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Gitmo or Gandhi?

Gitmo or Gandhi?

Ed and Deb Shapiro

I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent. –Mahatma Gandhi, YI, 2I-5-25, I78.

The prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, built on a legacy of fear, was established to deal with violent terrorists, but instead became the cause of further suffering and chaos. It is a prime example of the mindless, cruel and inhuman way we abuse our fellow human beings. For, despite whatever these men may or may not have done, they are human beings and inflicting pain, especially the methods used at Gitmo, achieves nothing but further pain. Two wrongs do not make a right; to meet violence with more violence does not bring peace. Closing Gitmo does not say we condone violence, but that we do not intend to continue to act in such a barbaric way.

Of course, there are those who oppose closing the camp. Fear is a powerful seductress waiting around every corner to grab our attention; hatred is like a snake always ready to bite. The nature of fear is to hold us back, to keep us in a place of closed heartedness. It will create an enemy even if one does not exist. Being fearless does not mean we have to stop or deny the fear; fearlessness is not a state of being without fear. Rather, it is fully feeling the fear, getting to know it, and then making friends with it.

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Tags: Gandhi, Mahatma, Non-violence

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Comment by David Slesinger on May 14, 2012 at 4:23pm: While the wisdom of this essay deserves full praise, I must note something that needs to be raised when Gitmo is mentioned. Pacifists like myself and the Shapiros would oppose violence to Gitmo prisoners just because they are human beings. However, because most people are not pacifists, and because most people believe the lie of the official account of what happened on 9/11, including most readers of Gandhitopia and Care2; we who oppose the current wars by the US against Asian countries display cowardice and weakness.

The average war supporting citizen would likely oppose these current wars IF they realized the government is lying about 9/11. Sadly, ALL major US journals that oppose these wars also suppress real discussion of what happened that day.

In addition, Muslim immigrants to the west are burdened by unfair treatment by those who believe the official story. Gandhiji would certainly appreciate efforts to lessen bias against Muslims.

I am the only regular US practitioner of public arrest for a higher cause who advocates as Gandhi did, plead guilty and suffer in jail to touch the heart of the adversary( See my Facebook page Gandhian Resistance). I also am founder of 8 outreach teams at Architects and Engineers for 911Truth( AE911Truth.org). We have nearly 1700 vetted and verified architects and engineers who say the towers came down from controlled demolition.

Here is the simplest of arguments. This is junior high level science.

The towers came straight down, right? They certainly didn't fall over. The official explanation is fire from the jet fuel, right? Fire meanders and can't be controlled in a precise fashion. For a symmetrical collapse, every point equidistant from the ground must lose ALL of its support essentially instantaneously. For such precision, timed explosives must be used.

If you are concerned about war yet feel insecure in the realm of science, you are still irresponsible and cowardly if you won't examine a problem that can be understood by a 14 year old.