China: Terrorist State? Depends on Your State of MInd [ by James Linkin] [News You Can Abuse]
July 27, 2008I’m in one of those moods today. I’m reading an article about a group of Muslim separatists from western China (or “East Turkestan” as the separatists want it to be known) who are promising to attack the Olympic Games and pleading for everyone, especially Muslims, to boycott the affair. The more I read this article, the more I worry. But not about any fucking terrorists.
Here’s the article. The group in question released a video. “Please do not stand together with the faithless people.” These wing nuts are claiming responsibility for some bus explosions and an attack on a police station with an explosive-laden tractor. Nonsense, says a Chinese public security official. The bus explosions had nothing to do with terrorist groups. And the tractor attack involved no police; it was a revenge attack by a disgruntled gambler.
Where do I begin?
I don’t know about you, but the idea that China has buses that just blow up is a considerably more distressing phenomenon than any terrorist attack. Here in America, our public transportation system may be in shambles, but we haven’t yet devised the bus that just blows up. How the fuck do you make a bus explode by accident? I could be sitting there, minding my own business, listening to some vintage Carlin on my iPod, and suddenly: BAM, my wife is a widow. How does that happen? Is someone lighting one of those ubiquitous Chinese cigarettes with a bottle of cooking gas they just happen to have on hand? I know, some messenger is making a fireworks delivery.
As for the disgruntled gambler, uh, what the fuck? The article notes that “revenge attacks are relatively common” in China. Really? So how can they tell the difference between a “terrorist” and some run-of-the-mill, dime-a-dozen, butt-smoking, cuckolded, bankrupt, pathological killer? What, he didn’t go to terrorist school? Not a Muslim, so he doesn’t qualify? “Explosive-laden tractor” sounds a lot like a terrorist attack to me, regardless of the source or inspiration. Or to put it another way, terrorist attacks are an everyday occurrence all over China, but we just don’t call them that.
Here’s the scary part. The people who brought you exploding buses and murderous gamblers are staging an Olympics!! And they’re providing security for it!!! There’s a reason to stay home and watch it on TV if ever there was one. Maybe I’ll see some fireworks.
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