mistake

I was sprawled on my couch last night, channel hopping as is my wont after 11PM when my wife is usually asleep and I am sick and tired of the computer. I surfed onto the CBC news channel. I listen to CBC radio occasionally but hardly ever watch CBC TV - though they do have the odd interesting documentary sandwiched between David "Have You Hugged Any Trees Lately" Suzuki and Peter "Watch My Lips For Words Of Great Import" Mansbridge. There was an item on the news about the two Canadians kidnapped in Iraq. I don't want to deal with why anyone would want to go to Iraq or why anyone would be surprised that people get kidnapped in Iraq. I also don't want to deal with the smug Canadian dismissal of any effort to get Iraq back on its feet or the local champagne socialist pooh-pooing the Iraqi elections. Whatever. That's another argument. What I want to talk about is a the short clip of a friend of the victims who, when interviewed by the CBC reporter, said: "There must be some mistake! The people who kidnapped my friends must have made a mistake!!"

Do you understand what's going on here? What this person is saying, in effect is this: My friends hate the Americans as much as you do, good fellows! When you kidnap the American or the British infidel - now THAT I can understand, THAT is not a mistake! But kidnapping these peace loving, America hating Canadians - THAT is a mistake. So just please return them to safety and go on kidnapping those WHO DESERVE to be kidnapped!

This is the refuge of all appeasers: I am your friend!! I want to help you!! I want to negotiate with you!! I want to understand your grievance!! UNLIKE ALL THOSE OTHERS - they want to fight you, but not me! This has never worked and will never work. Even old Osama doesn't distinguish between and betwixt the Canadian infidel and the American infidel or even the Spanish infidel. Thinking that being the nice, cozy, indulgent Canadians will protect us is folly. And it's also arrogant. It's no mistake, buddy. You have no business thinking that "the others" deserve to be kidnapped more than these two Canadian do-gooders.