August 9, 2006
by Daithí Mac Lochlainn
Suffice it to say, it's an uncomfortable summer here in New York. My own neighborhood was among those without electricity for a greater part of last week.
However, the plight of the people of Gaza and Lebanon makes complaining awkward, difficult, and for me, even obscene.
I still have plenty of fresh water, thank God, and am resourceful enough to find an air-conditioned pub when necessary.
However, one cannot help but be irked by a mayor who said nothing to my confused neighbors for three or four days, until he deemed it worthy to make the trip all the way across the East River for a photo opportunity.
Ironically, while neglecting the basic needs of New Yorkers, and remaining oblivious to the very existence of four out of five Boroughs, New York City Hall and local municipal and state politicians have a most pronounced foreign policy, addressing every global crisis from Tibet to Ireland, and from Cuba to Taiwan.
So, I wasn't too surprised when I heard one of these blowhards on the radio last night instructing us that "we stand with Israel, because we know what terrorism is."
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I was at the World Trade Center at 8:46 am on September 11, 2001. I don't need a reminder from anyone and certainly don't require instruction from this jackass.
Indeed, when I see the images coming from Beirut, I can still hear the sirens and even smell the jet fuel.
What I see in those photographs doesn't look any less like terrorism just because it was overtly perpetrated by the government of a nation-state.
Obviously, the current crisis is being cheapened and exploited by those in power, just as the atrocities perpetrated against Downtown Manhattan were.
Again, the same simplistic and puerile Manichean formula is offered, "Either you're with us or with the terrorists".
Today, I stand with the people of Lebanon, because unlike the elected buffoon in last night's radio broadcast, I really do know what terrorism is!
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Daithí Mac Lochlainn [send him email] is a researcher, journalist, conceptual artist, community activist and shameless agitator. Find all of his writings at http://gaelicstarover.blogspot.com/
