Who Is This Asswipe David Warren Anyway?
OK, so you know those two Fox News journalists that were recently released from captivity by the Palestinian militants? Well, it seems that there are those in the conservative blogosphere are unhappy about their safe return. I read this post on Majikthise (and you should too), which led me to this post by Glenn Greenwald, and also this post by Jon Swift (both of which you should read as well).
Swift excerpt: Some conservative bloggers were critical of the "politically correct" statements the men made after their release. "I have the highest respect for Islam, and I learned a lot of good things about it," Centanni said. Other bloggers were disgusted by the picture of the men shaking hands with Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Hanyeh, while still on Palestinian territory. They began comparing the men to Jill Carroll and digging into their past for evidence of alleged pro-Palestinian sympathies. Inevitably there was speculation the men must be suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, although one blogger did suggest one other possible explanation: "I wonder if the journalists are complete and total morons or clear victims of Stockholm Syndrome." But conservatives were most troubled by a video that was released showing the men converting to Islam at gunpoint. David Warren, who writes for the Ottawa Citizen and Real Clear Politics, deplored their "cowardice" for converting with guns to their heads instead of dying as martyrs. "The two Fox journalists, whom I will not stoop to name, begged for their lives even though, in retrospect, their lives probably weren't in danger," wrote Warren, who risks his life everyday living in Canada, a place I must confess I am afraid even to visit. "They could see nothing wrong in serving the enemy, so long as it meant they'd be safe."
Majikthise excerpt, including Warren excerpt (bolded): Warren accuses the freed journalists of "doing the enemy's work" for passing up their shot at martyrdom:
The degree to which our starch is awash is exhibited in the behaviour of so many of our captives, but especially in these two. They were told to convert to Islam under implicit threat (blindfolded and hand-tied, they could not judge what threat), and agreed to make the propaganda broadcasts to guarantee their own safety. That much we can understand, as conventional cowardice. (Understand; not forgive.) But it is obvious from their later statements that they never thought twice; that they could see nothing wrong in serving the enemy, so long as it meant they'd be safe. I assume they are not Christians (few journalists are), but had they ever been instructed in that faith, they might have grasped that conversion to Islam means denial of Christ, and that is something many millions of Christians (few of them intellectuals) have refused to do, even at the cost of excruciating deaths. Christianity still lives, because of such martyrs. Not suicide bombers: but truly defenceless martyrs.
I'm not all that theologically sophisticated, so correct me if I'm wrong: You can't be a martyr for somebody else's faith, can you? Warren doubts that correspondent Steve Centanni and cameraman Olaf Wiig are Christians, but he's still miffed that the captives didn't take one for the Jesus team.
The shorter Warren: Who knows what these guys actually believed, but obviously, they're cowards if they won't martyr themselves for a religion they probably don't even believe in.
Greenwald excerpt: Warren argues that the cowardice of the two Fox journalists in saving their own lives illustrates why we are losing the War of Civilizations -- because of what Warren calls the "Chestlessness" of our "men." As Warren puts it: "That is the substance of most Islamo-fascist propaganda: that the West consists of straw men, of men without chests, of men easily pushed over." To Warren, the cowardly chestlessness of Western men is why "the West is proving unable to cope with a threat from a fanatical Islamic movement, that it ought to be able to snuff out with fair ease." Warren has a biography page on his website. In telling us about himself, Warren complains that "the thumb on (his) right hand still hurts sometimes from when it was broken in a dodgeball game," tells us that his favorite sport is cricket, talks of his love for Ella Fitzgerald and Jane Austen, touts his devout Catholicism, confesses that he has "been estranged [from his wife of 18 years] for going on four years," and says he is "fascinated by seeds, small shells, tiny fishes, & insects."
What a fucking dickweed. I like Ella Fitzgerald too, but David Warren is a mega-pussy.
