Solablog

In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, intelligence

is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from the cares of office.

~ Ambrose Bierce

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"When I wake from dreaming, it's then I'm most alive."

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Location: Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States


Email: FoeHammer61 [at] yahoo.com

Friday, July 08, 2005

Was London Evented?

One of my major frustrations since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the USA is the use of the word "events" to describe what happened. It's now beginning to happen with the London attacks which, so far, have resulted in 50 dead and several hundred wounded. Although one can argue it is technically accurate because the murder of 3,000 in the USA or 50+ in London can be generally described as "Something that takes place; an occurrence. . . A significant occurrence or happening. . . A social gathering or activity". Well, the last one might be a stretch, but maybe rescue workers looking for body parts at Ground Zero or in London's Underground could be considered a social activity.

The problem with describing America's 9/11 or London's 7/7 as "events" is that it strips them of any moral context. It would be like describing the Nazi death camps as temporary communal housing facilities - technically true but it ignores what the Nazis did to millions of innocents. (If you don't like Nazi analogies: it would be like calling drug smuggling an import/export business.) Likewise, calling these terrorist attacks "events" puts them in the same catagory as a family reunion, a football game or an ice cream social. America, Bali, Madrid and London were not "evented". They were attacked. Let's call it what it really is.