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From: mokhtar@ubc-vision.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: The kidnapping of Duarte's daughter ( A Confession )
Message-ID: <1045@ubc-vision.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 18-Sep-85 00:15:43 EDT
Article-I.D.: ubc-visi.1045
Posted: Wed Sep 18 00:15:43 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 18-Sep-85 10:42:51 EDT
Sender: mokhtar@ubc-visi.UUCP
Organization: UBC Computational Vision Lab, Vancouver, B.C., Canada
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Subject: Re: The Kidnapping of Duarte's Daughter
  
>> The recent kidnapping of President (of El Salvador) Duarte's daughter,
>> presumably by the communist rebels, led me to wonder if the Left
>> would rise up with the same sense of outrage that it vented against
>> earlier right-wing death squads...
>> 
>> What about all of you lefties on the net?  Tell me Duarte deserved it.
>> I dare you.
>> -- 
>> Gene Mutschler

> Of course he deserved it, you running-dog lackey of the etc, etc...
> Er, seriously, Gene, how come you hold so-called "lefties" to a higher
> moral standard than your own political bedfellows?  Viz: Righties
> root for the right (forgiving their excesses); lefties root for
> the left (and ditto).  There are very few people on the net who
> condemn *everybody's* violence, which you, Gene, seem to find the
> only moral position (and a highly defensible one).  My own observation
> is that most of these are of the bleeding-heart liberal variety
> (which you'd call "lefties", I probably "righties", but who cares?)
> than of any other political persuasion.
> ken perlow  
   
Gene is cool because he makes it clear that as a "rightie", he need not be
worried about mundane, ordinary concerns such as morality and humanity. He
is smart enough to know that the true science of politics in its pure form
is not bogged down with what is moral and what is not. Being intelligent,
he knows very well whose side is the winning side. Why not face the facts!
  
Ken may be a "leftie" but he is no less intelligent. It's not fair to expect
the left to carry the burden of humanity if they are expected to exert any
influence. Isn't it enough that they haven't been swept into the sea yet?
Therefore, Ken smartly relieves himself of the unwanted burden and passes it
on to the "bleeding-heart liberal variety". He announces proudly "who cares?";
almost as if he is drawing some magical strength out of not caring. The kind
of strength he *knows* the "bleeding-heart liberal variety" does not have.
 
By now, some people may be inclined to think that the possibility exists that
I might belong to the "bleeding-heart liberal variety" club. I think that they
may actually be right! (What a shame,
since I seem to be a reasonably clever fellow!) Perhaps I am not wise enough,
experienced enough, clever enough yet! So please be patient with me. I am
trying to remedy the situation but you know, my biggest problem so far has 
been how to try to get rid of my soul since it does seem to get in the way 
every now and then. Any ideas from more successful people out there?
  
  Farzin Mokhtarian
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  
"A man who wishes to make a profession of goodness in everything must
 necessarily come to grief among so many who are not good. Therefore, it is
 necessary to learn how not to be good, and to use this knowledge and not
 use it, according to the necessity of the case."