Dust and Blood
I was watching some footage emerging from Syria, and the violence is still as shocking as it ever was. In one video the body of a man is dragged through the streets, in another, a body turns slowly as it hangs from its neck. The latest footage making its way around is the execution of members of the Barri clan of Aleppo. There isn't much sympathy over them, judging by the comments being made, as it seems this pro-Assad clan has been accused of murder, rape, and pillaging. Still, there is always something sombre and unnerving about watching a group of men sitting at a wall one moment and then dead the next. I remember the first videos I saw of Assad's men as they butchered and rampaged their way across the country, arrogant and boastful. One video horrified me, that of a protester whose jaw was blown off and yet who remained lucid until he died - I think he died. Now that I see the shabbiha [Assad's paramilitaries] being lynched by those who were once their victims I feel guilty about feeling guilty. How can I not be when I'm seeing another human being dying so? Even one who might have been so utterly evil? The laws are silent, and Syria is at war; is there anything else one can do but wait until the madness goes away?
When I was young I used to enjoy reading about ancient battles. Alexander the Great conquering Persia, the battles of Marathon and Salamis, the Roman and Islamic conquests, the Crusades - all captured my imagination. But the books didn't talk about all this horror and savagery, for a young boy it all seemed so clean cut and glorious. As I see the body of a man dragged through the streets in revenge, I wonder whether it was like this when Achilles dragged Hector's body around Troy, or when Hind ate Hamza's liver. I never realised that death looked like so much dust and blood.
11 comments:
You needn't feel guilty. Violence of that nature is hard to stomach no matter what, and even if those men did deserve it, it's still hard to believe or accept anyone being capable of that. I mean... people are angry because these men murdered and raped - that is understandable. But then they do the very thing that they hate in retribution.
The shabiha are cruel, despicable men, but sinking to their levels of violence, even if they deserve it, will not help anyone. It will not bring back the innocents who suffered at their hands, and it will not cure the pain and suffering. You might feel differently if you had suffered or lost more directly at the hands of the shabiha, and I have to admit, I probably would.
Even though I know, in the back of my mind, that many of these men deserve the very pain they have dealt, I don't feel comfortable with the idea of people taking it into their own hands, because I think that it takes a very twisted soul to be able to do the kinds of things the shabiha do in the first place.
This is reality, and unlike books and even movies, war is never a simple or glorious thing. I just hope that this war ends soon, and that peace and stability return to Syria.
I think that the people who feel as you do are more dangerous and destructive than the evil ones.
If you do not kill evil it kills you. If you shun from this you are the walking dead a professional victim, even those you drag other human beings into victimhood with you.
In the situation of those who kill for power, there must be killing for defense of liberty.
It is not about killing, that is inevitable it is about WHY.
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1. Those men had to be killed, it is a revolution, there are no resources they are a danger just being alive.
2. It was Justice for their crimes - Five years of trials with fifty judges and 50 defense lawyers and 50 jurors would make no difference. The result would be the same. Their guilt is known by everyman,woman and child in Syria, They have already been judged and sentenced by their entire society and the will of the people has been carried out.
3. This is not 'sinking to someone else's level' - it is defeating their level and their evil. They force us , the free , to kill them, the free did not ask for that task but being given it must follow through.
How do I feel when I see evil men slain? I too feel the tragedy and sadness of the human existence, but I also feel satisfaction to see human justice carried out in a world of such a dearth of justice and satisfaction in seeing freedom and liberty survive and defeat tyranny.
Dust and blood? The world is dust and blood from birth to death. We are all going to die. What we live and die for is what counts.
Those men like all the tyrants that came before them and that we have already put down in so many wars lived and died for evil, so let us rejoice that they along with their predecessors have returned to the dust and blood and we, the living and the free have triumphed.
Life is a choice, Those men made their choice and by doing so claimed evil as their nature - there is no going back for them in the world of the living- what they done cannot be undone.
