US author says, “God Bless You” suicide bombers
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ONE of the greatest living US writers has praised terrorists as "very brave people" and used drug culture slang to describe the "amazing high" suicide bombers must feel before blowing themselves up.
Kurt Vonnegut, 83, said it was "sweet and honourable" to die for what you believe in, and rejected the idea that terrorists were motivated by twisted religious beliefs.
"They are dying for their own self-respect," he said. "It’s a terrible thing to deprive someone of their self-respect. It’s like your culture is nothing, your race is nothing, you’re nothing."
Asked if he thought of terrorists as soldiers, Vonnegut, a decorated World War II veteran, said: "I regard them as very brave people, yes."
Vonnegut suggested suicide bombers must feel an "amazing high". He said: "You would know death is going to be painless, so the anticipation - it must be an amazing high."
Imagine if who said this is a Muslim scholar, or Arab/Muslim politician? What would have been the labels stuck to them??? All what was said about Vonnegut is that he made a provocative remarks!
Something to note; although media got used to mixing the definitions of "terrorists" and "suicide bombers", however terrorist are criminals, brain washed, and can commit their crime in the form of a suicide bombers. But not all suicide bombers can be considered as terrorist, especially if they are targeting enemy’s military forces and their associates. These are called, Martyrs, and I wonder if Vonnegut meant to talk about them only.
Well, yet another "Don-t Say - Say Dictionary."
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4 Comments on “US author says, “God Bless You” suicide bombers”
i agree with you.
as for the author, it hard to insult a ww2 vet in the states. the worst that will happen is he’ll be labeled as senile.
I’ve admired Vonnegut’s work in the past, but in this case I think he’s being an idiot.
It’s interesting to me that you distinguish between suicide bombers who are terrorists, and suicide bombers who are martyrs. That’s not a distinction I’m comfortable making…
It is of a great deal to distinguish. Specially that Western media has missed this word from it’s vocabulary since ages. martyr has a completely different meaning than a ‘criminal suicide bomber’. Maybe this site has some hints, but the subject is very interesting to discuss.I think I’ll write about it soon.
From what I understand, in saying it’s “sweet and honourable” to die for what you believe in, Vonnegut was adapting a line from an old anti-war poem called The Old Lie. His point was probably that it’s actually very ugly and sad to sacrifice yourself in such a way. Here’s an excerpt from the poem:
—-
Gas! GAS! Quick, boys! - An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And floundering like a man in fire or lime -
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,-
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.
—-
“Dulce et decorum est” has been interpreted as “It’s sweet and right to die”.