Fear not. I have not given up on responding to the wildest of countries, my own. Fear not, I have not shied away from castigating institutionalised brutality and callousness.
Fear not.
Unfortunately, I am forced to open with escaped rapist Benny Sela. Media coverage of his escape and capture was blown out proportion, to say the least. But even the journalists who questioned the festivities that accompanied his capture and display, I believe, did injustice.
The most monstrous of all sexual offenders this country has ever known has been convicted and sentenced. Apparently the law might enable the state to keep him jailed after the 35 years of his original sentence have expired.
But this should be end of story.
The way I see it, the intense engagement in the affair of his escape by both media and police was driven by ego. Police couldn't help acting as though caught with their pants down, and the media could not help but cash in on their defenceless shame.
The capture of Benny Sela was not a triumph for police. It was their job. The rush of senior officers and a cabinet minister to the (I assume) humble Nahariya police station was ludicrous. The conduct of the detectives who presented Sela to the cameras like prized game is so abominable no words would describe it.
A monster he is, but an animal he is not. Benny Sela is a pitiful human being, controlled by unstoppable urges, maimed by a horrible childhood and guided by the appalling proficiency in rape, theft and fraud. Posing next to this person when handcuffed adds no glory to the poser or the photographer/cameraman. He should be locked behind bars forever. End of story.
The second heart-warming issue of today's meditation is Iran's Holocaust denial conference.
This country is becoming the most important object for Western attention. I do not pretend to be an expert, or even a novice, in Persian history or in Mideast Studies in general. But in my unprofessional opinion, this country resembles our very own Israel in more ways we'd care to admit.
The pictures and first-hand accounts I've heard from people who visited Iran relatively recently indicate that under the icy surface of Israel hatred and militancy-brimming leadership, there lives a vast public interested in a peaceful, liberal carefree life.
In terms of what we should make of the daily reports on Tehran's progressing nuclear program, Holocaust denial and shady deals at the backstage of the Middle East, it should all be taken as seriously as we possibly can.
But in terms of what this country is about, I think the story is entirely different. I'm intrigued, curious to know who Iranian life-lovers would like to see running their country. I'd like to think they are feeling helpless almost as some Israelis feel in the face of occupation.
Maybe the way to find out is to use the Internet as a platform for communication between individuals and establishing an alternative community that would undermine what we are indoctrinated to recognise as reality.
I'd like to look into this idea.
Fear not.
Unfortunately, I am forced to open with escaped rapist Benny Sela. Media coverage of his escape and capture was blown out proportion, to say the least. But even the journalists who questioned the festivities that accompanied his capture and display, I believe, did injustice.
The most monstrous of all sexual offenders this country has ever known has been convicted and sentenced. Apparently the law might enable the state to keep him jailed after the 35 years of his original sentence have expired.
But this should be end of story.
The way I see it, the intense engagement in the affair of his escape by both media and police was driven by ego. Police couldn't help acting as though caught with their pants down, and the media could not help but cash in on their defenceless shame.
The capture of Benny Sela was not a triumph for police. It was their job. The rush of senior officers and a cabinet minister to the (I assume) humble Nahariya police station was ludicrous. The conduct of the detectives who presented Sela to the cameras like prized game is so abominable no words would describe it.
A monster he is, but an animal he is not. Benny Sela is a pitiful human being, controlled by unstoppable urges, maimed by a horrible childhood and guided by the appalling proficiency in rape, theft and fraud. Posing next to this person when handcuffed adds no glory to the poser or the photographer/cameraman. He should be locked behind bars forever. End of story.
The second heart-warming issue of today's meditation is Iran's Holocaust denial conference.
This country is becoming the most important object for Western attention. I do not pretend to be an expert, or even a novice, in Persian history or in Mideast Studies in general. But in my unprofessional opinion, this country resembles our very own Israel in more ways we'd care to admit.
The pictures and first-hand accounts I've heard from people who visited Iran relatively recently indicate that under the icy surface of Israel hatred and militancy-brimming leadership, there lives a vast public interested in a peaceful, liberal carefree life.
In terms of what we should make of the daily reports on Tehran's progressing nuclear program, Holocaust denial and shady deals at the backstage of the Middle East, it should all be taken as seriously as we possibly can.
But in terms of what this country is about, I think the story is entirely different. I'm intrigued, curious to know who Iranian life-lovers would like to see running their country. I'd like to think they are feeling helpless almost as some Israelis feel in the face of occupation.
Maybe the way to find out is to use the Internet as a platform for communication between individuals and establishing an alternative community that would undermine what we are indoctrinated to recognise as reality.
I'd like to look into this idea.
posted by Orr at 9:50 am
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