as i see it - Pt. I

[ara baliozian]

PORTRAIT OF AN ARMENIAN ANTI-SEMITE

*********************************************

He rejects the label because he is smart enough to know that it denotes

prejudice and he considers himself too civilized, tolerant and

progressive to have any.

He sees Jews not as perennial victims (very much like Armenians) but as

ruthless victimizers.

He hates Hitler not because of what Hitler did to the Jews but because

Hitler may have had one or two drops of Jewish blood in his veins.

He knows more about Jews than he knows about Armenians and what he knows

about the Jews is an endless catalogue of negatives, including THE

PROTOCOLS OF THE ELDERS OF ZION, which was authored by a 19th-century

Russian -- and I don't mean a Russian-Jew but a member of the

pure-blooded (assuming such a thing exists) Russian aristocracy.

To him General Antranig is an Eagle but Ariel* Sharon is no lion but a

hyena.

No, he does not dislike Jews, only the oppressors and killers of poor

Palestinians. He fails to see that, if he hates these so-called

oppressors and killers, he must also hate the Jews who support them, that

is to saw the majority of Jews all over the world who by supporting them

they aid and abet criminal conduct.

To those who are tempted to discount the validity of my words because of

my Jewish ancestry or because I may be in love with a Jewish girl, allow

me to explain: On a good day I can trace my ancestry all the way back to

my father and mother, both pure-blooded Armenians (ditto); and I have

known only one Jew in my life – and I am willing to admit that he was not

a particularly likable person but in that sense he was no different than

myself.

 

*Lion in Hebrew

[ara baliozian]

ARE WE SMART?

*************************

The first time I criticized Canada in the presence of Canadians I was

told: "If you don't like it here, why don't you go back where you came

from?" What the hell happened to free speech? I thought. But gradually I

came to realize that what I was doing was not exercising my human right

of free speech but practicing one-upmanship. Since I was brainwashed to

believe Armenians are smart, I thought I was in a position to teach dumb

Canadians one or two things. This is how I assessed the situation. It

never even occurred to me to consider how they saw things and more

particularly myself. Who was I in their eyes? What were my

qualifications? I was no better than a double reject, first from Turkey,

then from Greece – a hungry Armenian – a Turkish gypsy – a refugee with a

semi-fascist background whose ancestors had made such a mess of things

that life had become unbearable; and there I was, exposing their

shortcomings as if I had none.

Are Canadians intolerant? If they are, Armenians are even more so. I

speak from experience. I now know something I didn't know then. Canada

has its share of critics who not only know what they are talking about

but they are also amply compensated for their work, What about us?

Products of Abdulhamidism and Stalinism, what have we learned from our

host countries? When it comes to politics and diplomacy we might as well

be functional illiterates whose arrogance is such that they think they

can deliver lectures on semantics to university graduates.

Now I know why, when once, many years ago, I said "Armenians are smart"

to an alienated fellow Armenian in the United States, he reacted with

such rage that he nearly foamed at the mouth.

[ara baliozian]

ARE WE SMART?/ II

******************************

1.

In the Ottoman Empire we had the brains – or so we claim – but served the

dumb Turks. Ditto in the Middle East, in America and in our Diaspora in

general. We always had the brains but were never masters of our destiny;

and now that we are…but the less said about that the better. What does

that tell you? The obvious answer must be: There is more to being smart

than assessing oneself as smart and believing it. A jackass can say

anything he wants and a dupe will believe anything that flatters his

vanity.

2.

What defines our identity more than anything else? Or rather: Where would

we be without the Genocide? Why is it that we have allowed our butchers

to define our identity? What good can come of this?

3.

St. Paul writes: "If any man among you seems to be wise in this world,

let him become a fool, that he may be wise." Translated into hard

currency, this may also mean: Better a dumb winner than a smart loser.

Or: What the hell is the use of being smart if you are the perennial

victim of dumb jerks?

[ara baliozian]

MEMO TO MY FRIENDS

*****************************

It is silly to think that I am your enemy simply because I disagree with

you. In ten years (if you are smart) or in twenty (if you are not) you

may reach the realization that I was a better friend than those who

agreed with you.

 

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT

*****************************************

On a winter day a man slips and falls on the sidewalk.

"Tough sidewalk, isn't it?" a passerby who witnessed the accident

remarks.

"Not tough enough not to kiss my ass!"

 

NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS

*******************************

At the turn of the century, in a restaurant in Paris, a patron approached

a well-known writer and says:

"You may have noticed that one of the pretty waitresses is missing."

