The courage of her convictions

[akicif]

Earlier today an American college student died for what she believed in. Rachel Corrie was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer as she tried to protect a doctor's home in a Palestinian refugee camp.

[The link provided is to Google's reports on the coverage rather than to any particular newspaper]

Comments

[muninnhuginn]

Day by day, literally day by day, another Palestinian home, whether empty or not (occupied by a pregnant woman or an old man on the top floor too deaf to hear the warningas to get out), is flattened, but it takes the death of a single US citizen to possibly gain a little more attention. Maybe, I'm too cynical, though.

[akicif.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I don't think she was the first, though - just the first in about two years.

I wouldn't have seen it last night, if a Brit ex-pat living in the 'States hadn't posted to alt.peeves about it - as a Darwin award nomination. Quite sickening.

Re:

[muninnhuginn]

I have to say, her death strikes me as a waste. Someone with enough fire in their belly to do something has simply ended up dead and therfore unable to do anything more. As a US citizen with freedom of movement, presumably more resources than many and potentially access to slightly freer expression, choosing to go and sit in front of a bulldozer and risk the inevitable is a waste. She needn't have been there, unlike the Palestinians who have no choice and often no voice. Passive resistance, peaceful porstest, is one thing; inviting matyrdom is quite another. But then I'm cynical and not particularly engaged in active politics--so I would say that wouldn't I.

[akicif.livejournal.com]

Yes, a sad and tragic waste. But because journalists know that American lives are worth so much more than those of foreigners, the story's actually getting out this time.

I can't help but admire her.

Re:

[muninnhuginn]

I'm assuming there were invisible quotes round things like "American lives... worth more" and "foreigners". Ouch, cynical and pedantic today, I'm afraid. And unable to admire waste.

[rathgild.livejournal.com]

It would depend on the country. Watching TV news in the UK up to about 5 years ago was interesting. A motorway pile up in which, say, 5 British people were killed would be a higher story than something like the Rwandan massacres. It seemed that if the order of importance was British deaths, British injuries or other white deaths, other white injuries, blacks and asians if there is time. Sometimes, the kitten left a fortune by dotty old lady got more airtime than thousands dying of flood or famine in India or Africa. Sad but true. Possibly it's a hang over from the colonial past, though it still doesn't make it right