Michelle Malkin did that MM thing today, posting a series of photos and YouTube videos demonstrating the depth of the depravity sponsored by the government of Iran against its own people. Horrible stuff, completely indefensible but not really surprising to anyone who’s been paying attention at home. But then she went a bit further - she challenged the press to show some outrage, asked the “left” to make denunciations and - this was the truly despicable part - waved the bloody bed sheet of Abu Ghraib.
Which she really oughtn’t have done: Abu Ghraib belongs to the anti-war left, it is the defining moment wherein the moral high ground shifted, where they - up until that moment abiding darkly in the stilt puppet wilderness - walked gratefully into the light of public approbation. It was the instant when the theretofore despicable “sheeple” who had supported Bu$hCheney’s Imperialist War for Oil suddenly opened their eyes to the possibility of their eventual transformation into the Inviolable Will of the People as Expressed in 2006.
A couple of ten years ago a Virginia congressman was declared in one of the local fish wrappers to be the dumbest member of the House of Representatives. Inadvertently proving the point, he held a press conference to inform an otherwise slumberous electorate that it wasn’t true at all - he was not the dumbest congressman in the House, though he declined to nominate someone more qualified for the title.
In the real world, people would learn a lesson from such silliness, but this is the blogosphere, where no challenge must be left unanswered. Much more easy, I should have thought, to wave it away entirely. Less easy still but well within the realm of propriety to acknowledge the point - awful really, they shouldn’t have done it, tsk, tsk. No reason to go to war though.
Which, you know: Malkin hadn’t advocated war, but best to get it on the table. Holding the moral high ground means most of all declining to take any action which, though it might solve a terrible problem could result in eventual complaints of imperfection in execution. Only those who attempt nothing can entirely avoid making a mistake.
Booman followed that course, to his credit, though I disagree with him nearly everywhere else. He avoids the tendency to “yes, but.” Even if he can’t quite stop from blaming US policy for the Iranian crackdown.
Not everyone can contain themselves.
Others can’t wait to get by the “yes, awful” part to get to the “but” bit. Both Maha from the Mahablog and Larisa Alexandrovna from At-Largely make the transparently intentional “mistake” of conflating the actions of the Abu Ghraib criminals - thugs who were ostensibly agents of the state but acting against the state’s interests, in contrast with the state’s orders and who were subsequently punished by the full weight of the state’s power - with the state sponsored actions of thuggish Iranian police in the service of a thuggish regime: A positionally gratifying but soul destroying form of moral equivalence. Cernig goes on to question the provenance of the photographic evidence. Couldn’t it have been forged?
This is discreditable.
It should have been easy for the left, they could have either ignored Malkin entirely or even deprecatingly agreed: Awful, what the Iranian regime has done, indefensible. Even if it doesn’t add up to a casus belli. Which, although you didn’t mention Michelle, we all assume is what you’re going after. You war mongering pig.
Too easy, I guess. We cannot agree on even this, that evil is evil, end-period-dot.
No: Even here we must grapple with ourselves.
It’s come to this.
17 responses so far ↓
1
Cernig
// Jun 24, 2007 at 7:22 pm
I didn’t question the provenance of anything and certainly didn’t say the pics could be forgeries.
Here’s what I wrote, as a short update to a long earlier report, for those too lazy to click through:
And a commenter elsewhere brings up an intersting one - in the pics, the thugs’ shirts say “Police” in English, not in Farsi. Is that standard in Iran, anyone know?
Well, does anyone? The commenter in question, by the way, was over at The Moderate Voice blog.
If putting words in my mouth is the best strawman you can come up with, then you’ve hit desperation stage.
Regards, Cernig
2
Danger
// Jun 24, 2007 at 7:36 pm
It is simply, graphically… competely accurately called “blind hatred”
So filled with hate of the current administration and any war, whatever the reason, that they are woefully blind to anything inhuman. Blind hatred couldn’t have a clearer definition. And when they stumble over the furniture in their self induced darkness who will they blame? Who indeed?
Kutos Malkin!
