Why does the current Administration call the suicide bombers in Israel "homicide bombers"? Isn't that sort of redundent? How do they plan to differentiate between remote bombings (where the weapon is left in a trash can or such, and detonated by remote control or timer while the builder/operator is a safe distance away) and a suicide bombing (where the builder/operator straps the weapon to himself and walks into a grocery store and blows him/herself up)?
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
A homicide bomber would have to be someone strapping bombs to other people. But that's for sissy boys.
Posted by Nim Pim (Member # 205) on :
[ June 24, 2002, 10:17: Message edited by: Nim Pim ]
Posted by First of Two (Member # 16) on :
I think they're being referred to as "homicide" rather than "suicide" because of the fact that homicide is the primary goal of their actions, and suicide is simply a side-effect. It's an attempt (albeit a pretty lame one) to deny the slimebags even the recognition or acknowledgement of their suicide.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Well, if a homicide bomber straps bombs to other people, a suicide bomber would blow himself up in the privacy of his own home. So, really, they're homicide/suicide bombers. Or homo-suicide bombers, but that'll just make people laugh.
Posted by The_Tom (Member # 38) on :
I bet Ari Fleischer thinks he's brilliant for coming up with that one. Absolutely brilliant. The fact that's it's an absolutely stupid term (as even Rob acknowleged) seems to have been quietly forgotten.
Posted by Tahna Los (Member # 33) on :
quote:Originally posted by TSN: Well, if a homicide bomber straps bombs to other people, a suicide bomber would blow himself up in the privacy of his own home. So, really, they're homicide/suicide bombers. Or homo-suicide bombers, but that'll just make people laugh.
It's nice to die laughing.....
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
How can you be sure, if you haven't done it?
Posted by First of Two (Member # 16) on :
"suicide" bomber, though, puts the focus on the perpetrator's death, rather than the deaths of the (generally) innocent people he/she takes with him/her, which is where the focus SHOULD be.
At least "homicide" bomber puts the focus where it should be. These people are murderers, not martyrs.
Of course, I still prefer calling them "murderous idiot" bombers, but that's too much of a mouthful for your everyday coiffed newsanchor.
Posted by Vogon Poet (Member # 393) on :
Weird. And there I just was, posting on the dangers of PC terminology.
I don't condone what these people do. But the use of the term "Homicide Bomber" is actually a nice neat way to avoid some of the central issues here. We have got a situation where young people, many of them you guys' age or younger, who sometimes have had quite normal upbringings, yet feel required - by their religious beliefs, by the situation in the Middle East, by seeing no way out of the current cycle of hatred between Arab & Jew, whatever their reasons are - to blow themselves up and take as many of their enemy with them as they can.
That's a pretty powerful statement. And now you're trying to put spin on it so it's something else, something less threatening. Americans aren't good with suicide. Vietnam? Just a few monks setting themselves on fire, nothing to worry about. WWII? Maybe those Jap pilots just can't fly their planes very well.
Anyway, the suicide bomber phenomenon isn't going to go away just by calling them homicide bombers.
Posted by Vogon Poet (Member # 393) on :
Actually, something just occurred to me. A lesson was learnt from the Kamikaze pilots. It's something that was already known from the bloody island-to-island fighting, but it acted as a timely reminder - that invading Japan would be a costly affair. So we nuked them instead.
Posted by BlueElectron (Member # 281) on :
err....
So Israelies should nuke Palestians?
Posted by Vogon Poet (Member # 393) on :
Now you know I didn't say that. Well, actually, it's not so much whether they should, but instead whether they would. Fortunately the Palestinians live right next door and a new Jewish settlement is being established on their land next Tuesday.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
"So we nuked them instead."
We?
"'suicide' bomber, though, puts the focus on the perpetrator's death, rather than the deaths of the (generally) innocent people he/she takes with him/her, which is where the focus SHOULD be."
I would argue w/ that. The use of the word "suicide" points out that the people are killing themselves. The use of the word "bomber" points out that they're blowing up other people (or things, since it doesn't specify), too. If you say "homicide bomber", it sounds like they're doing nothing but bombing other people.
"These people are murderers, not martyrs."
Certainly looks to me like they're both.
[ June 25, 2002, 19:42: Message edited by: TSN ]
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
Rather dated news, though. And you didn't even mention how, shortly after the White House switched to this term, Fox News jumped on it too. How's that for your international commie...er...right wing conspiracy?
Posted by Vogon Poet (Member # 393) on :
OK, you - American bomb, plane, pilots and decision. But I felt that saying 'you' at that point seemed faintly accusatory and changed the tone of what I was trying to say. We were Allies, I bet Churchill didn't have a problem with it.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
That's because Churchill was usually bombed himself. In fact, the original plans called for dropping Churchill over Hiroshima.
Posted by Vogon Poet (Member # 393) on :
And to think we wanted to accuse them of war crimes. 8)
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Not that I was trying to keep all responsibility (and the prestige that goes w/ it?) for the bombing over here. It just sounded odd for you to say "we", when one would expect most people to want to stay as distanced from such a thing as possible.
Posted by Da_bang80 (Member # 528) on :
All these extremist claiming that they will erradicate the "infidels" in battle, all in the name of thier religion. yet they use cowardly tactics ie: "homicide" bombing, and hijackings. to me it doesn't say much for thier religion.
Posted by Professor Chaos (Member # 621) on :
Really? Because I think it's prefectly reasonable.