An Article for it's Time and Place

[Ninjabob27]

http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-ways-to-keep-terrorists-from-ruining-world/

Found this article on Cracked today, offering a touch of (I believe) a Dudely perspective on the world's current situation with terrorist organizations. After all, while I try to be more passive nowadays, I'm still a flawed human, and my urge to retaliate is always going to nag me. "They struck us, so we must strike back!"

People preach that violence solves nothing, and that's not entirely wrong, but if it comes down to a life-or-death situation where the only way to keep breathing is to inflict pain on (or even take the life of) an attacker, I'd choose to keep living. Sometimes you have to fight to live. It doesn't mean I'm condoning the act of bombing cities full of innocent bystanders, but this isn't 'Nam; there should be rules.. Eh, I get the feeling I'm rambling too much, and I put so much thought into the subject that I could easily ramble back and forth for several pages. Best if I stop my blathering for the moment and let you sort out the reading for yourselves. Peace, Dudes.

[BikerDude]

Playing devil's advocate.

Abide or change?
Granted we here choose to Abide. The personal path.
But will that path eventually run it's course given enough paraquat?
That is the question.
2 different questions.
It's all good unless there is something to the question of whether there is a "pacifist pathology" that amounts to denial. This is a good question and there is no doubt that a case can be made for either side. But all in all it's best to avoid beliefs about things that more than anything else make us feel good. At least in the large sense.
It's great as a day to day plan. Coping. But one needs to keep the overall in mind also. Our metaphorical "port huron statement". Otherwise we all become unwitting nihilists. Ever smaller circles of "just like your opinion" as we metaphorically circle the metaphorical drain.
Well ok maybe I'm stoned. But I had a train of thought there.
Admittedly I've gone off the rails of the discussion about terrorism into a more general discussion about pacifism.  I myself dabbled with pacifism at one point.  Not in Nam, of course.

Say what you will about the author (I'd be shocked if he hadn't been savagely discredited) I say his ideas are clear and well stated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBIcdDmFHbc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iynNvY8yYdc

Sure we are winning against lunatics throwing bombs and shooting up offices.
But in the large sense I'd say how are we winning?
Less war? Nope 2 longest wars in history. And most importantly seemingly zero effect from anti war protests on public opinion. (I don't think the comparison to 1000 years ago is of very much use. How about a million years ago? Is that valid also? It's about context.)
Highest population in prison in history anywhere on the planet.
More Freedom? Give me a break.
More Government surveillance than ever before.
Police State? Sure looks like it's on the rise.

One begins to feel like the proverbial frog in water who doesn't jump out if the water is heated slowly enough.
That is eventually what sitting by passively will get us.
Or not.
It's not a question of if peaceful society works or not. It's whether it's an illusion.
We get to be peaceful as long as we can take the pain as resources become more scarce and surveillance and  corporate control rise and the opportunities to effect change in peaceful ways get slimmer and slimmer until we need them. Then what?

Ah fuck it.
Lets have a drum circle.

[Rev. Jimmy]

Thanks for posting a great article.
I am a war veteran, so I fully believe that Walter is an important side of our personalities. Walter isn't a bad guy. He and Dude are Yin and Yang to one another. (That's just, like, my opinion, man.)
The important distinction is between justice and revenge. We should seek justice for ourselves and fight for justice for others. That is Walter's concern, dude.
Revenge simply repeats the injustice. It is that fine line between standing up to the bully and becoming a bully yourself.