Theos-Talk Archives (October 2002 Message tt00108)

Any man who could be that forbearing is a saint. Maybe he was put 
there to set an example for all of us. It is not reasonable to 
expect that there will ever be a whole community of saints, but 
perhaps there can be a community inspired by those we have.

Yes, something is wrong, and the same thing happens all over the 
world. People who feel utterly hopeless and have given up on life 
sometimes choose to take their own lives. What is not well known 
outside the mental health professional community (I studied for a 
career in that area one time) is that suicide and homicide are 
twins. Some New Age types take the position that people have the 
right to commit suicide, and why should we care, lah de dah. Well, 
the reason we should cafe, if we don't give a damn avbout the 
suicidal person, is that he might plan to take some of the rest of us 
with him. The difference between the Middle East and the rest of the 
world is that in the Mideast they encourage people to commit suicide 
and take others with them on the way out the door, whereas in most 
places an effort is made to work with the suicidal person and 
encourage him to live, or at least to go out alone. The real 
scoundrels here are the people who are manipulating the bombers. 
Regrettably not all the fault in that regard lies on just one side of 
the line of division. In Palestine, hopelessness is not just a 
perception of depressed individuals, but a reality which has been 
manufactured by politicians for their own cynical ends. As long as 
that continues, the problems will continue.

--- In theos-talk@y..., Mic Forster <micforster@y...> wrote:
> 
> --- Steve Stubbs <stevestubbs@y...> wrote:
> > 
> > Let us hope I am wrong, Let us hope this man
> > represents a silent but 
> > significant body of opinion, and that there uill
> > eventually be peace 
> > and justice at last.
> > 
> 
> 
> Steve,
> I watched a very good doco on this whole Middle East
> mess a few weeks ago and I am happy to say that you
> are wrong. There was one Israeli gentleman whom
> dissented against the prevailing orthodoxy. His
> daughter was innocently killed in a suicide attack and
> instead of seeking revenge he asked what would drive a
> human being to do such a thing. For a person to
> comtemplate killing himself and tens of other people
> something must seriously be wrong. It would be wise if
> the rest of the Israeli nation took heed of this man's
> sentiments.
> 
> regards,
> mic
> 
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