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Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Watching SM's "Excuse List" in action

A guest post by Lurker:

Firstly, I'd like to thank SM for his most gracious introduction below. I'm touched. And now, on with the show...

The other day, SM provided us with a bitingly humorous -- and entirely accurate -- list of the kinds of excuses employed by hypocrites who try to defend the indefensible. Here are the first few items from his list:

1. This did not happen. It is only anecdotal.
2. If it did happen then it is because these girls started it and the defenders went too far.
3. If we did start it, it was because of what they wore/said/did which was deliberately provocative.
4. It is all hugely overstated and exaggerated and the poor girls have fallen into the hadns of political fanatics who are Hitler in disguise.
...


(Read the rest. It's well worth it.)

For a classic, elucidative example of several of SM's excuses being used in just one single blog comment, see this comment from just a few days ago at The Muqata. The context was illegal Israeli Police brutality against anti-government protestors. In particular, I had given several examples of police brutality that had been inflicted upon my wife and myself, as well as some other incidents of stomach-turning brutality that I personally witnessed. That elicited this response. As you read it, note how SM's excuses #1, #2, and #4 are all employed in rapid succession (even though they are mutually contradictory):

[Excuse #1 - It didn't happen]
"The incidents are probably lies because the Israeli legal system provides for claims in respect of of such things and a quick search plus a few phone calls reveals none at all."

[Excuse #2 - They started it]
"Police forces the world over are mirrors - they behave to groups of people as those groups behave to them."

[Excuse #4 - It's an exaggeration]
"The stretch from a few - alleged - incidents to the sort of language used here demonstrates fairly clearly where the truth lies."

If you haven't done so already, make sure to take note of who wrote the above comment.

Oh, and there's yet another excuse presented in that very same comment -- one which SM neglected to include in his insightful list. Let's call it SM's Excuse #0:

0. This was a good thing, because I hate the type of people who were victimized, and I therefore derive pleasure from their suffering.

[Excuse #0 - It's good that people I hate were made to suffer]
"Settlers moan - and I rejoice."

To quote the wise words of SM: It is when the intolerance is closer to home that the going gets tough...

It certainly does, doesn't it?


P.S.: This isn't really the subject of my post, but since SM made some baseless accusations below, I will address them briefly: I never "avowed that all Israeli Policeman were 'twisted criminals'", nor do I believe that. Anyone who reads my comments at the Muqata will see that I never said any such thing. I don't know SM's cousin, and I'm sure he's a very good, selfless person. (No sarcasm intended.) The "twisted criminals" to whom I referred are the Israel Police as an organization. This is an organization that engages on a regular basis in sadistic, criminal activity ordered from the top echelons (and not only against right-wingers and "settlers") -- and one that rewards and promotes those who are the most cruel and sadistic. To understand what I'm referring to, see my comments here and here. So in my book, that makes it an organization of "twisted criminals". Obviously, this hardly means that every single member of the organization is a twisted criminal. SM's cousin sounds like a very good man, and I imagine that he is.

I am compelled to add that I personally think it is wrong for a person to allow himself to be part of a criminal organization. I happen to have good friends who were members of the Israel Police. I think that they are good people and I have much respect for them -- but I don't think they ought to have been part of that organization. I once turned down a very good job offer from the Israel Police (as a civilian employee), which would have been good for my career -- precisely because, as a matter of principle, I refuse to have any part, however indirectly, in an organization that commits such heinous crimes.

SM's malicious slander and lies about me go on endlessly, but I don't want to make this post too long. You can read the rest of my response here.




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