[1034] in peace2
battered wife?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Jimmy_B,MajMoola,MechWarrior,etc._)
Wed Sep 26 14:36:08 2001
Message-Id: <200109261836.OAA04550@barker-6-9.mit.edu>
To: peace-list@MIT.EDU
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2001 14:36:01 -0400
From: "Jimmy_B,MajMoola,MechWarrior,etc._Chien-ta Wu" <jimmbswu@MIT.EDU>
http://slate.msn.com/framegame/entries/01-09-19_115869.asp
A fascinating column arguing against the view that we should change our
ways to make people not hate us as much. His idea is that our policies
do not warrant or justify such an attack, anyway.
Thus, if we change our ways to get them to stop bombing us, that would
be like a battered wife changing her behavior to get her husband to beat
her less.. That is, it seems like she's doing something with a direct
effect, but HE's really the one in control if he can get her to do
things through negative and positive reinforcement.
Thus, he argues, we should not give in to this situation and give the
terrorists control over the situation by thinking about how to make them
less mad. Instead, WE should be the ones in control by giving THEM
negative reinforcement for bombing us.
This does not mean that we shouldn't change our policies, just as a
battered wife would try to prevent angering people in general, but she
should not do it because she's afraid her husband might strike at her.
So that was that,
B, crackpot and defender of the status quo
-----------
http://www.mit.edu/~jimmbswu "Who Dares, Wins."
--UK SAS
"It is good that war is so terrible,
else we should grow too fond of it."
--R. E. Lee
