Thread: Independence Day

Originally Posted by apachama

Apparently, America has been detaining people without trial at a place called Guatanamo Bay. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guatanamo_bay Does that count as an infringement of people's rights? What about the Patriot Act? I'm sure I don't need to go into what kinds of torture have been committed by people who work for the US government, or stories about people detained without trial.

I'm sorry, most infringements of rights happen to other people. There's a poem about how we shouldn't ignore the abuses of the government just because they don't affect us personally.

"First they came for the Communists,
- but I was not a communist so I did not speak out.
Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists,
- but I was neither, so I did not speak out.
Then they came for the Jews,
- but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out.
And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me."

I'm not saying the USA is equated with Naziism, that would be insane. But I believe there's an important message there. We should look after people, even if they aren't like us. Because one day it could be our necks on the line.

I must have missed the part where the government plans to completely exterminate its own people... What the fuck would be the point of that?

Originally Posted by Serkat

I must have missed the part where the government plans to completely exterminate its own people... What the fuck would be the point of that?

As I said, there's no call for comparison. But solidarity with people who are unjustly the victims of people in power is always important. Humans have to look after each other.