Update: This guy Mark Steyn in the Sun-Times is a numbskull too. Hey Steyn -- As long as you're using fictional charcters as the models of behavior for hostages, why not use, I don't know, De Niro from The Deer Hunter, Bruce Willis from Pulp Fiction, and Wolverine?
Swift excerpt: Some conservative bloggers were critical of the "politically correct" statements the men made after their release. "I have the highest respect for Islam, and I learned a lot of good things about it," Centanni said. Other bloggers were disgusted by the picture of the men shaking hands with Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Hanyeh, while still on Palestinian territory. They began comparing the men to Jill Carroll and digging into their past for evidence of alleged pro-Palestinian sympathies. Inevitably there was speculation the men must be suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, although one blogger did suggest one other possible explanation: "I wonder if the journalists are complete and total morons or clear victims of Stockholm Syndrome." But conservatives were most troubled by a video that was released showing the men converting to Islam at gunpoint. David Warren, who writes for the Ottawa Citizen and Real Clear Politics, deplored their "cowardice" for converting with guns to their heads instead of dying as martyrs. "The two Fox journalists, whom I will not stoop to name, begged for their lives even though, in retrospect, their lives probably weren't in danger," wrote Warren, who risks his life everyday living in Canada, a place I must confess I am afraid even to visit. "They could see nothing wrong in serving the enemy, so long as it meant they'd be safe."
Majikthise excerpt, including Warren excerpt (bolded): Warren accuses the freed journalists of "doing the enemy's work" for passing up their shot at martyrdom:
The degree to which our starch is awash is exhibited in the behaviour of so many of our captives, but especially in these two. They were told to convert to Islam under implicit threat (blindfolded and hand-tied, they could not judge what threat), and agreed to make the propaganda broadcasts to guarantee their own safety. That much we can understand, as conventional cowardice. (Understand; not forgive.) But it is obvious from their later statements that they never thought twice; that they could see nothing wrong in serving the enemy, so long as it meant they'd be safe. I assume they are not Christians (few journalists are), but had they ever been instructed in that faith, they might have grasped that conversion to Islam means denial of Christ, and that is something many millions of Christians (few of them intellectuals) have refused to do, even at the cost of excruciating deaths. Christianity still lives, because of such martyrs. Not suicide bombers: but truly defenceless martyrs.
I'm not all that theologically sophisticated, so correct me if I'm wrong: You can't be a martyr for somebody else's faith, can you? Warren doubts that correspondent Steve Centanni and cameraman Olaf Wiig are Christians, but he's still miffed that the captives didn't take one for the Jesus team.
The shorter Warren: Who knows what these guys actually believed, but obviously, they're cowards if they won't martyr themselves for a religion they probably don't even believe in.
Greenwald excerpt: Warren argues that the cowardice of the two Fox journalists in saving their own lives illustrates why we are losing the War of Civilizations -- because of what Warren calls the "Chestlessness" of our "men." As Warren puts it: "That is the substance of most Islamo-fascist propaganda: that the West consists of straw men, of men without chests, of men easily pushed over." To Warren, the cowardly chestlessness of Western men is why "the West is proving unable to cope with a threat from a fanatical Islamic movement, that it ought to be able to snuff out with fair ease." Warren has a biography page on his website. In telling us about himself, Warren complains that "the thumb on (his) right hand still hurts sometimes from when it was broken in a dodgeball game," tells us that his favorite sport is cricket, talks of his love for Ella Fitzgerald and Jane Austen, touts his devout Catholicism, confesses that he has "been estranged [from his wife of 18 years] for going on four years," and says he is "fascinated by seeds, small shells, tiny fishes, & insects."
What a fucking dickweed. I like Ella Fitzgerald too, but David Warren is a mega-pussy.
Update: This guy Mark Steyn in the Sun-Times is a numbskull too. Hey Steyn -- As long as you're using fictional charcters as the models of behavior for hostages, why not use, I don't know, De Niro from The Deer Hunter, Bruce Willis from Pulp Fiction, and Wolverine?
posted by KaneCitizen at 9:06 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home