I understand the urge to be sympathetic. I understand that people have the basic drive to be empathetic with victims of senseless violence.
So I know how callous this is going to sound.
For a while now, I have been disgusted by the instant memorials that pop up at the scenes of the crimes. The flowers, teddy bears, candles and emotional notes that people leave actually sicken me.
I don’t mean that to say that the people who were victimized deserve less – because they should be honored and remembered but in my opinion, these insta-memorials are not to honor the victims, they are really to allow the people who participate in them to become victims by proxy, to somehow personalize the tragedy for them as a way to explain what they are feeling.
These memorials actually dishonor and trivialize the victims because the symbolize that society has decided that they are acceptable collateral damage in a war we are afraid to admit exists.
The rationalization starts as soon as the act is committed – we can’t ascribe this to any particular religion, the person is just insane.
Well, all evil is not madness.
It is my belief that a rational human being does feel the need to do violence, to meet force with force to end the threat. It is the willful suppression of the “fight” part of the “fight or flight” natural human instinct because political correctness tells us that aggression is bad and violence is never the answer.
Well, history has proven time and time again that violence is often the answer.
In the intro to the movie “Lone Survivor”, clips from the training of baby SEAL candidates are shown and something that one instructor said has stuck in my mind. Paraphrased, he said:
“Take all that pain, that cold, that fatigue you feel and turn it into righteous aggression! SEALs don’t quit!”
General Geroge S. Patton is reported to have said to his men that they must forget all the high minded rules of war that were written in the parlors of the moralizing politicians. He said that the enemy doesn’t care about our rules and he will fight according to his own rules (or absence of them). He said that the only way to win was to fight according to the enemy’s rules – or even dirtier.
In our own minds, we know this to be true. On the battlefield, holding true to
any rule that renders you defenseless or restricts your ability to mount an offensive will get you killed.
Somehow I doubt that an ISIS jihadi will praise you for your adherence to high moral standards after he cuts your head off.
Patton was right. War is about victory on the battlefield.
So called “evolved” Western societies seem to be in a race to their own doom. The Democrats so-called “terror report” is a perfect example. Combine that with the putative presidential candidate Hillary Clinton saying that we must “empathize” with our enemy, and idiotic Democratic representative saying that we owed al Qaeda an apology for waterboarding their people and here in America, every time a criminal uses a gun, the cries go out that law abiding citizens must give up their Second Amendment rights as a result.
The radical Islamist terrorists and their wanna-be proxies have defined that battlefield as our skies (9/11), our streets (Boston Marathon), our workplaces (Moore, Oklahoma), our shops (Lindt in Sydney) and our schools (the Taliban just attacked a school in Pakistan).
It is they who have brought this war to our living rooms.
Patton’s admonition to his men that “No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.” is clear – to protect civilization, there are times when men must act in uncivilized ways.
One must wonder when (or if) the civilized man will understand that the time has come to put down the flowers, stop building emotional memorials and pick up a weapon and start building stone bulwarks and set to defeating the uncivilized man.
My apologies if that offends some – but that is what I think.
The Rio Norte Line 
Hi!
I am glad someone else brings this up, ’cause I feel the same about this “communal wailing”. It is becomming a little bit like a mass-hysteria.
“…people who participate…become victims by proxy, …somehow personalize the tragedy for them as a way to explain what they are feeling.”
Not only this, it is an act of self-righteousness: Look all here, I care (“I” in very bold and capitalized letter). And also a little facebook-effect in 3-D, so to speak; an emotional happening in an impersonal world. More of a self-healing than sorry for the victim.
After all there are 1000s dying as innocent victims every day – one couldn’t stop mourning. It should be reserved for the people one really knew.
For my own perception, this phenomenon became an institution with the death of princess Di in the U.K. Or did it start earlier in this form.
Cheers
Reblogged this on A Conservative Christian Man.
http://thewolfhowlsatnight.wordpress.com/2014/12/16/just-a-question/
“The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun.”
There will always be evil looking for victims and opportunity to destroy.
Always.
Evil has no mercy and views weakness as opportunity.
John R. Lott’s years of study document how good people with firearms have stopped evil and saved good people.
During WWII, all of America understood this clearly. Afterwards, fewer and fewer understand as a result of their indoctrination by progressives.
The reality in Ferguson; Michael Brown was a robber, an assaulter, and was stopped by his next intended victim, a law enforcement officer responding to a call for help from another of Brown’s victims.
Yet, evil continues to lie and indoctrinate others in their lies.
I agree !!!
They’re even worse than Insta-Oatmeal !!!!
I had my son read your post in our History lesson. While this post contains historical tidbits, it also contains some political facts that he should be aware of since his dream is to become a SEAL. I find it very interesting to see what is happening in Germany and Italy; they (the liberals) reckon it’s Neo-Nazis…..I reckon it’s folks watchin their collective asses.
I am wary of these games. They sponsor my teenager. The reality is that he can neither become a true soldier nor a patriot in this manner. What is particularly disturbing is that they name this game Cod. Who in the hello names a game after a fish!!!!
Damn. My comment probably does not make a lick of sense to someone who does not read politics. I shall clarify and post links if I confuse….. I can remember where I was……I think 🙂
Might want to read this one to him as well: https://therionorteline.com/2012/01/14/pissed-off-or-pissed-on/
Thank you. He should be made aware that his employers (if they are libs) may very well persecute him…..for doing his damn job and protecting these ding-dong-dummy morons! When humans feel it is right to kill innocents, especially children, they deserve to be pissed upon. Period.
Utah,
Count me in with all who support you.
These people who need to show an outward example to others that THEY CARE are expressing
a sign that THEY ALSO ARE VICTIMS! Their life is a never-ending VICTIM STATUS! (They are called democrats).
I would rather show my condolences with a fifty dollar check to The Salvation Army.
EdwardS
Utah,
You have a way of summarizing the essence of your posts in a Sentence or two !! Thus :
“One must wonder when (or if) the civilized man will understand that the time has come to put down the flowers, stop building emotional memorials and pick up a weapon and start building stone bulwarks and set to defeating the uncivilized man.”
One of the features of the Insta-Memorials is that it serves to absolve the participants from any further action in relation to the horror committed. The “Memorial” is the extent of their involvement and substitutes for Action. In their minds they’ve “done something positive” and need to do no more….or even think about it much after that.
In many ways these “memorials” are a substitute for morality, as they leave the Condition materially unchanged and ready for the next victims to be maimed or killed.