Give Peace a Chance
Yesterday, a friend and I were in the thick of things down Parliament Road. Driving down Cotta Road on a moped, we squeezed past literally hundreds of big, empty red buses, which were simply stopped, blocking the entire road. There were, again literally, thousands of people on the streets, from Borella to Parliament Grounds. Mostly they were young men, but there were also the old, the very, very young, and the women. Mostly, the young men were all wasted. They had probably been drinking all the way from Puttalam or Bandarawela or wherever it is that they came from. Because they had come from everywhere.
A few times, we tried to ask very innocent questions, like why were there all these buses, and was there any other road we could take? And we were met with shouting, groping, scolding, sarcasm and insults.
Now I can see why some people were scared by these celebratory masses of drunk men. I was quite scared, tense to say the least. I told my friend, let’s not draw any attention to ourselves, let’s just get out of here. There was a distinctive attitude of aggression and arrogance in the air. There was a lot of ego, and even a weird sense of militancy. It felt like all these men were letting out all the anger, frustration and desperation they had felt over the last so many years on this one concentrated occasion. This is a fair bit of anger and frustration, as you can imagine. It is the anger and frustration of literally thousands of people, all channeled into ‘celebrating’. I can easily imagine how this kind of gathering could have spun out of control.
The President was not the calm, collected man we saw in Parliament, speaking solemn words of reassurance and promise. He was the politician speaking to the adoring masses, the menacing, fist-shaking, fat politician, shouting slogans of war and victory. The mass hysteria was more than palpable. People parrot his propaganda word for word, I’ve noticed. And no doubt, his speech on Parliament Grounds will be repeated for months to come.
Propaganda is useful. It works to get people motivated, it keeps the morale high. There are a lot of ideas being promoted to the people right now, and what I disagree with is not the strong idea that we won the war, but that we did it the right way. Perhaps there is no right way to fight a war, but then that’s the point: we should be teaching our children and youth that this was a war we were forced to fight, and that war is not the answer. The idea of war and fighting itself is being glorified and placed on a very high pedestal. All the very small children I saw at the Commemoration ceremony yesterday, all gleefully waving flags and clapping with joy, are being taught that fighting is the way to fix things, to ‘win’ things.
I principally don’t agree with war and violence as a solution to anything. But we did engage in a war and therefore we have engaged in a lot of violence. All I wish is that there was some note of regret, some note of solemnity, so that people can know that wars are not a glamorous end to things, and that fighting is not an awesome, brave solution. War is something that a nation should enter into with great caution, seriousness and thought. A military victory is something that a nation should acknowledge with pride, yes, but also a pinch of regret for all the destruction and death, a somber thought for the magnitude of loss. And I don’t mean going on and going on about all the death and destruction caused by the enemy, as if we ourselves have not caused any death or destruction. I mean actually acknowledging that war itself inherently means death and destruction, whoever it may be that is causing it.
As I watched all the faces of the wide-eyed children at that ceremony, I felt a little anxious. There they were, possibly with dreamy visions of gun-toting heroes in camouflage outfits in their heads, wishing that one day they too will grow up to be that brave and useful to their nation; believing that freedom and sovereignty can be won only through annihilation and war, going home thinking perhaps, that they have nothing and no one to fear, because if it ever comes right down to it, wars can be waged and even won. They will grow up thinking that war is a good choice, a right choice, that killing is necessary to wipe out threats.
Along with all the “Jayawewa”s, I wish the President had inspired a moment of quiet thought amongst the people gathered there yesterday. I wish he would have used the power he wields over them and their every thought to say to them, “I wish we had never fought this war. I wish we had found another way. But we couldn’t, and we had to fight, and I am sorry for all the loss and the permanent damage”. I wish there was just a moment of mature contemplation of the price Sri Lanka has paid, as a nation. I wish there had been one thought spared for what a terrible thing war truly is, just one moment in which he had acknowledged the true nature of war, so unnecessarily destructive and futile.
I wish he had made a point to tell all the children there that he wishes they should never have to fight, a war or otherwise. I wish he had said to them, “War is not the only option. Give peace a chance”.
truly a GREAT post electra.
Comment by galleblogger — May 23, 2009 @ 11:24 am
why do you slander ppl ?
why do you hate ordinary sri lankans so much?
what exactly did they do to you ?
you make unverifiable claims against the defenseless, here far from them, like a coward.
even if they are true ( which i don’t believe given your ingrained tendency to exaggerate and boast ) even in your own account you seem to have provoked them with your hateful prejudices and open contempt. so clear is that even from your acount in spite of your claim that your action were “innocent “. your earlier writing all indicate similar hate and contempt for sri lankans .
all in all this post is full of hate . ( as a person who really hate peaceniks and terrorists, i know hate when i see it ).
we get it that you always wanted peace at any cost, through appeasement of terrorists using blood of those same innocent ordinary sri lanakans, and at the cost of human rights, justice, freedom, and democracy . we get it that you don’t like that terrorists got defeated through military means. we get it that you are feeling annoyed given the total collapse of your racist fantasy about ltte terrorists being freedom fighters in a ethnic conflict, supported by tamils. we even get it that you are feeling nervous about your future as a third generation ngo parasite.