"None of my business."

"I am told she is pregnant with your child."

"None of your business!"

[Garo]

By Ara Baliozian

 

MEA CULPA

***********************************

A reader writes: "You have admitted to being fallible but so far you have

provided no specifics."

Which proves only one thing: You have not been reading me.

I have at no time covered up the fact that as an Armenian Catholic I had

a quasi-Taliban education (minus Kalishnikovs). I even had a headmaster

who could have been bin Laden's twin. I was brought up (make it,

brainwashed) to believe all non-Catholics were heretics, misguided fools

and hopeless dupes in league with the devil. As an Armenian I was

brainwashed to believe the Turks were bloodthirsty savages and the Great

Powers (i.e. the West) liars.

We Armenians were la creme de la creme. We were smarter, civilized,

morally superior.

I know better now. I know now that we can't be smarter because again and

again we have failed to realize that the source of all our defeats,

disasters and tragedies is within us, namely, our tribalism and total

absence of solidarity. I know now that we use the Turks and the world the

way anti-semites use the Jews, as scapegoats, and having done so we

deceive ourselves into thinking we are blameless. I maintain we are

nothing of the kind. I further maintain we are not better than most and

worst than some. I have said this before and I will say it again: I was

wrong most of my life, and if I am wrong now, I wish someone would reason

with me and convince me that dogmatism is not synonymous with

intolerance, divisiveness is a good thing notwithstanding the Biblical

dictum: "A house divided against itself cannot stand" and tribalism and

fanaticism a la Taliban a source of strength.

And now that I have admitted to having been wrong most of my life, will

anything change?

But suppose one of our bosses and bishops were to admit fallibility.

What a wonderful plot for a science-fiction writer!

 

[ October 24, 2001: Message edited by: Garo ]

[ara baliozian]

MEMO TO FANATICS

***************************

Do you want to overcome your affliction?

I have an easy recipe for you.

Learn to think against yourself.

Once upon a time

I too was a fanatic bigot,

an insufferable bore,

and a pain in the perforation.

But eventually I saw the light

and achieved moderation in my thinking.

If I can do it, so can you.

No sweat.

Only one thing to remember.

Next time you make an assertion,

consider its opposite

and you will be surprised to discover

how much truth there is in it.

No one is born a fanatic.

Fanatics are made not born.

But fanaticism is not a verdict without appeal.

There is a way out.

Try it and you may find moderation

less emotionally draining.

Remember, fanaticism,

might as well be synonymous

with dogmatism, intolerance,

authoritarianism, fascism,

tribalism and divisiveness

– all Armenian afflictions.

I titled this piece

"Memo to Fanatics."

On second thought --

(and now I am thinking against myself,

practicing what I preach, so to speak)

I should have said:

"Memo to my Fellow Armenians."

[ara baliozian]

I REMEMBER

***********************

When I was a boy I would listen to adults discussing Armenian affairs. I

no longer remember what was said except for one sentence that came up

again and again: "mart bidi ch'ellank!" freely translated: "We will never

acquire human status."

Perhaps that's exactly what I have been saying and repeating too √ with

one difference: it is not my intention to spread gloom and doom but to

puncture the egos of our bosses and bishops who are engaged in convincing

us that we are in good hands and they are doing what must be done: two

colossal lies of mullah-Taliban-bin Laden dimensions.

***

Friends of mine have been eager to point out to me that my contempt for

Muslims is racist. But I ask you ladies and gentlemen of the jury: what

has Islam done for me except call me an infidel dog, a giaour, and

massacre millions of my ancestors in the name of Allah? I know, I know,

as a good Christian I should turn the other cheek and look the other way

as jihadist mullahs preach the destruction of the infidel West. But

sinner that I am, unlike my pro-Arab critics, I cannot pretend to be a

good Christian, or even a bad Christian, or even a Christian┘if being

Christian means recycling Taliban crap.

***

To preach Armenianism and to be agreeable: Why is it that these two are

thought of as incompatible? I have a theory: Like water (H2O) Armenianism

is a compound whose formula may be expressed thus: O2A = two parts

Ottomanism to one part Armenianism.

[ara baliozian]

TWO OBSERVATIONS

*************************

FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

There is more freedom in the U.S. than anywhere else.

