From: J. R. Molloy (jr@shasta.com)
Date: Wed Jan 02 2002 - 06:46:09 MST
From: "Randall Randall" <wolfkin@freedomspace.net>
> If you continue to find it silly to ponder why bad things happen to you, you
> not only will be taken by surprise every time, but won't understand how to
> change your behavior to make such things less likely.
That sounds like excellent advice...
for the Taliban and Al Quaida,
since much worse things have happened to them than to the US.
> It seems to me to be
> foolish to ignore the reason a person would take "a sacred vow to kill you",
It would be even more foolish to ponder the reason a person would "take a
sacred vow to kill you" instead of doing something about it. Those who sit
around speculating about the motives of suicidal/homicidal maniacs might feel
very wise in their last moments of life before being killed, but those who
take action to defend themselves can feel even more wise because they have
saved their own lives. The more mature you are, the quicker you will
understand this and stop endlessly denying the reality that terrorists must
first be rendered harmless before it makes sense to psychoanalyze them.
> If there is only one, that tactic may work, but we
> already know that there is a whole movement.
Ha ha ha ha... very funny.
"a whole movement" should read "a hole movement" since the terrorists have
been confined to holes in the ground. Some "movement"!
> In the long term, there are
> only two ways not to lose: modify one's behavior so as not to provide even
> remotely valid reasons for joining said movement, or kill everyone who may
> have sympathy for those who are martyred for said movement.
>
> Which one seems better to you?
You're wrong. There are three ways to win. The third way is to do exactly what
the US has done, namely, gain the support of the entire civilized world in the
war against terrorism. Only ignorant and obstinate ideologues will continue to
take the side of the terrorists.
--- --- --- --- ---
Useless hypotheses, etc.:
consciousness, phlogiston, philosophy, vitalism, mind, free will, qualia,
analog computing, cultural relativism, GAC, Cyc, Eliza, cryonics, individual
uniqueness, ego, human values, scientific relinquishment, malevolent AI,
non-sensory experience, SETI
We move into a better future in proportion as science displaces superstition.
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