but the fact that you were wrong about everything and not feeling well should not be an excuse for a hate attacks on others . as this post so transparently is.
by all means criticize the celebrations, buffalo, or whoever and whatever, you want . but don’t slander ( esp defenseless ordinary sri lankans) and don’t pretend you don’t hate them.
galleblogger
typical of you to like this hatepost
aren’t you the same blogger so enthusiastically approved amnesty international’s disgusting targeting of sri lankan cricket team during last world cup? and made false claims about a riot in galle after the failed terrorist attack there ?
some ppl never learn
Comment by sittingnut — May 23, 2009 @ 12:54 pm
Electra…good post. I guess it’s only natural that people will celebrate. Also, Sri Lankan’s and alcohol naturally tend to gravitate towards bluster and aggression…just go to any nightclub on a weekend. So I guess it’s more the elation and alcohol rather than any ingrained bias. I think things will right themselves once both wear off.
About Mahinda’s speech, well it is unfortunate. However, he IS the consumate politician so I guess it could have been a case of him playing to the gallery. Let’s wait and see how things play out. Hopefully it will all be positive from now on.
Sittingnut - interesting how, amidst all your vitriol, you manage to accuse everyone of being racisit ‘because they equate LTTE with Tamils’. Now I really don’t know how you managed to draw that conclusion but then again, you are special. It could also be a red herring to deter accusations of racism against yourself, because you are, quite obviously, racist. Oh and I like the melodramatic opening to your comment… Why indeed..
Electra - be prepared for a long and meandering reply from from Sittingnut. No need to read it cos it’ll be the same old drivel.
Comment by The-Benevolent-Dictator — May 23, 2009 @ 2:17 pm
Provoked them? Sittingnut, really, get a life.
We were actually planning to go and check out the thing at Parliament Grounds last evening. I really wanted to. We were very close by and had planned to. But driving through it made me change my mind. We did not provoke them. I was merely curious as to what exactly the set up was, and which roads were blocked etc., in fact a few times, we tried to get into conversation with people, asking whether they were headed to the ceremony, how it was going, and other such questions and the responses were so hostile I decided it wasn’t worth it trying to be friendly. Once we merely asked where all the buses had come from (at this point, we still didn’t know that people had been brought to Colombo from all over the island, an answer was all I was expecting) and got yelled at for simply not knowing. WTF. I got shouted at for not knowing exactly what the plans were for this ceremony. And I got touched and a whole load of lewd comments thrown at me. You aren’t a woman, I don’t expect you to understand what an intrinsic part of our day to day life this is. Do I hate Sri Lankans? Of course not, you moron. But forgive for hating men who disrespect me. Forgive me for being suspicious of men who taunt me.
I certainly did not show any contempt for these people. Even after many of them had been pretty horrible to us. I was just eager to get out of there. (Like I said, I had planned to join them.) However, I cannot say the same for them. They did show contempt. They did openly insult and hate. I was just trying to point out that there was a distinct air of hostility towards anyone that stood out as different, or as not being a part of the celebrations.
I knew you would go on and on about how I’m elitist and how I hate the ‘common man’. But that’s not what this post is about. It’s about the glorification of war that is being widely promoted by government and pro-government propaganda. So please keep the comments on this thread relevant.
Comment by electra — May 23, 2009 @ 3:19 pm
Good post, Electra. I agree with most of what you said about MR. However, I think it’s too early to expect philosophy. Wait a few months. Have a look at the US at the end of WW2 and how the German people were treated. It wasn’t great in ‘45, but it got better.
As for the crowd at Parliament, don’t take it so hard. It’s just drunken rural guys in Colombo. Remember also, they’ve been regularly fed on a diet of how everyone in Colombo hates the government and votes for Ranil.
I don’t know why you bother with Snut. It’s like trying to drive through rain with shitty windscreen wipers.
Comment by David Blacker — May 23, 2009 @ 7:03 pm
Thanks, David. Perhaps you’re right. And once again, you’ve managed to put what I’m thinking about, or rather in this post ‘looking for’, into one word: philosophy.
You’re right about Sittingnut, too. I really shouldn’t bother.
Comment by electra — May 23, 2009 @ 7:07 pm
the-benevolent-dictator ( all of whose blog posts this year are about poor old me ):
i do accuse anyone, who equate terrorists with tamils, of being racist .
does anyone here, other than dictator, think such equalization, not racist?
when i accuse someone racism, i provide the evidence for doing so.
you on the other hand is unable to provide anything top back your claims about me . why not quote me being racist if you are so sure? don’t run, just quote or link, if you can, or admit that you cannot and apologize.
i am sure you wont do either.
you think you can get way with slandering me here, and you will with ppl who don’t value, facts, evidence, or truth .
i however care only about ppl who value all that .