3
Prowler Skippy
// Jun 24, 2007 at 8:33 pm
When studying history, you often come upon events that provoke disbelief. “How did they let this happen?”, “how were they so naive?”, and/or “what if?” are often questions that one can ask.
Conflict has been and will be a human condition. It is fanciful and fun to think of a world free from conflict, but it is not rational nor mature.
There is evil and there is good. One will fight the other. One will win if the other refuses to confront the other.
The option we do not have is not to confront evil. When we do, we end up with such things as Auschwitz, Rape of Nanking, Poland 1939, Uganda…the list goes on.
For those who believe that Iran is not an evil state, then take a stand. Send you mother to live there. Send your sister to live there. Send your child to live there. We would all be impressed by your courage. It often amazes me how some are so quick to decry the country that comforts themselves and their family, but fail to decry human rights violations in other countries.
Even when it is so absolutely, positively…obvious.
I’m humbled. Our country’s citizens seem to have a lack of moral clarity. I wonder if they would be so quick to challenge the polices of their country if they lived in Iran, as they do here in our wonderful, free, and good country.
Michelle Malkin was trying to make a point, and I believe most on the left missed it. It’s sad that some people can not just say, “yes, how aweful, someone should oppose it.” Instead, they say, “how aweful, but I bet we caused it.”
4
Papa Ray
// Jun 24, 2007 at 8:58 pm
Yep, it has come to this. But “this” is just the first of many acts in this terrible play. You want to see a deeping, a terrible crack widening in these dis-United States?
Just wait a few months. That is assuming that this immigration bill is killed, if it is not, then you won’t have to wait at all.
But assuming it is killed, the next act will be between now and the elections, most likely just before. That is when the politeness and the civil tongues will cease and the vile uglyness will emerge on all sides.
Then for the highlight of that act, if by some miracle the Repubs win, the liberal left in this Nation are going to go absolutly insane, and insane and terrible things will happen. The Congress of these United States will not be able to accomplish even the smallest thing for it’s people. The other government agencies will all explode from within against each other and themselves.
The war within will truly explode.
If the Democrats win, you will be able to hear the frightned hush settle over this Nation, even over the wildly manical hooping and hollering of the left.
Even the quite sigh from across the oceans from other countries will be ones of mixed fears and hopes, and of apprehension.
This will set the stage for the next act where it will be a race between the invasion from the poor countries and the invasion from the countries that wish to destroy the United States.
God help us all.
Papa Ray
West Texas
USA
5
mishu
// Jun 24, 2007 at 9:10 pm
Nice try but Abu Graib doesn’t hold a candle to what Saddam did.
Check the video here. You’ll see guys getting hands cut off, arms broken, guys forced to hold grenades as a method of execution. It hardly compares to guys made to play naked dogpile.
6
lex
// Jun 24, 2007 at 9:30 pm
Regrets Cernig, I somehow misunderstood you. Something about your labeling Malkin as a “human rights troll” led me to believe you were discounting all that she had done in that post - the bit about ignoring America’s “human rights abuses” for example, as contrasted to what she did show in Iran - because they’re so similar - led me to believe you were engaging in a kind of point by point refutation not merely of her evidence, but of her actual standing to present it. Because of all her neo-con war talk, that you found there between the lines of what she actually wrote.
From that to inferring that you were questioning the provenance of her evidence was no very great leap.
Didn’t realize that at the end of all that demonizing, you were asking a question on background. Just, you know: Curious.
My bad.
7
Chap
// Jun 24, 2007 at 10:11 pm
Is that the proprietor, or Doug Piranha commenting? Don’t you see the equivalence? We’re worse! Original sin that cannot be cleansed and must remain above the fold Page One because that’s just what we are–never mind that one is aberration while the other is state policy. Otherwise the neocons win in getting the war they want because they think war is fun and that’s the only reason to talk about this!
– — –
Here. “provenance standing.” Better? Although the previous still works okay.
A fascinating comment (to a post cited by Cernig) says:
You know, it sucks when I find truth from a person I don’t like, or find truth in a place where I otherwise don’t agree. Truth, however, becomes no less true in such circumstances.
