- 13 May 2003 15:02
#10910
As a right of centre right poster, with the stereotypical ideas of pro-death penalty, anti-abortion, pro-globalisaation, pro-govt regulation, anti-social welfare and pro-immigration, my blood is probably way too blue for most of the posters here.
That said (and yes, I do regard myself as bordering on the far right), most people don't actually have an idea what the 'far right' is.
Pim Fortyn, a Dutch politician, was reviled as being a 'far right' man and ' a neo-Nazi'. This despite the fact that he was gay, openly in support of gay rights, and pro-immigration, wanting more rights for non-Arab foreigners. In Holland, Arabic people have caused enough trouble to justify some form of screening of any potential Arab immigrants. Fortyn was shot by a left wing environmentalist from a group with a mostly communist ideology.
The far right also has a lot of support in parts of Europe. Britain, France, Austria, Holland all have right wing Govts (Tony Blair is no more a socialist that I am a gorilla). If you think 'far right' is a euphemism for racist, skinheaded, beer drinking louts with a Hitler tatoo on their arms, then you're fairly wrong. Even in Nazi germany, the thugs were stamped out before the real evils of the Holocaust got started.
Now that I mention the dreaded H-word, let's discuss it in a bit more detail. (Maybe I am that intelligent right winger somebody mentioned). The Holocaust refers to the Nazi genocide carried out during the time of WW2. 6 million Jews died in that time period. 10 million non-Jews were also killed. These include gays, homeless people, unemployed, elderly, dissenters, single parents etc etc. For the time, the Holocaust symbolised one of the most brutal acts of sustained depravity in human history.
This depravity could have spurred efforts to prevent such future acts. The UN was created, the IMF and World bank were established. As The Economist put it, at Bretton Woods, the most violent period in human history was settled by the Allies, who sought to create a new world order. Sadly, that world order seems to have favoured Europe and America over the rest of the world. The UN, WB and IMF are mostly extentions of the US govt. While globalisation is a force for great good, it has been uncontrolled, so creating an ever expanding sphere of influence that centres on Washington.
Washington can now, effectively, seal the fate of an entire country, as in the case of forcing the Irish Govt to break our constitution not once, but twice, over arms smuggling by America. Yemen paid a massive price, due to lost aid from the IMF. THis withdrawal of aid was at the behest of Washington, in return for Yemen's insulting behaviour in standing up for their rights and not becoming a puppet of America. Saudi Arabia went that way, into dictatorship, corporate prostitution and effentually, the excuse that the fanatics needed to carry out the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington. (and PA, let's not forget that one in the rush to give CNN higher ratings with simple imagery)
In this new world order, America's interests are seen as being good enough for the rest of the world. This is one of the reasons why Israel is left to gleefully dictate terms to the Arabs. President Bush is now suggesting that Iraq enters a free trade area with America. This could be very good, as globalisation of resources and trade would help eradicate poverty in Iraq. No other option exists for dragging the third world out of the gutter. In that regard, globalisation is a good thing. Now, however, it is on American terms that the world enters a period of globalisation.
One wonders just how much power the US govt really has over it's big business. Recent revelations (allegations? media hysteria?) about the oil industry suggest that Washington may not be in a postiion. to control such companies. Moral bankruptcy is not just the preserve of the oil industry. Other than Enron and the other usual suspects, Wal-Mart are questionable in certain key areas.
Let's look at censorship, the bane of free-speech supporters. Wal-Mart influences much of the US population. As the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart can, effectively, halt the spread of a particualr ideology, as seen by their recent banning of .... ahem, men's magazines. Playboyesque paperwork today, socialist manifestos tomorrow???
Let's take the rant back to knowledge. Censorship of ideologies is not just an option for retailers. The media, schools, governments; all seem to buy into this image of America as a supreme nation, capable of no wrong. Anybody who questions America is seen as a traitor, or a communist/ al-qaeda supporter. For whatever reason, this influence is becoming increasingly pervasive.
So, we don't just have a situation where America thinks one way, but where the world agrees with America. Hence the acceptance of the Holocaust as a Jewish event. The Holocaust could have united the world, in disgust at the evils of Nazism. Instead, it's used to justify war in the Mid-East.
Now, some people are going to say that israel has the right to own land that it owned thousands of years ago. The Jews held this land before the Arabs, even if they had to wait almost 2,000 years to get this land back. Well..... by that logic, Canada, Alaska, Pennsylvania, Maine, Ohio, New York and Conneticut are Irish, as they were populated by the Celts. England was colonised by the Celts, as was north-western Russia. The Scotti, a Celtic clan, build the pyramids of Egypt, and the cities of Northern Italy, Switzerland, Fraqnce and Germany. How many Americans would hand the land New York stands on back to it's original Celtic owners???
How many Americans would hand back New York to the Celts if the Celts were bombing American cities? How many Celts would be prepared to lsiten to America if America had a nuclear superpower in its back pocket, ready to bully any oppostion into submission?
Neither the Holocaust or the Mid-East are as clear cut as much of the American media would have us think. Nor is the right wing as 'evil' as some people think. In extremus, the ultra right and the hard left (neo-Nazis and Stalinist communists) are both fanatics.
Ironically, the headline news in Ireland this morning is that the British Govt, a bastion of decency (ostensibly), hired 'Stakeknife', one of the IRA's most bloody killers, as an informant. Stakeknife was allowed to kill certain people, just to protect him in his role as an informant. Methinks the British were playing at God, deciding who lived and died. It's not just the fanatics who have a bloody history.