-
electra:
:-) i do have a life .thank you for your concern.
but i wont stand idly by when you slander defenseless ppl in your hate posts
your reply proves my point. you dug yourself further into the hole ( so you may do well to heed the advice of blacker about ignoring me but for different reasons)
you shout again and again that you did not provoke, but your reply comment is proof enough that you did provoke. that you did show contempt and is still showing contempt . clam down and read it you will see what i mean, if you are capable of judging yourself .
you thought that you will have sympathetic readership here who share in your hate and contempt . and there are some . but don’t expect everyone to be like that
i did not call you elitist. i don’t think you are elitist. i have called ppl like you pseudo elitist - ppl who think they are elitist but really do not have any power . or influence.
and you did slander and hate those ppl .so my comment was relevant to the topic.
as for glorification of war against terrorism, why not ? it is certainly better than the bloody, racist appeasement of terrorism you supported. it was a victory against racism, for sustainable peace, for democracy , freedom, justice, and human rights . we should glorify and honor all those who fought..
you are free not to do so .but don’t hate those who do not share your racist prejudices.
-
david blacker
i am sure you know all about driving “through rain with shitty windscreen wipers.”
i do remember you disagreeing a lot with me. but guess who was right and proved right by events in all cases ?
maybe you should check your blinkers ( if not your eyes and brain ) and stop blaming windscreen wipers for your wrong turns and wreck of predictions.
Comment by sittingnut — May 24, 2009 @ 12:04 am
No, Snut, I’ve laughed at you a lot. I’m sure you found that disagreeable, but disagreement is slightly different
Most of your arguments were expounding that the LTTE should be defeated, which like arguing that gravity exists, is hard to disagree with. What we disagreed with was how to do it. Usually, you were wrong until overtaken by events, after which you usually waffled for so long that no one was quite sure what you’d said in the first place. Examples above. 
Comment by David Blacker — May 24, 2009 @ 8:09 am
True, there can be a few drunk bastards who ill-treat women in colombo. But everyone who celebrated the end of war cannot be stereotyped as wasted, aggressive or arrogant. Lankan govts. tried to seek a negotiated settlement with the tigers but the tigers always wanted a separate state. Therefore, the govt. was forced to launch this operation. Prez. Rajapaksha had to make a strong nation as some international a**holes are trying to charge our beloved nation with “war crimes”. Never underestimate the willpower of this hero from the south. He is the only person who can convince the sinhala majority for a political devolution package for the tamils. Unlike CBK, he didn’t accuse others. We need him now to win the ‘BATTLE OF PEACE’
Comment by Roshan — May 24, 2009 @ 2:45 pm
dear sittingtwat,
i had told u in the past to fuck off and u did up to now. i have never replied to ur crappy posts after that up to now and ignored any of ur content in op’s blogs. i reiterate now. fuck off.
Comment by galleblogger — May 24, 2009 @ 3:28 pm
david blacker:
not to mention the very different reaction of peacenik parasites to each of us.
do keep up the denials. at that rate you would believe your own lies, even though what you said and what i said ( for example about the use of violence to defeat ltte, and opposition to appeasement of terrorism, ) and when all that was said , are available for all to see.
you still know the truth, in spite of your denials, that is why you are replying to me after advising electra to do otherwise .
btw another example of your utter superficial cluelessness - “Remember also, they’ve been regularly fed on a diet of how everyone in Colombo hates the government and votes for Ranil.” -
galleblogger :
is your your last comment a david blacker like denial of your activities in the past ( enthusiastic approval of amnesty international’s disgusting targeting of sri lankan cricket team during last world cup, and false claims about a riot in galle after the failed terrorist attack there, etc) or an admittance of those?
i think you should tell your past to fuck off first
Comment by sittingnut — May 25, 2009 @ 2:04 am
go back under the stone you came from, can’t u see nobody likes u or what u say (apart from like-demented ppl)? i mean ppl either take the piss (and u don’t even get it, proof is u even answer piss-takes with lenghty useless rants thinking they were serious,lol) , or avoid you like aids (ignoring u) or insult u. btw don’t forget u are accessory to the murder of thosands of ppl (be them ltte, gov and civilian) through ur support of it, so think about that instead u spineless racist (armchair)warmonger. think about UR past, coz your future is sure shit! u have become utterly useless now, havent u? are ur masters going to continue paying u or will u unemployed now?
haahhaha! cmon now rant! type type rant rant! pls have us rollig on the floor again! ur everyboody’s punch(douche)bag!
sorry electra…lol! wait for the next stream of unintelligible garbage….
Comment by galleblogger — May 25, 2009 @ 7:04 am
truth hurts it seems. esp truth about galleblogger’s past .
Comment by sittingnut — May 25, 2009 @ 8:27 am
fyi another campaign i support is this: http://english.nessunotocchicaino.it/ its called hands off cain. educate urself on the value human life should have. WHOEVER the person. and yes it includes all countries.
u see, the difference between me and u is very simple and totally unbridgeable: i have a constant sound in my ears, the sound of blasts, screams, crying. ppl like you and the prabhakarans of this world, are in favour of it. therefore we cannot be “friends”, we never will be. how’s that for stringent logic?
i hope you can hear those sounds when u put ur head on the pillow tonight and, if u weep in sorrow, maybe there is still hope for u.
Comment by galleblogger — May 25, 2009 @ 2:25 pm
great post, electra… drop me a line if you can.
Comment by sugi — June 8, 2009 @ 7:37 pm