Monday, February 18, 2008

The Scoopy Begins...


I begin with a question: Why do we accept genocide, anywhere? Seriously. I know it sounds like a foolish question. Pedestrian even. Of course we do not accept genocide, right? Let's start with the First Nation/Native Americans killed because it was good for business. We (all of us who are not Natives) needed the land they occupied for business. Killing the Indians was good for business. We could raise cattle on their lands, mine gold and other natural resources from the Earth they occupied, and when moving them around didn't kill enough of them and it became so laboriously inconvenient, we used small pox as a quick remedy.
All things business as usual, first WWI, (if war is a business and war for war power is big business than WWI qualifies. There was genocide of the Armenians, maybe a million, maybe more- eh! who's counting, right? The US, Britain, and Italy were the only powers of the six to come out ahead and well, all of the elements were there: genocide, slave camps used to build infrastructure, conscription, huge death tolls of civillians, the willing and conscripted, socialists opposing needless killing of the working class and being exploited for no greater purpose than to put money in the pockets of those making war weapons and to build great nations of capitalism while four dynasties and four empires vanished. Ok, so maybe we did not need those dynasties and empires anyway?
Germany started it-the almighty finger was pointed, much like Cuba and US relations today, until Germany signed the Versailles Treaty they were made to suffer, not as like the newly desperate vegetarians of Austria but cut-off. So did capitalism collapse? So they say. Global toes start dipping into communism. Germany with its new found guilt took to solidifying fascism. 1934 and this dude Hitler has taken over Germany and instituted his Nazi principals such as killing people because it was good for business, the killing was not immediate, but by 193_ well underway we (all those living in America enjoying our Automobiles, Rice Krispies and hard twisty candies) accepted this. We (Americans) callously turned a blind and stubborn eye for our creature comforts while 12 million were gassed (Jews, Queers, Mentally Infirm, Disabled, Chinese) Japanese, Germans and Italians were interned. New weapons are exercised- Nuclear, Gas, Kaiser ships and Bombs? Why? To recover our economy, fortify our capitalistic country? After all we had steel , Ford Jeeps and other interests spread throughout the globe. OK - wildly oversimplified, sure. But, the facts then are the same as the facts today, war is good for business. Just ask Haliburton and Bechtel or even the President's "blind trust".
We are still enjoying our automobiles, our air conditioning, our amazing feast of foods, and our pick and choose flood of information in this high-tech world. How can we have so much power as a nation and be giving it up to this system of repetitive and circuitous wars? Why do we need an army of corporations?
So, what are our interests in Africa? We must have business interests, why else would we acknowledge genocide in Darfur and once again turn a blind eye? If anyone has an answer- I 'd like to know.

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