Comments on: See No Evil, Feel No Evil

By: Phil

Phil — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:28:17 +0000

Spot on James. The thing that strikes me is that whether it’s refugees drowning, oil spills or brutal new weapons, the reason we’re not interested is ultimately because we really would prefer not to know. It’s just easier to think of refugees as “illegals” and forget that they are people fleeing often unspeakable horrors and taking incredible risks. If we were to spend a day in one of their lives we would want to bend over backwards to give them help in some way. If we knew what our oil & natural gas profits cost the East Timorese, the Kimberley indigenous nations and the environment we would be uncomfortable. And if we knew the lives of the people that are so angry at the west, if we understood how much damage it does that for every dollar we give in aid we take $14 in unfair trade, we wouldn’t get so excited at seeing them “vaporised”. But knowing these things could cost the economy, so its better to stay ignorant.

By: barvasfiend

barvasfiend — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:47:14 +0000

Many connections, most apposite. That predator drone thing is bloody terrifying – although it’s interesting it is getting attention now. They’ve been doing similar things for a long time, but recently it’s hit the media more betterer.

By: allan kessing

allan kessing — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:02:53 +0000

The separations we allow to shield us from reality is entirely a social construct. It was once pointed out that when the killing in war moved from individuals confronting each other to a bow shot removed, this allowed more wiggle room for the the disconnect between the citizen and the king/government’s actions. By the time WWI it was so distant as to be the first industrial war – the nation with the most munitions (back home, beyond the Front) would be the victor. In the 50/60s it became the policy of “MAD” (Mutually Assured Destruction), when supposedly sane politicians seriously proposed wiping out entire cities & regions in single fission strikes.
And yet, and yet, we still go on, as a society, pretending that this is normal. The new remove, to drone pilots in Hogsfart, Iowa going home and taking the kids to Burger King is different in detail but not in essence.