Do not wallow in self-pity and doubt, the rejection of evil and tyranny is the affirmation of life and freedom.
Do not cry for evil, it doesn't cry for you.
Signed by
Max Brenner
Even the angels had to battle Satan. First Satan turned evil, then HE started the battle against GOD and his angels. Angels of God then retaliated against Satan and he.
Fighting for God is what angels did first. Then people followed the example.
@ Unknown: "sinking to their level" was a poor choice of words. I understand that the shabiha had to be killed, and I do agree that they deserve what they give out into the world. The problem with that is that shabiha are, well, downright evil. They do horrible, twisted, unthinkable things to others. I understand killing them, but what I'm not comfortable with is the idea of the rebels doing the same things to the shabiha that they did to others for the simple fact that it takes a very twisted soul to be able to do those kinds of things in the first place. I've seen both sides commit atrocities, and while I am against the shabiha and what they stand for wholeheartedly, I am also against unnecessary cruelty on any side.
I don't know if you were replying just to me, or to the creator of this blog (or both), but I am very much offended by the idea that people who are uncomfortable with pain and suffering are somehow worse than the ones inflicting that pain and suffering. I am not against killing shabiha if it will protect innocent civilians. I firmly believe that people who commit such heinous acts as rape and torture do not deserve to live. At the same time, though, I wouldn't feel comfortable with the idea of someone raping or torturing another in retribution. Killing, swiftly, to get them out of this world and protect others? - yes. Anything beyond that? Not so much.
Yes, those men had to be killed. I don't think any sane or moral person could disagree with that. It's just that some people, like me, are naturally sensitive and seeing anyone be killed, or in pain, is a difficult thing to watch. I understand where you're coming from, so please don't take any of this personally. It's hard for me to communicate, sometimes, what I'm really thinking and feeling.
@Maysaloon, you are a decent human being. No guilt should attach to you for being human. We should all be against extra judicial killings. It makes a chaotic situation just so much worse. Saddam Hussain was tried, convicted and executed. Much better than having him meet Gaddafi's end.
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This was not an extra-judicial killing. The regime and all those who support it had their trial and judgment was passed upon on them. Their trial was the revolution. The only legitimate voice of justice during a revolution are the revolutionaries.
Ordinary trials form a peacetime society are illegitimate and inappropriate here because they allow wealth and influence to be used by those who have obtained those things from the actions of tyranny. They have killed all the witnesses, Those eyewitnesses are not necessary , th only witness that condemns them is their use of murder, torture and absolute power.
A revolution must annihilate the tyrant class with extreme prejudice and not give them any voice.
Trials in the West actually serve the purpose of maintaining the status quo, this is not appropriate during a revolution. Western people are propagandized by their leaders to have 'trials' to maintain the status quo. Westerners live under oppression from economic fascists. Before Westerners pass judgment they should first put their own oppressors on trial.That they cannot do this means they themselves live under tyranny and their leaders fear that this will happen to them and someday they too will be dragged from their mansions to face true justice .
Field executions in a revolution are not only legitimate but they are also necessary. To leave these evil men alive is to endanger all others. In a revolution the old power system and the 'justice system' that supports it are rejected by the will of the people. The only legitimate justice is the will of the revolutionaries.
They killed these evil mens before Assad was able to rescue them, They had no food and no spare fighters to be able to guard them, This is not after a conflict but during a revolution in which actions are necessary to safeguard the revolution or else there will be none left alive to oppose the tyranny.
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They got a quick death which was much more than they gave their many victims. It's very satisfying to see the wheel of karma turned back on the oppressor.
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And BTW, Gaddafi's death and the manner it occurred was the best thing to happen to Libya. Any kind of western 'trial' would have simply empowered the old elements of regime tyranny, especially with Gadaffi's hidden billions and his contacts and much destruction would have been brought down upon the new Libya. The fighting would not have ended as long as his supporters felt there was a chance to free him. It's the same thing for the Barri Clan.
