Wednesday, April 07, 2004
To go home again...
I grew up in just outside Peoria, Illinois, where the statement "if it plays in Peoria" originated during the town's vaudeville heyday. Nice town.
Today, Peoria is best known as the headquarters of Caterpillar Tractor Corporation, which is where I'm going with this. My beloved hometown was recently visited by the parents of Rachel Corrie, protesting Caterpillar's doing business with Israel. Apparently, since Israel has cleared the driver of the bulldozer, the new target is the big business, in the latest attempt to make someone other than Corrie responsible for her death.
I feel for her parents - she was too young to die, though older then plenty some others. But the simple fact is, she wasn't an innocent bystander. She picked a side in a war, and got killed fighting for that side. It's disingenous to think of her as a "peace activist", unless someone has information about her trying to prevent a suicide bomber from carrying out their mission that I'm not aware of. And now, my hometown is being visted by people trying to destroy Israel, using a pair of grieving parents desperate to remember their daughter in the best possible light.
- and, since I'm sure it's going to come up, many reprehensible things have been said about Rachel Corrie by defenders of Israel. (Do not feel obligated to click on the link, if you're willing to take my word for it.) No death should be celebrated. If you ever supported any war, or the death penalty, or legalized abortion, or the right to self-defense, you agree with the principle that there are occasions when a life must be taken. On those occasions, you do your duty. There is nothing to celebrate or gloat over. And, since the comparison is being made, if any of the mean-spirited commentors are hosting ads for Congressional candidates, those candidates should be pressured to take the ads down or deal with the consequences.
All deaths are not created equal. Most people recognize that. When a justified, or at least understandable death is caused, it shouldn't be celebrated. It shouldn't be used, either.
Today, Peoria is best known as the headquarters of Caterpillar Tractor Corporation, which is where I'm going with this. My beloved hometown was recently visited by the parents of Rachel Corrie, protesting Caterpillar's doing business with Israel. Apparently, since Israel has cleared the driver of the bulldozer, the new target is the big business, in the latest attempt to make someone other than Corrie responsible for her death.
I feel for her parents - she was too young to die, though older then plenty some others. But the simple fact is, she wasn't an innocent bystander. She picked a side in a war, and got killed fighting for that side. It's disingenous to think of her as a "peace activist", unless someone has information about her trying to prevent a suicide bomber from carrying out their mission that I'm not aware of. And now, my hometown is being visted by people trying to destroy Israel, using a pair of grieving parents desperate to remember their daughter in the best possible light.
- and, since I'm sure it's going to come up, many reprehensible things have been said about Rachel Corrie by defenders of Israel. (Do not feel obligated to click on the link, if you're willing to take my word for it.) No death should be celebrated. If you ever supported any war, or the death penalty, or legalized abortion, or the right to self-defense, you agree with the principle that there are occasions when a life must be taken. On those occasions, you do your duty. There is nothing to celebrate or gloat over. And, since the comparison is being made, if any of the mean-spirited commentors are hosting ads for Congressional candidates, those candidates should be pressured to take the ads down or deal with the consequences.
All deaths are not created equal. Most people recognize that. When a justified, or at least understandable death is caused, it shouldn't be celebrated. It shouldn't be used, either.
