Justice? Irony? You Make the Call!
I’m not an Arafat fan, but neither am I a basher of him. I’ve always thought it wrong that a terrorist, as Arafat has been, should become a leader of a nation without a prior renunciation of terror. That said, Arafat surely isn’t the only leader in the world to fit that category. [...]
I’m not an Arafat fan, but neither am I a basher of him. I’ve always thought it wrong that a terrorist, as Arafat has been, should become a leader of a nation without a prior renunciation of terror. That said, Arafat surely isn’t the only leader in the world to fit that category. Hamas looted his home yesterday, and took Arafat’s pride.
Enraged Fatah leaders on Saturday accused Hamas militiamen of looting the home of former Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat in Gaza City.
“They stole almost everything inside the house, including Arafat’s Nobel Peace Prize medal,” said Ramallah-based Fatah spokesman Ahmed Abdel Rahman.
I’m thinking that one is ironic. The next one is a case of justice done. About Mr. Niphong in the NY Times:
Mr. Nifong, who had surprised his lawyers Friday by announcing plans to resign, offered to have his license revoked and waive the right to appeal after the panel ruled Saturday that he had been dishonest or deceitful toward a judge and defense lawyers over DNA results.
David B. Freedman, one of Mr. Nifong’s lawyers, said in an interview, “He wants this over. He wanted the process to play out and to receive a fair hearing, and he believes he has received a fair hearing and accepts the findings of the commission.”
Mr. Freedman said Mr. Nifong had been “devastated” by the testimony.
Mr. Nifong declined comment, but his wife, Cy Gurney, said, “It’s a day of resolution — for us and hopefully for the court system.”
I have hesitated to get onto the “Hate Niphong” bandwagon. Sure, it’s been totally obvious he did the wrong thing, and likely because of unchecked political ambitions. There’s a contriteness here I did not expect, though, and it reflects well on Mr. Niphong. Is it justice that Mr. Niphong is disbarred? Certainly. It is complete justice, I think, that Mr. Niphong knows he did wrong, and accepts his punishment. That’s refreshing, given the ducking of responsibility one sees with the current Administration in Washington.
The first leaders of almost every nation are what we would call terrorists today. Including those of America, Israel, and France. Like it or not, people don’t give you your country back until you starting bringing the pain they cause to them and their children. It’s a simple fact of life that without violence, we wouldn’t have a country. Without violence, the Israeli’s wouldn’t even negotiate. Why would you negotiate for a peace you already had?
Real life is messy, and it’s harsh and it’s very very gray. If you want to pretend that the oppressed would be anywhere but serfs right now without violence, go right ahead and look like a fool. But it was fear that gave us almost every advance in human rights. It’s easy to condemn violence, but without it we’d all be slaves.