Juh-eeeeeze Louise. . . .
Spend the day working and look what happens.
I am not going to jump into this battle of quotations--the waters at the deep end are clear enough; the shallow end of this swamp is a place I just don’t need to go.
That said, Semper Fidelis puts forth a well-reasoned argument.
To his point, collateral damage is the issue here, NOT genocide. To use them synonymously is riduculous; more so, to attempt to ground an argument on the shifting sands of semantics and non-contextual quotations is absurdly juvenile. :banghead:
So, let's try this. . . .
The quick analogy I:
Let’s pretend I’m the “genocider” [sic]. (Thanks, Mr. President.)
Genocide is what results when I embark on an intentional and willful pogrom of systematic extermination, of a specific and defined population, that results in your death because you are member of the targeted group. The rationale for the pogrom can be any number of things of my choosing, including but not limited to race, gender, culture, religion, hair color, type of ear lobe, Cubs v Sox fan, xenophobia, bad clams at lunch, ad infinitum. Genocide means I am wiping every trace of you and your ilk from the map and the pages of history. It's not an "all or nothing" thing; It's "all and nothing": all me, and nothing where you once existed in both concrete and abstract terms. Genocide is intentional and “goal-driven.” Genocide is a vision unto itself.
The quick analogy II:
Let’s pretend I’m the “collateraler” [sic]. (Thanks again, Mr. President.)
Collateral damage is what results when I embark on a course of action that results in your unintended death as a matter of consequence, not intent. Collateral damage is a byproduct of the “otherwise”; it is “chaos-driven.” An example of collateral damage would be when I target the guy next to you, shoot him and you fall, too. I did not set out to kill you; just the same, you are now dead. Sorry about that; sucks to be you. You are now dead because my shot caused the guy next to you to explode. Well, actually, my shot did not cause him to explode; he exploded due to the layers of nails, screws, nuts, washers and explosives he had sandwiched between his skin and the layers of Saran Wrap he was wearing for skivvies beneath his coat. You see, he was intent on getting on the bus--public trans--along with the Israeli kids headed to school, moms and dads on their way to work, and the college student who was just a little too engrossed in the financial section of
The Daily Star (that would be you). You would have noticed the guy in the heavy coat nervously crossing the street, the 3" of wires running from his cuff and into his closed fist, the same wires that terminated at the plunger he held down with his thumb (you see, the bombers figured out some time ago that the CNS works in such a way that if the shot doesn't instantly turn the brain stem into pink vapor, the resultant neural activity will cause the thumb and fingers to open like the petals of a flower: hence new switches that work on release rather than compression). But I digress. Now, everyone but you (because you had opted for the paper over situational awareness) and my target (because he didn't make it across the street in time) got on the bus drove away. As a second bus came down the street towards the stop, I shot . . . just as the bomber raised his hand to his higher power and in so doing changed the configuration of my target. Still a head shot, but not a perfect shot. He blew up; so did you. Still sucks to be you. Even so, you were not my intended target, neither was anyone other than the man in my sights. I did not seek to exterminate or annihilate a specific group of people. More so, I sought to preserve the lives of many by taking the life of one. I know this is an exceedingly difficult concept for some to understand, but there are times when one must take life in order to save life. Collateral damage is not intentional—it is not a goal but an outcome. Collateral damage is a consequence or result of something else.
It is not fair. It is not easy. It is not clean. That’s life. Enough about that.
“Primitive Weapons”: fist, foot, forehead, rock, stick, deadfall, pot of burning oil, lance, mace, axe, bow, sword, spear, garrotte, etc.
“Conventional Weapons”: add to the above, firearms, “modern” edged weapons, conventional explosives—to include both high explosives and low explosives, explosive mixtures and explosive compounds (it gets scientific at this point; suffice it to say things that go “bang”) projectiles delivered via missile or artillery, aerial bombs, torpedoes, etc.
“Non-conventional Weapons”: any of the above used in a non-conventional manner (I love that one), biological (pffft-shucks; they’ve been around ever since Og and crew rolled the putrid dead mammoth into the creek upstream from the place where the neighboring tribe drew its water), chemical (the ancients beat us to this one, too), and radiological/nuclear weapons.
Weapons, no matter how large or small, are used to overwhelm or otherwise neutralize an enemy (threat). Weapons neutralize an enemy by causing trauma that results in incapacitation—be it immediate, delayed, temporary, or otherwise. We use weapons because weapons work. If they didn’t work, we wouldn’t use them. The multi-megaton nuclear warhead is no more than the evolution of the rifled artillery shell, which is the evolution of the cannonball, which is the evolution of the rock, which is the evolution of the fist, which is the evolution of the argument.
That is, I tried talking to you when you first threatened me and later attacked me, but you joined forces with another guy and together you persisted. So, I slugged you when you again threatened me and later attacked me, but the both of you joined forces with another guy and the lot of you persisted. So, I drilled you with a rock when you again threatened me and later attacked me, but you joined forces with yet another guy and the lot of you persisted. So, I shot you when you again threatened me and later attacked me, but the lot of you joined forces with another guy and the lot of you persisted. So, I leveled your house with a cannonball when you again threatened me and later attacked me, but the lot of you joined forces with another guy and the lot of you persisted. So, I took out your block from high above with a 500-pound bomb (it was very substandard construction) threatened me and later attacked me, but the lot of you joined forces with another guy and the lot of you persisted. So, I destroyed your village with a cruise missile when you again threatened me and later attacked me, but the lot of you joined forces with another guy and the lot of you persisted. So, I fried all of your electronics and subsequently shut down your country with a tactical nuclear air-burst, when you again threatened me and later attacked me, but the lot of you joined forces with another guy and the lot of you persisted. So, I obliterated a comparatively small portion of your landscape with yet another tactical nuclear weapon (surface burst), resulting in some fallout, the destruction of a couple of square miles of your infrastructure, and if you persist in threatening me the lot of you will be rendered unable to attack me.
It’s that simple. It really is. The conversation simply becomes progressively more persuasive, culminating in the delivery of the ultimate persuasive essay.
That’s not genocide. That’s just smart business practice.
FWIW: Feel free to quote me if you have no ideas of your own, but please do so in context. As for my personal “recommendation,” you can’t go wrong with faith in God above; unwavering loyalty and devotion to those who love you in spite of yourself; anything in .45 ACP and especially those things true to the genius of JMB; a daily regimen of physical labor, three squares, and eight hours sleep; a nice small batch bourbon--in moderation, of course; and a fine cigar once a week. YMMVBIWFM
MiG