Some of the posts to which you linked provide an excellent reminder for me to try to accept truth even when it sucks. There but for the grace of God, et cetera.
8
Kris, in New England
// Jun 25, 2007 at 6:17 am
But of course America is to blame for all that is going wrong in Iran; we are to blame for all the ills of the world. Don’t you all see that?!
Please - Iran is imploding from the inside, collapsing from its own weight. They can use America as their favorite whipping post all they want, it won’t change the truth that they are the most repressive government on the planet. Period. This stuff has likely been going on for decades, it’s just so much easier to connect it to Bush right now, that’s why it’s suddenly seeing the light of day.
9
Babs
// Jun 25, 2007 at 6:57 am
Why do they have “Police” written in English on their uniforms? One would think that the Iranian gov’t would not want to associate any part of their regieme with western writing. Having never been to Iran, I wonder how pervasive English is in their signs,etc.
As to the rest of Mr. Cernig’s diatribe, talk about straw men. So, Iran holds no threat to the U.S.? Tell it to the 200+ American servicemen in Iraq that have lost their lives to Iranian bombs…(I guess they had it coming to them because we’ve been messing where we shouldn’t be a messing)
I actually read his post several times. I think we just have a different set of problem solving criteria. His seems to be; let Iran continue to drag people through the streets and jail tens of thousands, arm militias, call for the destruction of the only free state in the Middle East, and abet the killing of innocents in a number of countries because… Anything the U.S. does to stop it will only make it worse.
My opinion is very different from that and, I predict that WHEN the nuclear exchange goes off in the Middle East, the Mr. Cernig’s of the West will blame that on the U.S. as well. After all, DARFUR, TIBET, KASHMIR! We the west, are complicit in our silence and guilty in our actions…
10 The Thunder Run // Jun 25, 2007 at 7:55 am
Web Reconnaissance for 06/25/2007…
A short recon of what?Ç‚Äôs out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day…so check back often….
11
SeniorD
// Jun 25, 2007 at 10:52 am
Cap’n
One lesson I tried to instill in my sailors was:
‘Put brain in gear before mouth in motion’
Simple advice for most individuals. Unfortunately, the radical left in this country are not like most. They exist in a world where emotion rules and exists to justify their stand.
Ad hominem attacks make their world go ’round.
‘S a pity it is.
12
P-3W
// Jun 25, 2007 at 2:36 pm
What? You mean just because I can scream and rant and really, really WANT to blame Bush/America/anyone-I-disagree with, that doesn’t make it so??
/sarc off
Who’d a thunk it? Like I said in that mess we got into before, don’t they teach reason and logic in schools any more? What happened to debate clubs? When emotion is your only contribution to a discussion, then you have lost before you have begun. Emotion won’t win you anything, except a headache.
Agree, SeniorD. Engaging brain before opening mouth would help a lot.
13
Therapist1
// Jun 25, 2007 at 3:29 pm
The Leftists do have a conscience, I know they do because I work with quite a few. However most talk and talk and talk but DO nothing!! AI will sit and protest as someone gets executed in front of them, but they will not be willing to risk their own lives and stop it. One of the comments at Larisa Alexandrovna’s site posted that AI would protest in front of the U.N tomorrow. If they truly wanted to make a difference and not just be seen, go to Iran and protest, but we all know what will happen to them.
14
Kris, in New England
// Jun 25, 2007 at 4:12 pm
P3W: wow, you’ve been on some really righteous rants lately - keep it up! You go with your bad self and show them what it’s all about!!!
15
P-3W
// Jun 25, 2007 at 7:13 pm
Shucks, Kris. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Probably means I need to get more sleep and be less cranky.
Though, it is a (little) fun to get a good rant going, I must admit. Nah, most likely is I’ve been hanging around too many new college graduates who make my brain hurt with their cluelessness. Can’t snark at them too much — might make them cry.
It’s nice hanging out with the grown-ups for a change. Mostly. Sort of?
Oh, well.
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