An Eye for an Eye - A Tooth for a Tooth?
Is targeting a dictator's family acceptable
I recall monitoring the reports and video clips coming out of Myanmar (one of my favourite bucket list countries) in 2021 of the junta unleashing its fury on civilians protesting the roll back of recently granted freedoms and rights. And I got to thinking, what could be done to stop the brutality.
Surely if America was, as it claims to be, a beacon of light in a world of darkness, and the global policeman, the president could issue an edict - ‘stop or we’ll find you with our satellites and rain cruise missiles upon your leaders, your generals - including your families - until you stop.’
The Men Who Run the World don’t generally meddle in affairs that are irrelevant to the maintenance of their empire so they could not be bothered to waste their missiles on the junta. They probably watched with disinterest, or not at all, as the protestors were slaughtered and the police state re-instated.
There is also the fact that they are busy committing their own crimes against humanity so why would they care about cockroaches… I mean students… being murdered in Myanmar. Odds are The Men Who Run the World ordered the junta to carry out the coup and exterminate anyone who dared to oppose them. So there is that.
I’ve long admired the Alex Boncayao Brigade. Sounds like the name of a rock band, but actually it was the urban assassination unit of the New People's Army in the Philippines.
I became aware of Alex when I was visiting the Philippines in the 90’s and read a news article detailing how the brigade had warned a factory owner to implement safety measures - or else. Apparently there had been a number of accidents and fatalities at a factory due to this owner’s negligence. The factory owner ignored the warnings, and ‘or else’ involved a barrage of bullets to the head. Outstanding! Bravo! I was so impressed that for a moment I thought about joining the ABB, but I was only in my 20’s, and too young to die.
I have a South American friend who attended a top-end private school in the United States. He has mentioned classmates that were the children of famous people, Wall Street tycoons, and the offspring of leaders from quite a few third world dictatorships.
I am wondering what a guy like Alex Boncayao might make of all of this. Would he see opportunity in the fact that even the most vile dictators have a soft spot for their progeny.
How far is it acceptable to go, when a government is murdering and maiming women and children? Is tit for tat a reasonable response?
Surviving… yes… surviving….
I am going to say that recourse of this nature is going a step too far. Targeting innocent people is not acceptable even if their parents have no problem with murdering and maiming women and children. Remain meek and inherit the Earth!
Dropping cruise missiles on the families of the junta in Myanmar is not acceptable. Going after their children who are attending private schools in foreign countries is unacceptable.
However I do wonder if such a policy might make them think twice….
We don't defeat evil by becoming evil ourselves. You can't catch a psychopath by becoming psychopathic (even though this is suggested in many detective stories). You don't play your enemy's game by doing as they do. That leads to total war and endless suffering.
People react to this by saying "We don't want to be hippy dippy pacifists either so how do we stop the big bad bully?"
There's an old saying that you can't change darkness by bringing more darkness but just a tiny light in the void changes darkness forever.
I believe this is happening worldwide and just like all other phenomena of change starts gradually (almost imperceptible if one's consciousness is focused on the chaos) then builds to a crescendo, then a tipping point and then everything is light and the darkness has been banished... at least for a while... because there always remain shadows even under strong light and that is where the evildoers dwell and plot until the cycle comes full circle.
Right now... I think the entire world is being pushed to the edge of a precipice in several ways... some more real than others. Many of the threats are fictitious and designed to raise cortisol levels. Ever present danger is the name of the game because that's how you move the herd. That's why they will accept the digital prison / palliative care combo as they move all resources and energy to AI and robotics.
Automation of essential functions maintaining life support for AI systems with reduced human employees. That's the goal.
I guess it's up to the slaves to create the world they want to see before it's too late. And much of that would involve unplugging and walking away from the king... which I'm not seeing much of because... well... here we all are.
And of course I think the 'organizers' are overlooking an important detail... economies of scale... which kind of takes the air out of their balloon. I'd like to see someone provide the math on how their fully automated enterprise works without billions of human workers partaking in the growth economy.
Replying here cos other box doesn't work.
I agree that when things escalate to that level then everything is on the table. You have nothing to lose. 'They're coming for you and your family.'
The American system of essentially pointing a gun at the selected governors to make them behave makes sense on paper. Technically it should be enough to smooth things out. But somewhere along the line that idea became outdated even though the masses certainly outnumber the few in the shadow government and their puppets.
Militias with rifles are no match for helicopter gunships and tanks and all the fancy crowd control tech that governments have at their disposal. Decapitation strikes would be your only recourse. Sniper rifles and drones your weapons of choice. Going after family members is something the directly affected would certainly think about, but again, they would pay a heavy price for that.
Holding leaders accountable in this way leads to more of the same types rising to fill the vacuum left behind. You end up with an endless chain of tough, ruthless, paranoid despots because that's the only form of governance that can survive long enough to get anything done.
And this is exactly the type of government that we've been under since the Roman Empire. It has simply added a softer outer shell to give the appearance that the governed have more rights, freedoms and choice.