http://bigpeace.com/babramson/2011/08/01/after-the-norway-massacre-the-nazis-are-not-in-europe-they-are-in-the-middle-east/#more-144888 After The Norway Massacre: The Nazis Are Not In Europe, They Are In The Middle East
Posted by Bruce Abramson Aug 1st 2011 at 3:34 am in Europe, Featured Story, Islam, Islamic extremism, Terrorism | Comments (58)
Anders Breivik provides a stark reminder of a not-too-distant past. The dream of a Europe purged of swarthy foreign elements may be history, but it is hardly ancient history. Far too many people alive today still bear the marks of that dream tattooed on their arms. Those of us committed to ensuring that no one will ever again have to live through what they experienced have embraced the simply rallying cry of “Never Again!”
And so, with the rubble still smoldering and the death count still ongoing, the international punditocracy rose to draw the parallels: Last week’s mass murderer was Germanic, xenophobic, paranoid, brutal, ruthless, remorseless, and right wing, just like…well, we needn’t go that far because, after all, haven’t Hitler analogies just been done to death? In fact, there are only two salient differences, they assure us: Today’s Eurosupremacists target Muslims rather than Jews; and they tipped their hand early enough for us to stop them. Never again, indeed.
But these facile analysts are armchair generals producing a plan for the last war. And like most armchair generals, they are likely to succeed: the world’s next genocidaire is unlikely to be Germanic, Scandinavian…or even Caucasian. “Never again” rings hollow if it means only “never again from Europe.” It must mean “never again from anywhere.” To give it meaning, we must first learn to distinguish between those who wish to repeat it and those whose evil is of a different sort entirely.
Anders Breivik is a mass murderer, an evil man of vile intentions, akin to other notorious criminals like Timothy McVeigh or Ted Kaczynski. He does not belong to the same class as Hitler, Stalin, or Mao—all consequential evil men of vile intentions. The difference between them lies not within the men themselves, but rather with the societies that surrounded them.
Every culture, every nation, and every faith, in every phase of its development, can produce evil men of vile intentions. In fact, if there is a cause about which you care passionately, a cause to which you devote your time and your money, a cause in which you feel a deep personal stake, rest assured that someone out there with passions equal to your own is willing to kill for it. Evil, unfortunately, has a way of transcending all.
Most cultures, most nations, and most faiths, under most circumstances, will not sustain and promote genocidaires. Genocide requires more than one evil man at its core; a genocide requires broad public support. The question is not which cultures can produce mass murderers; the question is in which cultures might a mass murderer develop a mass following.
Nothing about today’s Europe suggests that it embodies such a culture. Anders Breivik may motivate a small band of followers, but he is unlikely to tour the continent drawing cheering crowds. No, to find crowds eager to embrace the message of widespread violence, one must turn elsewhere—to groups like Hamas, Hizbollah, the Muslim Brotherhood, and al Qaeda. Anders Breivik is unlikely to ignite a mass movement. Hassan Nasrallah or Yusuf al Qaradawi have already done so.
Therein lies the key message to those girding to fight the next battle rather than the last one, those seeking to ensure that “Never Again” means “Never Again.” There are Nazis in the world today. Unlike their predecessors, very few of them are Germanic.
Topic: Looking for nazis in all the wrong places (Read 573 times)