The Afghan press enjoys more freedom here than in Afghanistan. This could

also be said of all ethnic presses, including the Armenian. Anyone who

has spoken to an Armenian editor will know that the Armenian-American

press enjoys more freedom here than in Armenia. And when an

Armenian-American editor was severely thrashed and hospitalized in Los

Angeles a couple of years ago, it was agreed that the perpetrators were

not agents of the CIA or the FBI, or for that matter, garden-variety odar

street hoodlums, but Armenians imported especially for that purpose from

the Middle East.

A CONFESSION

As an Armenian, I don't mind admitting that I feel more comfortable in

Canada than I would in my own homeland or anywhere else whose dominant

minority is Armenian; and before you hurl adjectives at me I suggest you

direct your verbal abuse at the corrupt, incompetent, and tribal Armenian

leaders whose so-called patriotism is nothing but a cheap mask and whose

so-called Armenianism might as well be synonymous with fascism.

[ara baliozian]

ELEGY / #2

**********************

He who is eager to contradict you

will be even more eager to misunderstand you.

In no other endeavor

he will be more stubborn, resourceful and creative.

If someday one of our historians

writes a book in which he proves

beyond a shadow of a doubt

that all our divisions and feuds

are results of mutual misunderstanding,

you can be sure of one thing:

he will be misunderstood,

excoriated and vilified from all sides.

He will attract more Armenian venom

than Sultan Abdulhamid II and Talaat combined.

Everyone who is someone in our communities

(or thinks is someone)

will rise in defense of his orthodoxy,

ideology, organization, association,

tribe, agenda, club, faction, gang, mafia

or anything else that lends him

a semblance of authority or prestige.

Not only such a historian

will solve none of our problems

but he will create new ones.

[ara baliozian]

NOTES / COMMENTS

*****************************

Just because I think against myself it does not follow I am anti-myself;

and just because I am critical of Armenians, it does not follow I am

anti-Armenian.

***

Speaking of anti-Armenian: I once met a born-again Armenian-American in

his seventies who thought Armenians were evil and he hated the Turks not

because they had tried to exterminate us but because they had failed to

do so. Now, that’s what I call anti-Armenian. And if you think this

Armenian was an anomaly, think again and consider the fact that the

overwhelming majority of Armenians today prefer to stay away from their

fellow Armenians.

***

We preach dialogue but practice monologue. We preach brotherhood but

practice Cain-Abelism. Our eleventh silent commandment: Preach positive,

practice negative.

***

We are so damn insecure that the possibility of being wrong scares the

hell out of us. The Pope may admit errors of judgment but we prefer to

emulate far superior role models like Stalin and Suleiman the Magnificent

[ara baliozian]

FROM MY NOTEBOOKS

*******************************

If you recycle propaganda, you will be hated by the opposition. If you

speak the truth (or, let’s say, if you refuse to recycle crap) you will

be hated by both sides. If you voice moderate or middle-road views, you

will run the risk of being run over by both sides of the traffic. Hence

the unspoken slogan most Armenians appear to have adopted: "A plague on

both your houses!"

***

"Truth shall set you free," we are told. Not always. Especially not in an

Armenian context. An Armenian who thinks truth is on his side behaves

more like a slave to his Ottomanism.

***

When asked to explain why he bought himself a parrot, Nasreddin Khodja is

said to have replied: "I was told a parrot lives to be two hundred years

old. I wanted to make sure this is true."

***

Napoleon didn't much care for music. "Music is the most expensive noise,"

he once remarked to a composer, who retorted: "Not as expensive as the

noise of cannon."

***

To the question, "Are you faithful to your wife?" the well-known French

actor and womanizer, Lucien Guitry, replied: "Yes…of course…frequently!"

[ara baliozian]

MEA CULPA #2

*************************

An honest politician is an oxymoron. So is an honest lawyer or, for that

matter, an honest businessman. "All professions are conspiracies against

the laity," Shaw said (and he was speaking of medicine). One reason I

went into literature is that I thought it was one of the very few fields

of human endeavor in which honesty was a sine qua non. I was wrong. I was

dead wrong! I know now that there are more charlatans there than anywhere

else, and nothing is penalized as severely as honesty. As soon as you

make an honest statement you are set upon not only by a large number of

philistines, propagandists, parasites and phony pundits on any given

subject but also by their families, relatives, friends, and brainwashed

supporters who have not yet mastered the difficult art (difficult

especially for Armenians) of thinking for themselves: all of whom

consider truth as their number one enemy because it may expose them for

what they are.

"He who speaks does not know," we are told, "and he who knows does not

speak." I have not yet mastered the wisdom of silence but I am looking

forward to it.

