That Pacifist Joke

This morning, I had Fox News on as I was eating breakfast and saw what I am pretty sure was a live report from Israel, of a rocket attack by the Party of God. The reporter was wearing a helmet and there were air raid sirens going off the whole time, punctuated by explosions in what looked like an otherwise perfectly ordinary town. It looked almost like an American town. With bombs going off, for crying out loud.

I do not recall whether the reporter himself was discussing this or a reporter in the studio was, but there was mention of the cease-fire negotiations that have been going on, and on account of which Israel has held off on a huge ground offensive into Lebanon.

The whole bizarre scene reminded me of an old joke about how you can get a pacifist to admit, through action, the hypocrisy of his position. It goes something like this: You get him to "explain" how "violence" is "always wrong", and say, "Are you sure? Violence is always wrong?"

When he agrees, punch him in the mouth and see what happens.

This is the joke -- and a very unfunny and tasteless one it is since we never get a punchline -- that the current Israeli leadership, goaded on by the United States State Department, has for its foreign policy. This was bad the first time and it's getting very stale besides through repetition now.

Watch this video, which, although it is as close as I could find, hardly does the surreal nature of what I saw justice.

How dare you, Mr. Bush and Miss Rice, ask Israel to negotiate with these animals? And how dare you, Mr. Olmert, even pretend that your people can live with anything less than the total annihilation of Hezbollah? They're throwing punches even as you negotiate an end to hostilities! They're not going to stop until you make them stop.

So go ahead. Punch back.

The Israeli people do not deserve to live like this. They also do not deserve to die. The Lebanese, who are causing this, helping it along, or standing by while it unfolds, deserve this and much more. Not only that, what they deserve is exactly what it will take to get them to stop.

-- CAV

Updates

Today: Good. The offensive is on! Or at least 20 per cent on.