection against their will. Bank-robber trying to make a getaway with a gun to some hostage's head? Human shield.

But the LTTE? What are people expecting, that they'll file nicely into fields away from the villages and put out smoke flares to help the artillery spotters? WTF. (And are they thinking the local public wants them to?)

[sabotabby]

Okay, I see your point. In an actual hostage situation it'd be appropriate. But given the loaded political context, "hostage" probably will do just fine in most instances.

[courtly.livejournal.com]

Yeah, true enough. It's obscenely florid.

[rohmie.livejournal.com]

Another comics-related, off-topic comment from me: You have commuter reading en route to you as of this afternoon.

[sabotabby]

YAYS!

Defending the indefensible

[frandroid.livejournal.com]

Awesome.

Regarding human shields, I would be inclined to agree with you in most cases, but in Sri Lanka's case Prabakharan has taken "with us or against us" so literally that he makes George W. Bush look like a social-democrat in comparison. He's also a champion of the business of journalism-extinction, so there is little trustable information to be extracted from the field. I'm inclined to believe that many Tamils are/were being held back against their will, if only that our arguments should about how a democratically elected government should or should not go at the act of trying to repress an insurgency, and the conditions of its actions on the population that lives around targets of its fight.

I'm having difficulty articulating this...

[frandroid.livejournal.com]

White people in Canada still don't give a flying fuck about the plight of Tamils, so this concern troll talk about alienating Canadians and losing support is bollocks. They never had that support, or any hope of gaining it, no matter how saintly and impeccable their behaviour. [...] Secondly, the less dramatic demonstrations were met with utter indifference. I know, I was at them.

I remember driving down College a few years ago and seeing Queen's Park totally occupied with thousands of Tamils, and then turning on the news at night and not seeing a single reference to the protest, and then googling news the next and not seeing a single reference to the protest from any news source... I was like, did I dream up this protest? What happened there?

Or more recently, a month ago, the huge human chain protest... The CBC reporting on it was, "Tamils want the media to cover their issue and that is why they are reporting". They were so defensive that the coverage was very narrowly limited to the "tactic" and not to the actual issue itself... It was so frustrating to see this reporter very clearly portraying the Tamils as trying to manipulate the media, and making that the news as opposed to the issue at hand. It was so fucking disgusting.

[shelestel.livejournal.com]

Doesn't it come down to people living in one point on the planet generally not caring too much about people whom they don't know and who live thousands of miles away, as well as to most people not liking to be inconvenienced in their daily life?

[sabotabby]

In theory, but remember the wall-to-wall coverage of the tube bombings in London or the fires in Australia? Those were far away and involved far fewer people. There's something else at work here.

Of course, the people protesting on the bridge are well within my own monkeyspace. I see them every day.

[shelestel.livejournal.com]

Yes, of course, it's also "cultural distance".

[ironed_orchid]

Well said.

[rbowspryte.livejournal.com]

You are the spiciest awesome sauce I know!

[culpster.livejournal.com]

Ding ding ding ding! Thank you.

[culpster.livejournal.com]

Joe Fiorito's article is pretty good too, and he doesn't double back on himself at the end like that Royson James guy:

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/632765

[queerasmoi.livejournal.com]

I was appalled to read one of my Fbook friend's status updates:
"**** *********** has a message to his Canadian friends: you can make fun of all the strikes and demonstrations in France but at least we don't let terrorists block our highways..."

But somewhat happier to see another friend's response: "yeah but we don't have as direct a role in *causing* our protests... or call our immigrants terrorists :)"

[robotar.livejournal.com]

brilliant. you and all the protesters blocking the highway are heroes.

[rrrao.livejournal.com]

YES. Thank you so much.

I've been away from the internets for a few days (moved further up the coast, away from the big city), so after reading about the Gardiner occupation/protest one of the first things that popped into my mind was "Hmm, I wonder what [Sabotabby]'s take on it is gonna be like." And of course you didn't disappoint. ;)

You remind me that I'm not crazy, or isolated in my thinking regarding the kind of invisibility or default sense of defining 'normalcy' even a lot of liberal white Canadians take for granted. And I'm tired of playing 'brown guy with bad taste in always pointing out whiteness' when I bring it up.

[krinndnz.livejournal.com]

What it comes down to is that white people hold brown people to a different ethical standard than they hold themselves to.

That is so much of it, right there. And by the living Yog, we hate having it pointed out.