That said (and yes, I do regard myself as bordering on the far right), most people don't actually have an idea what the 'far right' is.
Pim Fortyn, a Dutch politician, was reviled as being a 'far right' man and ' a neo-Nazi'. This despite the fact that he was gay, openly in support of gay rights, and pro-immigration, wanting more rights for non-Arab foreigners. In Holland, Arabic people have caused enough trouble to justify some form of screening of any potential Arab immigrants. Fortyn was shot by a left wing environmentalist from a group with a mostly communist ideology.
The far right also has a lot of support in parts of Europe. Britain, France, Austria, Holland all have right wing Govts (Tony Blair is no more a socialist that I am a gorilla). If you think 'far right' is a euphemism for racist, skinheaded, beer drinking louts with a Hitler tatoo on their arms, then you're fairly wrong. Even in Nazi germany, the thugs were stamped out before the real evils of the Holocaust got started.
Now that I mention the dreaded H-word, let's discuss it in a bit more detail. (Maybe I am that intelligent right winger somebody mentioned). The Holocaust refers to the Nazi genocide carried out during the time of WW2. 6 million Jews died in that time period. 10 million non-Jews were also killed. These include gays, homeless people, unemployed, elderly, dissenters, single parents etc etc. For the time, the Holocaust symbolised one of the most brutal acts of sustained depravity in human history.
This depravity could have spurred efforts to prevent such future acts. The UN was created, the IMF and World bank were established. As The Economist put it, at Bretton Woods, the most violent period in human history was settled by the Allies, who sought to create a new world order. Sadly, that world order seems to have favoured Europe and America over the rest of the world. The UN, WB and IMF are mostly extentions of the US govt. While globalisation is a force for great good, it has been uncontrolled, so creating an ever expanding sphere of influence that centres on Washington.
Washington can now, effectively, seal the fate of an entire country, as in the case of forcing the Irish Govt to break our constitution not once, but twice, over arms smuggling by America. Yemen paid a massive price, due to lost aid from the IMF. THis withdrawal of aid was at the behest of Washington, in return for Yemen's insulting behaviour in standing up for their rights and not becoming a puppet of America. Saudi Arabia went that way, into dictatorship, corporate prostitution and effentually, the excuse that the fanatics needed to carry out the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington. (and PA, let's not forget that one in the rush to give CNN higher ratings with simple imagery)
In this new world order, America's interests are seen as being good enough for the rest of the world. This is one of the reasons why Israel is left to gleefully dictate terms to the Arabs. President Bush is now suggesting that Iraq enters a free trade area with America. This could be very good, as globalisation of resources and trade would help eradicate poverty in Iraq. No other option exists for dragging the third world out of the gutter. In that regard, globalisation is a good thing. Now, however, it is on American terms that the world enters a period of globalisation.
One wonders just how much power the US govt really has over it's big business. Recent revelations (allegations? media hysteria?) about the oil industry suggest that Washington may not be in a postiion. to control such companies. Moral bankruptcy is not just the preserve of the oil industry. Other than Enron and the other usual suspects, Wal-Mart are questionable in certain key areas.
Let's look at censorship, the bane of free-speech supporters. Wal-Mart influences much of the US population. As the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart can, effectively, halt the spread of a particualr ideology, as seen by their recent banning of .... ahem, men's magazines. Playboyesque paperwork today, socialist manifestos tomorrow???
Let's take the rant back to knowledge. Censorship of ideologies is not just an option for retailers. The media, schools, governments; all seem to buy into this image of America as a supreme nation, capable of no wrong. Anybody who questions America is seen as a traitor, or a communist/ al-qaeda supporter. For whatever reason, this influence is becoming increasingly pervasive.
So, we don't just have a situation where America thinks one way, but where the world agrees with America. Hence the acceptance of the Holocaust as a Jewish event. The Holocaust could have united the world, in disgust at the evils of Nazism. Instead, it's used to justify war in the Mid-East.
Now, some people are going to say that israel has the right to own land that it owned thousands of years ago. The Jews held this land before the Arabs, even if they had to wait almost 2,000 years to get this land back. Well..... by that logic, Canada, Alaska, Pennsylvania, Maine, Ohio, New York and Conneticut are Irish, as they were populated by the Celts. England was colonised by the Celts, as was north-western Russia. The Scotti, a Celtic clan, build the pyramids of Egypt, and the cities of Northern Italy, Switzerland, Fraqnce and Germany. How many Americans would hand the land New York stands on back to it's original Celtic owners???
How many Americans would hand back New York to the Celts if the Celts were bombing American cities? How many Celts would be prepared to lsiten to America if America had a nuclear superpower in its back pocket, ready to bully any oppostion into submission?
Neither the Holocaust or the Mid-East are as clear cut as much of the American media would have us think. Nor is the right wing as 'evil' as some people think. In extremus, the ultra right and the hard left (neo-Nazis and Stalinist communists) are both fanatics.
Ironically, the headline news in Ireland this morning is that the British Govt, a bastion of decency (ostensibly), hired 'Stakeknife', one of the IRA's most bloody killers, as an informant. Stakeknife was allowed to kill certain people, just to protect him in his role as an informant. Methinks the British were playing at God, deciding who lived and died. It's not just the fanatics who have a bloody history.
- By ingliz
- By Potemkin
- By Puffer Fish