'Response to a Newsweek Op-Ed'
People always have problems. When you have a problem, you don't sit there and list the negative effects and make yourself sad. You have to get up and solve your problem. Why do you think there are problems around the world? Problems don't cause themselves. There is a cause to every effect. The sniper's motive seems to have been resentment of the United States government policies. He served in the United States army and he probably faced rascist discrimination while serving for the government of the United States. There is a motive for every action. Why do the Palestinians protest and defy the Israeli government? The reason is that the Israeli government is an apartheid state based on imperialist principles such as the divine right of Israel promised to the Jews and the Jews being the chosen people over mankind. The mere fact that the Israelis will not let the Palestinian refugees return makes you think of what kind of justice is practiced there in Israel. Why did the Chechen women, whose husbands were killed in war, take all those hostages in that recent theater incident? The purpose of their mission was to force Russia to withdraw from Chechnya and to end years of occupation. Russia responded negatively by gasing those Chechens and also killing 90 Russian hostages. This is not going to fuel peace, but it will fuel resentment, terror and revenge. Recently, I was reading a speech written by President Vladamir Putin, the president of Russia, which he gave to the United Nations. The speech was so biased and full of hatred, I wondered how peace can be obtained by such a Russian presidency. To solve problems, you must find the root cause of these problems. Notice that most terrorists come from nations in occupation, oppression and poverty. They are oppressed and humiliated to the point where they have no option, but to fight or submit. Do you blame the oppressed for retaliating against his oppressor? If you do, I must ask what is your idea of justice. In today's world, there are many injustices and many wrongs being committed by what is considered to be the "civilized world". The World Bank is sucking the "third world" economies dry. It is hard to tell who is right in a world plagued by propaganda and oppression. We need to end these horrible injustices and stop the suffering of our fellow human beings. These are not attacks against democracy or any way of life, but they are attacks of revenge and retaliation for those victims of oppression. We, as the people of the world, need to struggle together in building a better world where justice and peace is the norm, not war and occupation. We can only fully realize this, by eliminating the causes of the suffering of our brothers and sisters.
Date: 11/13/03
