Daniel Pipes: Cycles of Violence cause less Violence

[ck4829]

Nepalese responded to this atrocity (Nepalese workers being executed in Iraq) by venting their anger by assaulting the Muslim minority in Nepal. Hundreds of infuriated young men surrounded Katmandu's one mosque on Aug. 31 and heaved rocks at it. Violence escalated the next day, with five thousand demonstrators taking to the street, yelling slogans like "We want revenge," "Punish the Muslims," and "Down with Islam." Some attacked the mosque, broke into it, ransacked it, and set fire to it. Hundreds of Korans were thrown onto the street, and some were burned.

Rioters also looted other identifiably Muslim targets in the capital city, including embassies and airline bureaus belonging to Muslim-majority countries. A Muslim-owned television station and the homes of individual Muslims came under attack. Mobs even sacked the agencies that recruit Nepalese to work in the Middle East.
...
Returning to recent events: the abhorrent Nepalese violence reflected an instinct for self-preservation – hit me and I will hit you back. In contrast, the sophisticated French reaction was supine – hit me and I will beg you to stop. If history is a guide, the Nepalese thereby made a repetition of atrocities against themselves less likely. And the French made such a repetition more likely.
http://www.danielpipes.org/article/2076

If Pipes' logic is correct, then there shouldn't be a Palestinian Israeli Conflict, and torturing people wouldn't cause insurgents to cut off people's heads, and using pre-emptive war won't cause people like Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi to kill both civilians and American Soldiers.

[librechik]

1. Daniel Pipes is handing out the koolaid

don't drink it!

The real trouble in this admin seems to be that it is primarily composed of abusive men who never took an anger management class in their lives. How dare Pipes even mention the Cycle of Violence in such a blatantly ignorant manner?

I shudder to think what Mrs. Pipes (if any!)has to put up with.

[ElectroPrincess]

2. Do yourself a favor and step away from his diatribes ...

I saw him on CSPAN one morning. His perspectives were so racist and bizarro anti-Muslim that I was literally stunned. This is the worst combination in humanity, evil and highly intelligent. I don't listen to him or read his commentaries any longer as it promotes a visceral disgust for all the propaganda he is attempting to spew. It's just sick and it is only used to "fire up" the already converted.

[ck4829]

3. I don't listen to him. I just thought I should share his insanity with DU

Pipes is another reason we should all vote against Bush.

Pipes and Bush are connected, as Bush nominated Pipes to the Institute of Peace.

Yeah, it will be really 'peaceful' with Pipes in it.

[Professor_Moriarty]

10. In his world blatant prejudice against Arabs/Muslims is OK,

[sweetheart]

4. Nepal has unique contributing factors, as does france

The article is simplistic, based on the concept that nepali or french
people are "americans" with different country names. Fact is, that
culture is a complex grey left out of this neocon black and white
pallate.

Nepal is Extremely poor, with poorly developed infrastructure and an
average age of death of 51 for males living in the capital kathmandu.
Rich tourists have not changed this for decades of travel and trekking. In other parts of the himalayas, in the indian gwarhal
and ladakh regions, more islamic influence is appearant, with entire
villiages taken over from the tibetan buddhists by immmigrant islam.
The villiage of kargil in kashmir is such a place, and so there is,
similarly to in the middle east, a long-entrenched mountain peoples
culture, and an incoming culture of anti-western islamists, and as
well, anti-western maoists selling equality against squalor, with
western anglo-ism supporting the status-quo of incomptetent governance. The civil war stewing in nepal has many causes and
some islam hate is just a little part.

France has a massive domestic population of islamic peoples and a
strong state awareness of the separation of church and state. It has
no interests in making "state" enemies of islamic nations, given its
huge relationship with north africa. France after algeria is wise
to the methods of islamic terrorism extremism, and melts it down by
not recognizing it.

Nepal is, i'm afraid, just beginning to spiral in to a cycle of
terror and civil war that will only kill 1000's more. France is
unlikely to go that path. The author has his ass backwards in that
article. Neocons lie to justify war. He is true to that, and
is otherwise ignorant.

[AntiCoup2K4]

5. Pipes is so delusional that he makes other neocon traitors appear sane..

...compared to him, anyway.

[The Night Owl]

6. Pipes is one of those people who uses all his energy and intellect...

... to maintain his delusions.

[PATRICK]

8. What intellect?

Intellect in service of evil and a lie is a black hole of idiocy, gibberish and moronic self absorption to blot out all other reality in the end. The massive intellect of Satan was not removed by a curse. it was a black hole of pride with awesome energy and destruction at the event horizon that would suck in the universe.

Now in service of his simplistic points he would flunk Phl 101 and remember the fun stuff that makes him feel smart and oh so cocky and right. Immature and going down. This unenviable adolescent braying.

The point that many American make careers of so assiduously missing is that mankind responds awkwardly, badly, and hopelessly to a test far too often. The alternative aggressive compassion response is even harder and more counter intuitive to the kinetic flight or fight reflex cloaked in so many paltry useless values. Neither violence nor allowing violence to work is an answer. Evil of course breeds or conquers. The ways to defeat it are as simple and direct as in vanquishing a bad dream, but -unlike a dream you can be physically hurt- a lot. It takes immense faith in oneself, one's humanity, the common good or destiny or one's religion- to pass the test(which is to lose the good and join the evil in some illusion of personal survival).

Christians wisely pray in their main prayer that the challenge is never delivered because if it sounds hard and hopeless it is painfully harder to practice because that moment is intimately fearful.
Compassion is not a nice sentiment, a condescending emotion. It comes to a death grip with the forces that assail mankind. It never lets go and transcends deaths of individuals. It has no ambivalence, no unfinished business, tainted corrupting compromise, no personal triumph or need for pride or security. It is an awesome power people shy away from more than from nuclear weapons or murder. But in our sad and silly race where the vast majority in their hearts values it most of all, and simple common things, somehow it is made rare and heroic, invisible and beyond comprehension. And it is none of those things at all. Terrorism and fanaticism are the false shadow of an unpracticed human destiny.

[htuttle]

7. Dear Mr. Pipes,

I'm sorry to hear about your impacted brain. I understand that treatment for that may be available soon. It must be very dark in there!

[The Night Owl]

9. Check out Pipes' email address.

Pipes is an AOL user... More proof that Pipes is a tool.