Terrorism: a Really, REALLY Bad Itch.

Think about terrorism. What does it mean to you?  Do you consider religious extremists that strap plastic explosives to their chest terrorists? Do you consider militant anarchists who are highly critical of government to be terrorists? Do you consider governors of nation states which enforce unjust laws to be terrorists? Do you consider criminals or thieves who rob and mug people using the threat of immediate violence to be terrorists? Then let me ask you a question: What do all these terrorists consider themselves? Perhaps the religious extremists think themselves paragons of faith, or even protectors of their families. Perhaps the militant anarchists think themselves educated liberators, attempting to shake people loose from their hamster-wheel lifestyles. Perhaps the the governers consider themselves a true voice of the people, and that their actions are right and justified. Perhaps the criminals think themselves people who must survive no matter what the cost. Many times, those considered "terrorists" are merely reactionaries; individuals who are reacting to or retaliating against something they have experienced.

Of course I have my own opinion. Otherwise I wouldn't have bothered calling myself "I Have An Opinion". I would have called myself something else ridiculous, like "I Like Ham Sandwiches". You know what I think of terrorism? I think of it as a bad, bad, REALLY EFFING BAD itch, but it's an itch that has been scratched too much. The initial itch wasn't bad, so you scratched it and felt better. Then the itch came back, slightly more irritating than the time before. You scratched again. The problem with this is, curiously, the more you scratched the worse the itch got. But you felt like you just couldn't stop. You would think "Arrgh! This fucking itch! Maybe if I just keep scratching it'll go away eventually."

Therein lies the problem. You scratch and scratch until the itchy spot looks more swollen and red than a Republican's neck. You're peeling skin away at this point, and all the while the itch does nothing but get progressively worse and worse. The problem is that WE KEEP BLOODY SCRATCHING. Terrorist attack? React with invading a foreign country. Someone uses HH chemicals to make weak explosives? React by severely restricting liquid transport. Someone tries to sneak a bomb in their pants? React by enforcing strip searching (and if you don't think that's what those new TSA devices and methods are for, you need to do some homework). Every time we have a reaction like this, there is more fear, more hate, more animosity, more prejudice; in other words more itching.

Stop scratching. Do this, and the itch that is now a bleeding wound might begin to heal. We cannot move on unless we FORGIVE. Blog THAT.