▪️It’s depressing that this is the state of things, but it’s what happens when moral relativism meets anti-America/West sentiment, both of which are prevalent today. It shouldn’t have to be said, but here’s a breakdown of why Bin Laden’s letter should not give anyone pause let alone praise:
▪️Bin Laden’s repeated uses of “us” and “our lands” is complete collectivism. By “us” he means Muslims, and “our lands” refers to the entire Middle East (and beyond) being a totalitarian Islamic state. His gripe with America is not simply that it uses violence, but that it “prevent[s] our people from establishing the Islamic Shariah.”
▪️This context is dropped by those who claim Bin Laden was simply using terrorism to respond to American aggression. If only America would leave them alone they’d be peaceful. No. Their entire worldview is to establish a totalitarian Islamic state, and views anything impeding that goal to be its enemy. It just so happens that Israel and the US are its greatest impediments.
▪️As with the Palestinians, when they speak of liberation they don’t mean protecting their citizen’s individual rights to property and liberty. They mean it in a collectivist sense, where “our lands” will be “liberated” and ruled by a militant theocracy. Thus, they are not fighting for freedom but brutal oppression.
▪️Which is apparent when you look at any governments they control. Places the Taliban, ISIS, Hamas, etc. had control were/are hellscapes. The notion that if they were simply left alone they would be bastions of peace or freedom is totally absurd.
▪️This makes their already tenuous claim that targeting civilians is justified even more evil. They are targeting civilians IN ORDER TO BRING ABOUT TYRANNY. This is where the moral relativism in trying to equivocate terrorism to Israel/US actions becomes so abhorrent.
▪️It’s similar to the Bolsheviks in Russia. When they came to power they spoke of liberating the workers from the evils of capitalism/western oppression, which greatly appealed to the anti-capitalist left, and why there was such support for the Soviets among intellectuals for decades. When in reality, “liberation” only meant tearing down any semblance of Western values and leaving hell on earth in its place.
▪️Those finding sudden agreement with Bin Laden’s letter should really read it carefully. At the end he says those who fail to meet ALL of his conditions will be at war with the Islamic nation. Only 3 of his 7 demands involve US military/diplomatic involvement. Most of the demands involve embracing Islam and Islamic Law. Short of that, you are their enemy.
▪️This doesn’t mean interventionist escapades like the Iraq War are wise or justified. It means that pretending Islamic terrorism is some sort of reasonable or expected response to American/Israeli aggression is woefully naive. It’s a well thought out ideology that has a specific goal, ignore it at your peril.
Here’s the text of the letter:
https://www.samaa.tv/208734571-osama-bin-laden-letter-to-america-resurfaces-after-21-years-read-here
So many of these right wing accounts are just whiners now, this is a diatribe about automatic sinks and towels, the horror! As I explained in a prior post, most of the newer terminals have great bathrooms, some now have completely private stalls and plenty of them. The worst and most crowded airport bathrooms are invariably found in aging terminals that are decades old. It’s a reminder that airports were usually drab and uncomfortable.
I think the heyday of the air hand-dryers was like 15-20 years ago, where often you couldn’t find real towels. Now you can at least usually get real paper towels in airport bathrooms. Remember those old cloth roller towels that would go in a loop and somehow “clean” themselves? Yuck! Public bathrooms have always been gross, it seems some are deliberately having selective memories.
Airport food and drinks were always expensive, but now practically everyone brings those huge cooler flasks with them and fills them up. So not sure what he means that ...
I first critiqued this terrible take by looking at how food has actually improved substantially. Even though I said the same could be done in every category, people said “you’re only doing food.” So let’s do air travel and see why it’s not gotten better, not worse.
▪️Aircraft have greatly improved. Just 15-20 years ago, many domestic routes (~15%) were flown by turboprops like the Brasilia, Dash 8 or Saab. Now, almost everything is in jets, and most aircraft have WiFi. Some even have Starlink, where you probably have faster WiFi than your home. Most major airlines offer dozens or hundreds of movies and shows to watch.
▪️Newer designs like the 787 have lower cabin altitudes and improved humidity, which make a huge difference in passenger comfort on long haul flights. The first/business class international market has gotten very competitive globally, with many carriers offering excellent service and amenities. Pods, suites, showers, etc. Coach still sucks but is dramatically cheaper ...
This is the complete opposite of an empirical fact. The right has now joined the left in being pessimistic about the modern world and completely unappreciative of the amazing abundance we now have. I’ll just focus on food here, but you could do it for almost every category.
▪️Fresh produce used to be available only in season. In the winter it was canned or frozen. People used to send fruit for Christmas gifts, it was that much of a luxury good. Now, you can get giant, sweet berries year around in every grocery store. Corn on the cob in February. Not to mention once rare items like dragon fruit, heirloom tomatoes or baby bok choy.
▪️If you didn’t live on the coast, seafood was either not available, frozen, or extremely expensive. If you lived in the Midwest and traveled to coastal locales you would quite literally be able to eat food you had never seen. Salmon has become much more abundant and accessible. You can get fresh ahi at Walmart today. Sushi and oyster bars exist everywhere ...
