[mburbank]

"Max, if i brought a conservative Republican MArine to your house, and he said to you, "ya know, Iraqis all smell bad and eat children. THat's why I had no problem crushing their skulls in!", would you kneel to that marine's overwhelming authority on the matter, or would you at the very least question his judgement? "

OW! Let's parse this.

" if i brought a conservative Republican MArine to your house"
Kevin the Omnicient

the I-mock forums are not my house, or your house or a house at all. It is a virtual public meeting space. I find it telling that you choose to describe it as a private property.

If you brought this hypothetical marine to the forum, or if they came on their own, since I don't think anybody 'brought' mr. Fuzz here (and again, perhaps I'm missreading a pajoritive tone) , and his bona fides seemed in order, ie he was actually a Marine and not an internet poser, here's what I would be inclined to respect. His knowledge of the Marines, and his ability to tell me things from a perspective with which I am in no way familliar. As to his conservative republicanism, as you know I have never dismissed someone merely for that. But perhaps this is precisely what you mean, since what you have your hypothetical say is so distasteful. So let's move to that.

I'm dismayed that you leave no room between kneeling at his feet and questioning his judgement. If you brought a nobel laureate to I-mock and they were corteous in all their writing, still, I would not suggest kneeling. Question all you like. But I feel (and hardly just with Fuzz) you don't truly question, you de facto dismiss. I am aware of only two Muslims who post here. While I have personally known a few Muslims, this is not currently the case. Now, if I thought Fuzz was on a par with Vinth, I might dismiss him. If I thought he was on a par with Naldo, I'd listen from time to time, but lean toward dismissal. But I've never dismissed Abcdgdhad, and I'm still more than happy to listen to you, even though it's clear you've gone mad with power.


"Does the policy of the Bush admininstration matter in this particular instance?"

Well... Yes, actually. You accuse me of being 'blinded by Bush hatred.', perhaps because I seem to see everything in opposition to Bush. But Bushworld is where we live, their policies determine the reality we live in. You seem to think of the world stage as if W and company weren't on it , or as if you could assign your own motivations to their actions.

I think your own departure from the current actual foreign policy, while very different from mine, is almost as radical. Yet instead of objecting to it, you write as if the reality of that policy is of very little consequence since in surface ways it resembles your own.

What 'particular instance' are you referring to? My point is that you seem happy enough with the WAR ON TERROR most of the time, and yet when the argument seems handy you weigh in with vigor against countries we are very much in bed with and who are critical to the WAR ON TERROR.

And if our legislature, as civilized and superior as it certainly is, has time to legislate on freedom fries and gay marriage as the world burns, why wouldn't the Pakistani legislature have time to legislate on any old sort of nonsense?