Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Never gone

Come into the den, here just you and me.  Sit down little bear, I need to talk to you.  I would try another way but you seem to never want to listen.  But please hear me out.

I miss you.  The house doesn't seem much of a home without you in it.  I miss your laugh and your impetuousness.  I liked having you around to share meals, chores, and talk.  Even though, I hate to admit it, we haven't talked a lot lately.  I could make excuses, but I miss you, and that's all that needs to be said.

I'm not sure how to take the direction you want your life to go.  I can't say if it's good or bad.  I don't even know if it is.  It feels like you're making a mistake, but maybe that's just because you're not here, immediate and close, where if something goes wrong I can save you, fight for you, shield you from what happens.

Your place will never be gone.  I want you to know that.  You're always wanted.  Yes, there will be conditions, but that only has to do with both our health.  When it comes to my love, there is no conditions.  I love you little bear and I feel the need to scoop you up like you were a little girl again, take you away from whatever bad things are happening in your soul, and cuddle you to my chest, knowing that I have the teeth and strength yet to rend apart any threat to your well being.

But I can't.  And you don't want me to.  And again, I don't know if that's good or bad.  It feels bad because it's not what I would choose for you.  But it's your choice.  I hope you learn the lessons you so desperately want to learn.

I guess what I need to say is that freedom, the freedom we think is waiting just around the corner, is an illusion.  True freedom requires that we care little for the world around us.  And I can't see you doing that.  You love too hard, and you love fiercely.  And I am awed by this.

Please be safe.  I'll always be here when you need or want me.  Just ask.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

The insanity of 'war crimes.'

C'mon in and grab a snack.  I'm not eating, my stomach is a bit wonky.  Feel free to help yourselves though, I've got some yogurt pretzels.

So I was listening to The Current and the subject was Omar Khadar's return to Canada.  And one of the folks they interviewed was a member of the group that assaulted the compound that Omar was in when he was 15.  This member of the US military was very upset at Mr. Obama for sliding out Omar under cover of the weekend without a statement because, by his reckoning, Omar was a US prisoner who committed a war crime against the US and should be kept in a US institution.  So the host asked a couple of questions, and got the background to how this young man was detained.  The story essentially goes like this:

The military people came across this bunker and had identified it as an enemy compound.  How they came to that conclusion was not provided.  The US military then demanded the occupants of the compound come out.  They waited 45 minutes, during which time, although this detail is hazy, women and children were let out of the compound.  Because no one came out of the compound, the US military called in air strikes and blew the every loving fuck out of the building.  They zipped so much firepower into that building that the only person found alive in the building was Omar Khadar.  And when they did find him, he tossed a grenade, killing an American soldier, and then fired the pistol he had.  When he was out of ammo he was captured.

When this soldier was asked about Omar's status as a child, the response was very strange. 'If he was a child he could have left with the women and children.'  Therefore he's not a child.  So ... wait.  I'm not sure how this logic works.  He is defined as a child soldier, he is therefore responsible to self-declare?  Because ... children are known for logical and well planned thought.  Especially those that have been indoctrinated by a family that felt the Americans were Imperialistic Oppressors who were there to commit unwarranted acts of violence, so they should defend themselves against such.

Maybe I'm being naive here.  And that's totally possible, since I've never been a soldier nor participated in the activities of war.  But ... you just blew the living fuck out of his home.  If someone called air strikes against my home, killing everyone but me, and it was done by people I was told were there to commit acts of violence, I might defend myself with anything available as well.  And how does that qualify Omar Khadar as a war criminal?  Isn't it just actions of war?  And how the hell does someone become a war criminal when they are doing exactly what the accusing nation is doing?

And there are so many other questions.  I just don't understand this.  The guy defended himself from an invading army and, despite being underage, was subjected to torture and detention.  It sounds instead as if he is being a scapegoat for any and all aggressive actions taken against the US.  Bizarre.