Girt by sea
This a wake up call to all Australians, and if there is any comfort than can be drawn from it (and there not much of that at all), is that this devastating event didn't occur on our own home soil.
However it might not be long before some loony group gets the idea to do something similar on our native soil. We have been blessed with one of the most peaceful (but new) nations on earth; shychaser says it all, welcome to the REAL world! Other nations live with potential horror every day.
For those you who wish to condemn Moslems simply for that, then let me point out to you the red neck racist bigotry of some of extremist Christian groups think the same way, and given the opportunity, would do the same thing, to other groups. Halfwit non-educated dipsticks are their common features. They're all the blooody same! If you want to be so simplistic about it, then lets call is the rot of religion, that caused this, not just one faith.
So in my pathetic opinion what is it that causes these problems? Corruption and Education, the former being too much, and the latter being insufficient.
Dr. Mahatir, the PM of Malaysia recently summed it up by saying that it was the “greedy” nations that have caused many of these problems. Immediately you would think that he is referring to countries like the US and UK. Maybe he was, but think about this; the so called “greedy” nations are those that are run by despotic rulers, who are more interested in maintaining the Status quo of their incumbent power dispensing favour and riches upon those that support their regimes. They have in the process ignored their poorest masses, which is the breeding ground for discontent, and what better place to breed religious intolerance.
Which countries have had these traits the most? Indonesia and the Philippines! Where are most of these problems, in the SE Asia region? Ditto! Who has supported these regimes for so long? US, UK, and Australia, directly or indirectly, usually in the interests of trade.
Ultimately we have acquiesced to the past injustices on these people who have been deprived of the right to live in dignity and now the chickens are coming home to roost. It’s the same in the US. Our policies, and that of the US must change in order to prevent this from occurring again.
By going in and blowing up this group and that group is simply reactionary, and I accept that it has a lot to do with grief and anger in the hopelessness of the current situation, by all means vent, but also consider the long term consequences of what you are saying.
Extreme Islam knows one thing. Educate the people. Educate them in only one way, without question, and it works. You take a mass of people with no hope, no future, and you offer them something. Of course they will take it, and they will embrace it. Because they know no other way. The West has yet to learn this lesson. This is the weapon of choice by the extremists, and it should be the weapon of choice of the Western World. It has taken the extremists a generation or two to build up the fervour for this, and it will take the same for other nations to counter such fervour. This and poverty are the reasons we have such problems growing in the world. The extremists want us to react with force. It will only justify their cause further. It’s time for the West to acknowledge the differences and change strategy and policy in dealing with these countries. Just a few thoughts on this.
My condolences to my fellow Australians. May they find peace.