IP: a parable on the seeds of war

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Date: Sat, 6 Oct 2001 19:55:11 -0500
> To: dave () farber net
> From: Benjamin Kuipers <kuipers () cs utexas edu>
>
>
> Dave,
>
> I offer a parable to illustrate the seeds of war.
>
> The point of this is NOT to say that the West is somehow responsible
> for terrorism.  Obviously, the terrorists are responsible, and they
> must be brought to justice.  However, we need to understand the mechanisms
> in place that feed terrorism beforehand, and that would be invoked
> by certain types of retaliation.  It makes no sense to act without
> understanding the context.
>
> The purpose of this parable is to provide intuition about one such
> mechanism.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Ben Kuipers
>
> -----------
>
> Imagine that you and your family live in a really bad neighborhood.  You
> struggle every day to make ends meet.  You try to keep your children safe
> from the criminals who live in your area.  You work hard to teach
> your children to be good people, and to live right, even though they
> are surrounded by examples of people who get rich through immorality
> and crime.  You go to church with your neighbors, and try to support
> each other in the same struggle, since the odds against each of you are
> overwhelming, but together you may have a slightly better chance.
>
> You watch TV, and you see rich people in the suburbs who have everything
> you ever wanted, who worry about crabgrass in the lawn instead of gunfire
> in the street.  You work two jobs at minimum wage, hating the fact that
> your children are home alone, while the people on TV complain about the
> high cost of gas for the SUV taking the kids to soccer games.  You and
> the members of your church tell each other, and try to believe,
> that different people have different lots in life, and each follows his
> or her own path to salvation.  Meanwhile, on TV, you hear the people in the
> suburbs complaining about how all the people in your neighborhood are
> criminals, and lazy, and should be run out of town.  You try hard to
> remember that they don't understand, and to forgive them.
>
> Then, one day, a really terrible crime is committed by a gang from your
> neighborhood.  A bomb goes off in the suburbs, and many innocent people
> are killed.
>
> You are shocked, and your heart goes out to the families who are suffering.
> A few of your meaner-hearted neighbors say that they are glad that the
> suburbs now know what it's like.  You shut them up, telling them to have
> compassion for anyone who suffers.  A few particularly foolish kids
> dance in the street and show up on the evening news.  Your church holds
> a prayer service for the victims of the bomb.
>
> The police barricade the streets around your neighborhood, and won't
> let any of you out, though a few sneak past.  On TV, you hear some of
> the rich people in the suburbs say they want to bomb your entire
> neighborhood to kill the whole gang.  If that also kills innocent people
> like you and your family, well, that's too bad, they say.
>
>         How do you feel?  What do you do?
>
> Now, suppose the police actually do bomb your neighborhood.  The bombs kill
> your parents, your wife, your daughters, and your sons.  In your family,
> the only survivors are you and your youngest son.
>
>         How do you feel?  What do you do?
>         What does your son grow up to be?
>
>
> Benjamin Kuipers, Professor         email:  kuipers () cs utexas edu
> Computer Sciences Department        tel:    1-512-471-9561
> University of Texas at Austin       fax:    1-512-471-8885
> Austin, Texas 78712 USA             http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/kuipers



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