[ara baliozian]

ON BEING WRONG

****************************

1. Very often, in our context, "You are wrong!" is only the first half of a

sentence, the unspoken second half being: "Because you don't agree with

my favorite propaganda line," which might as well mean: "You can't be

right whenever you think for yourself and refuse to recycle the crap of a

boss, bishop, or mullah."

2. He who overestimates himself will underestimate the opposition.

3. Where is the Armenian who will speak as a member of the human race as

opposed to a fraction of it? -- and he will speak without the need to

recycle someone else’s cliches, prejudices and complexes.

4. Why is it that before an Armenian decides to recycle crap he assesses

himself as smart?

5. It is not easy doing the wrong thing when you know what’s right, but most

people take a perverse pleasure in it.

6. It’s not easy learning from one’s mistakes; impossible if you don't think

of them as mistakes.

7. It is useless to speak in an environment where fools have succeeded in

convincing themselves to be wise.

[ara baliozian]

HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF

*********************************

What’s happening to Afghanistan today happened to us at the turn of the

century – with minor variations of course: a threatened empire, a

helpless nation (or collection of tribes) at the mercy of a ruthless and

fanatical minority that has assumed leadership, the slaughter of innocent

civilians, countless refugees, death by disease, exposure and starvation,

moderate leaders who are executed by the fanatics….

And when the Taliban is defeated and dispersed around the world, they

will organize small cells that will plot vengeance against America.

Reconciliation? Not on your life. They are right today and they will be

right a hundred years hence, because they have truth or Allah on their

side. So what if the nation is destroyed and countless innocent civilians

slaughtered? You cannot make an omelette without breaking a couple of

eggs. That’s right, a couple of eggs. That’s all the people are worth to

fanatics.

***

Moral I: You cannot attack an empire and hope to remain unpunished.

***

Moral II: You cannot lose a war and misrepresent it as a moral victory.

***

Moral III: You cannot divide and dismember a nation and pretend to lead it.

***

Moral IV: You cannot destroy a nation and parade as its saviors.

***

Moral V: You cannot brainwash yourself with slogans, cliches, ideological

propaganda and mumbo jumbo and pretend to understand history.

[ara baliozian]

INQUEST

*******************

A couple of months ago a man committed suicide after killing his wife and

children in a small town not far from here. There is now an inquest to

find out what went wrong and what could be done to prevent such future

tragedies.

Such inquests, hearings, and commissions in which witnesses, experts and

lawyers testify under oath, are a constant feature of democracies. By

contrast, in authoritarian power structures it is assumed those in

authority know all they need to know. They know because they base their

knowledge on holy scriptures or a specific ideology (which they tend to

confuse with theology).

What would have happened if, after the first massacres of 1894, someone

had proposed setting up a commission? I can imagine the voice of

authority saying: "No need to study anything! We are right and the Turks

wrong! That’s all there is to it. We must persevere in our single-minded

quest for freedom. God, justice, history and the West are on our side."

Those who oppose TARC today repeat that refrain. Instead of saying,

"This is a great opportunity for us to expose the mindset of nations that

commit genocide," they say: "The Turks were bloodthirsty savages; so are

their children and their children’s children! We cannot deal with them

because we reject evil in all its disguises."

This type of mentality is clearly outlined in the Old Testament, where

God orders His Chosen People to massacre not only their enemies, but also

their wives, children and cattle because they are all contaminated with

evil.

But I suspect there is another reason why they oppose TARC and that’s

the possibility of being themselves exposed as incompetent, blind, and a

disgrace to the concept of political leadership.

[ara baliozian]

NOTES / COMMENTS

*****************************

If my loathing of tribalism makes me see nothing good in Arabs,

I can imagine what anti-Semitism does do anti-Semites.

***

Every civilized and progressive nation has a set of laws whose sole aim

is to protect the people from their leaders. Since we never had such

laws, most abuses of power in our institutions and bureaucracies have

gone unexposed, and when exposed, unpunished.

I tremble to think what will happen on the day the average patriotic

Armenian discovers this fact.

***

When I was young I entertained many ambitions. But old age has taught me

humility and acceptance of my own limitations. My main goal in life now

is to puncture the swollen egos of our self-satisfied swine. As for

changing things: I leave that to our megalomaniacal morons with messianic

ambitions.

***

I like this thought by Jean Rostand: "In a future age we shall be just as

astonished to find that we have had politicians as leaders as we are,

today, to find that we once had barbers as surgeons."

***

Some of my readers are critics because they cannot be assassins.