The whole of Libya celebrated Gadaffi being killed because they knew what it meant in Real Life and Real Survival but all the silly Westerners being addled by Western propaganda were 'disturbed'. This is a type of mental illness induced through MSM propaganda that serve the interests of the Western Elite putting their masses out of touch with reality.
All the forces of tyranny that would rally around Gaddafi ended with a single bullet. And it was not not extra-judicial, it was the will of an entire nation that opposed him. The fact that a revolution was being waged meant Gaddafi had already been judged and sentenced in the court of the Entire Nation's Collective Will. When a revolution is being fought , judgment has already been passed on the tyrant and the tyrant class. The only thing left to do is identify them and exterminate them. The purpose of a revolution is to exterminate the tyrant and his followers in the tyrant class. There is no peaceful removal of tyranny.
To people who feel queasy about this - this is not about you and your selfish ''feelings' of being disturbed. This is about the freedom of the human race and about those on the front line whose lives and freedom hang by a thread.
All those who fight tyranny fight for all of us. If you cannot face what has to be done, if you have no grit or courage to even support those who are doing what must be done then you should get out of the way, stop obstructing the struggle for freedom and let true justice and freedom prevail.
Yes, we are all disturbed. But for all of us there is a choice, we can wallow and be self-indulgent in our feelings or we face up to what has to be done and support those who do it. Tyranny does not give you an option , if you ignore it or are even wishy washy about opposing it , it will fester and grow in your midst and finally it will either convert you to evil or kill you.
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Furthermore (to make the point clear):
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The idea of a defense lawyer in a revolution is totally wrong.
In a revolution, the only Justice System is the Revolution - the old system which was used to protect the status quo of the old order is demolished.
Those captured in revolutionary struggle are prisoners of revolution and therefore 'de facto' subject to arbitrary revolutionary justice by the representatives of the revolution. In a revolution , it is suicide to empower the enemies of the revolution in any way. Any defense lawyer should be arrested for treason and executed alongside the tyrants.
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These men all had their trial, the revolution was the trial, the jury was a sea of martyrs. A revolution is not a civil dispute in a courtroom in which the tyrants are allowed to make trouble and create more destruction for the revolution.
A revolution is the cleansing of a tyrant and a tyrant class with extreme immediacy and with extreme prejudice.The model of courtroom trials and defense layers belong to a static society in which the order is maintained. A revolution destroys the old order, therefore no process can be used that empowers the old order.
Max Brenner
Unknown, you just perpetuate the justification that causes the world to see Arabs as bloodthirsty killers. Maysaloon proves that people have changed, and Arabs abhor killing and torture as much as Westerners. Is that a bad thing?
Arabs...Weserners..so that's it!
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Thinking with nationalisms and ethnic pride is certainly a bad thing. There are no Arabs or Westerners in the world struggle for freedom , there are only human beings.
There were no 'bloodthirsty killings here, that is anti-revolutionary propaganda. Field executions dictated by exigency are necessary for the success of the revolution. Such actions seem 'bloodthirsty' to those who have lived in peaceful democracies and never had to pay a price for it.
You should look at your own 'bloodthirstiness'. For all the innocent men, women and children yet to die, remember that if only the tyrants goons had been gunned down against walls like these were, all those innocents would still be alive.
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Don't hide your head in the sand, you are making a choice, if you can't support what has to be done, to stop the tyrant, you are supporting what the tyrant will do.
What will you say to the innocent in the afterlife? That you were too squeamish to stop their slaughter? That you preferred to make the final days of murderers and torturers more comfortable rather than fight the oppressors?
Are any of the Rebels in that video even still alive? Who knows? They are still fighting for their lives and the lives of the free people of Aleppo. The lives of a billion tyrant goons are not worth the lives of one innocent civilian.
Those who have sold their souls to tyranny have lost all rights and privileges to live on this planet.
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