***

The surest symptom of inferiority: assessing oneself as superior.

***

Where a part-time janitor makes more money than a full-time writer, there will be an abundance of trashy propaganda and a total absence of ideas.

***

The trouble with fanatics and fascists is that they

don't see themselves as fanatics and fascists but as men of principle; and the worst part of it is that there will always be dupes who will be taken

in by their empty verbiage.

[ara baliozian]

LOOKING FORWARD

****************************

When I went into this business (make it, racket) twenty-five years ago, I

knew less than nothing. Less than nothing because I was blinded by

clichйs, platitudes and patriotic mumbo jumbo; and when you are thus

blinded you cannot see reality and the abyss before your feet. And then

the inevitable happens. You open your eyes and you realize you were

dreaming.

Armenians are smart, sensitive, musical: you will find these and many

other clichйs in my first books, all of which are mercifully out of print

now. Among us too trash is more popular.

Smart? Can a naпve dupe be smart?

Musical? Is davul zurna music?

Sensitive? How about touchy, self-righteous, arrogant?

Am I a case of from one extreme to another? If I am, then all I can say

is that I now look forward to the day when I will view my fellow

Armenians as ordinary joes very much like the rest of mankind: neither

very smart nor stupid…. But I suspect if that day comes, they will no

longer be a source of irritation but boredom, and to the delight of our

charlatans I may have nothing further to say on the subject. Yes

[khodja]

Ara has honed into the essence of the "Armenian Question." Yes, I know it has refrered to the place of the Armenains in the Ottoman Empire. But the bigger "Armenian Question" to me is when are we going to transcend our self-destructive tendencies?

[Twilight Bark]

It is silly to think that any useful insight will come from a master of misdiagnosis such as Mr. Baliozian. He is getting confused by just scratching the surface.

 

The condition of the Armenian culture will be improved when we become better parents, especially the men. Our culture will improve when our mothers nurture their boys' souls as much as they nurture their daughters'. Our culture will improve when ordinary Armenians begin to read. How can an individual Armenian help? Not by pontificating nonsense, I can tell you that.

 

One can start by becoming good, dedicated parents, and raising good kids who view Armenians as their extended family. One can do more by becoming an educator in an Armenian school, and by trying to propagate an enlightened, intelligent view of the world and ourselves to the next generation.

 

Generating endless amounts of shallow, simple-minded, hateful garbage (mixed, to be fair, with impossible-to-disagree-with platitudes quoted out of context, to throw off the unsuspecting reader) as Mr. Baliozian has been doing, is unlikely to be helpful to anyone.

 

Twilight Bark

[ara baliozian]

ON DESPOTISM

************************

Why is it that throughout history all forms of authoritarianism and

despotism have been more popular than democracy? The answer is rooted in

religion, psychology and politics.

Religion: God the all-powerful and the all-knowing Father. The despot

assumes the role of God’s representative on earth; or, if he denies the

existence of God, he creates a new religion and declares himself its God

(Stalin).

Psychology: The family unit whose head and supreme authority is the

father. The word "unit" must be emphasized here. No outsider can replace

any member of this unit. Which is why anti-semitism is one of the pillars

of nationalism and its twin, fascism.

Politics: The existence or the creation of a cunning, ruthless, powerful

and evil enemy that will represent the Devil on earth. Remember the

Afro-American slogan, "White man is the devil." To Stalinists it was

Capitalism. To the Arabs it is Israel and America. To us, Turkey. To

maintain this illusion the despot must control the press. All forms of

dissent are seen as treason and collaboration with the enemy. On more

than one occasion I have myself been identified as an agent of the CIA

and the Mossad. My Ramgavar friends think of me as an agent of the ARF, a

vice versa: in the eyes of my ARF friends I am a hireling of the

Ramgavars. A well-known writer of the Diaspora once told me: "Why bother

translating Zarian? The man was a hireling of the Kremlin." When asked

for some evidence, he said: "Vahan Tekeyan [a poet of the Diaspora] says

so in one of his letters." Which brings up the subject of gullibility.

Despotism without dupes is unthinkable. In order to thrive despotism

needs dupes and dupes come in all sizes, shapes and degrees of

sophistication: from the most eminent philosophers and novelists

(Heidegger, Hamsun) to the suicidal Muslim teen fanatic willing to kill

and die in the name of Allah because the mullahs have promised him

eternal bliss and a harem of virgins – also a fat check to his family.

[ara baliozian]

PERVERSION

************************

1.

Some of my critics are eager to see me admit fallibility, even though, on

more than one occasion I have stated that if I am wrong I hurt no one but

myself; but if our partisans are wrong they undermine the integrity of

the nation.

2.

The integrity of the nation: this might as well be a remote abstraction

whose meaning and importance have not yet penetrated the thick skulls of

our bosses and bishops and their dupes who accept their authority as

infallible.

3.

Because I promote solidarity and democratic values like freedom of speech

and other fundamental human rights, my partisan critics demand that I

admit fallibility; and because they not only promote fascist values but

also practice divisiveness, they demand that we accept their authority as

infallible.

4.

In Arab countries the press is allowed, even encouraged, to criticize

Israel and the United States but not its own regime. Our own partisan

press operates on similar principles: "Criticize the Turks, the West, the

U.S. and the rest of the world as much as you want, but leave the Party

alone!" This piece of blatant perversion gives our partisans the

illusions of being beyond criticism.

[ara baliozian]

CASTING PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

****************************************

Casting pearls before swine.

I like the sound and rhythm but above all the meaning of that sentence.

Casting pearls before swine.

Coined by an anonymous speaker thousands of years ago,

repeated countless times since,

it has lost none of its authority and power of penetration.

Someday I would like to write a verbal fugue

in which this sentence appears and disappears, enters and exits again and

again until it penetrates the thick skulls of our self-appointed

commissars of culture

(actually, serial killers speaking in the name of God and Country to

camouflage their true identity).

Like Hitchcock, making a brief appearance in all his films,

I wish I too could interpolate this sentence

in everything I write to remind our chauvinist charlatans of who and what

they are.

Casting pearls before swine.

Yes, I like the sound of that sentence ever since a gentle reader said

that’s what I have been doing.

Casting pearls before swine.

[ara baliozian]

NOTES / COMMENTS

******************************

Investigative reporters are the eyes and ears of a nation. This point

should be emphasized. A nation without investigative reporters might as

well be blind, deaf, and dumb.

Some leaders behave like shepherds: first they fleece, then they butcher.

I have at no time thought of our leaders as my friends, let alone as my

servants, but as my enemies.

I will never understand people who feel the need to support one side

against the other. If I can loathe both sides, I don't feel compelled to

choose; and whenever asked to choose, I quote Dr. Johnson’s celebrated

dictum: "Sir, there is no settling the point of precedency between a

louse and a flea."

Eliminate corruption and silence those who justify it in the name of this

or that principle, and all our internal problems will be solved.

You cannot argue with somebody who thinks he is somebody and you are

nobody.

Forgiveness comes easy to those with thick skins and thicker skulls.

A typical Armenian leader has a Plan A for the nation, but a Plan A and

Plan B for himself. Even when the nation loses, he wins.

[ara baliozian]

A RISKY BUSINESS

************************

Because I speak for myself I have become an enemy even to my friends.

Most people don't speak for themselves; they prefer to speak in the name

of a noble principle or ideal like God and Country. Most people don't

speak for themselves because they cannot think for themselves and they

try to camouflage this deficiency beneath noble-sounding and derivative

platitudes. Those with warlike instincts speak of peace. And those who

are eager to justify their hatred of their fellow men speak of love. To

the average man another average man isn't worth a sh**! Which is why he

who speaks for himself is seen as an enemy: and he is perceived as an

enemy because he threatens to expose their killer instincts.

[ara baliozian]

AS I SEE IT

************************

There are men of good will but they are few in number; and then there are

the bastards who are many. What complicates matters is that the bastards

think they are the good guys.

Those who condemned Socrates to death thought they were acting in the

name of law and order and the gods. Those who crucified Christ thought

they were acting in the name of Moses and all the prophets of the Old

Testament. The fanatic who assassinated Gandhi was a Hindu, like Gandhi,

but he was convinced he was a better Hindu than Gandhi. The theologians

who excommunicated Tolstoy did so in the name of Christ and the

Scriptures. Their successors, the commissars, who persecuted Solzhenitsyn

acted in the name of their own prophet and messiah, Karl Marx, who very

much like Christ, promoted justice and the brotherhood of all men.

It doesn't take much to brainwash dupes. Sometimes you don't even have to

brainwash them because they brainwash themselves.

What’s the solution to this perennial problem?

There is an old Chinese saying: "If you see a good man, emulate him. If

you see a bad man examine your own heart." In the meantime, my advice is:

do not parrot slogans, do not recycle crap, and where millions of dupes

think alike, search for the recycled crap.