Meryl Yourish has a good commentary on the infantalism and arrogance of these "peace activists" who seem so indignant at the thought that they might be putting themselves in harms way, just because they stick themselves between the combatants in the middle of a war zone. In fact, if the Israelis weren't treating these bozos with kid gloves, a lot more of them might have gotten hurt by now:
Rachel Corrie died of stupidity and arrogance.
It's taken a few days to sink in, but then there was this article in today's Jerusalm Post. A cohort of Corrie's was struck by rubber bullets today while watching Palestinian "youths" throw stones at Israeli soldiers.
Speaking to The Associated Press by phone from a Nablus hospital, Howanietz said he was several meters (yards) away from the youths, and 25 meters (yards) from the soldiers when he was shot.
[...] Howanietz said he was not involved in violence and wore a yellow vest identifying him as a member of the International Solidarity Movement. The group has recruited dozens of foreigners, including Americans, to monitor and protest Israeli military strikes against suspected Palestinian militants.
"We were clearly visible and definitely could not be mistaken," Howanietz said of himself and four other activists standing nearby. Howanietz said no other people around him, foreigners or Palestinians, were hit.
Rachel Corrie's associates said pretty much the same about her, some going so far as to claim she had made "eye contact" with the bulldozer driver. My brother has driven heavy construction equipment since he was in his twenties, and he pointed out that it's difficult enough to see objects on the ground from the cab of a large bulldozer, but when you add the extra armor shielding that was on the IDF bulldozer that struck Corrie, eye contact is near impossible.
But that's still not the point.
Witnesses said at the time that Corrie was wearing a bright yellow vest and was in clear view.
A recurring theme. Here's the picture and caption from the Electronic Intifada. It's been thoroughly debunked, by the way. This was taken hours before Corrie was hit. Lynn B. has more on her blog.
A clearly marked Rachel Corrie, holding a megaphone, confronts an Israeli bulldozer driver attempting to demolish a Palestinian home, Rafah, Occupied Gaza, 16 March 2003.
Leaving aside her partiality towards murderers and drug runners, I maintain that Corrie died of hubris—a peculiarly American hubris. And her companion was wounded by it. Rachel Corrie didn't get out of the way of the bulldozer in time because she thought the driver would see her, realize she was an American, and stop.
There is an arrogance among all "peace activists" that seems to run in a similar vein: Their assumption is that Israelis will gleefullly shoot and kill Palestinians, but if a Westerner is among the group—particularly an American—then nothing really bad will happen—especially not to the American. The Israelis will never deliberately shoot an American. The Israelis will never deliberately run a bulldozer over a young American woman. To assume that no harm will come to you because you are an American is childish and naive.
It's part of the reason they're there: They don't really believe, deep down, that they're risking their lives. I can't read their thoughts, no. But if they didn't believe that being an American gives them an invisible shield, why do they keep repeating that they were clearly visible? That they "could not be mistaken." For what? For the native riff-raff? Their assertion of visibility sounds, well, racist.
"We were clearly visible and definitely could not be mistaken."
These are not the words of someone who thinks he is risking life and limb. These are the words of a child expecting his substitute parent—American citizenry—to keep him safe, even in a war zone.
Of course, he's partly right. Israelis do not deliberately harm innocents, and the last thing they want is a PR nightmare of the kind that came with Corrie's death. But here's the thing that the "activists" don't understand: Being an American does not guarantee you that misfortune will not strike. Being an American does not guarantee you that a bullet meant for someone else might not hit you. Being an American does not guarantee your safety.
And most of all, being an American doesn't mean that you are automatically noticed. Being "clearly visible" doesn't mean that you are seen. Being an American does not mean that you are immune from harm.
"We were clearly visible and definitely could not be mistaken," Howanietz said of himself and four other activists standing nearby. Howanietz said no other people around him, foreigners or Palestinians, were hit.
Perhaps someone should have informed the bullets of that fact. The ones that were bought at the "Guaranteed to never accidentally hit Americans!" store. Let me rewrite Howanietz's sentence with its real meaning:
"We're Americans! We're fucking Americans! They can't shoot us! We're Americans! We don't look anything at all like Arabs. How could they not notice we're Americans? They can't shoot Americans! Look, I'm wearing a vest that practically screams 'American'! I'm allowed to stand in dangerous places and not suffer any consequences for my actions!"
That last is the reason I call it hubris. These children go into war zones, expose themselves to danger, and then can't understand why harm comes to them. They were clearly visible. They were clearly marked. They could not be mistaken for natives. (Of course the subtext in that line by Howanietz is that the IDF was gunning for him, but its patent arrogance—and racism—should not be overlooked.)
There has been a firestorm of debate over Rachel Corrie's death—and life. I think she was young and foolish. There's a photo of her going around that was taken while she was at The Burning Man. It's one of the last remnants of the sixties counterculture. It speaks volumes, in my opinion, of her mindset. This diary of another member of the same organization illustrates clearly how much growing up they need to do. And Corrie's defense of terrorists was abhorrent to me.
Still, her death was tragic and pointless and stupid. But there's one more thing that I haven't read about anywhere. Does anyone truly believe that the bulldozer driver isn't horrified over what he did? Is there anyone who truly believes this man is sleeping peacefully right now? Put yourself in his place. His job was to knock down a building. He killed a woman. Not a terrorist, not someone who was shooting at him—a young girl who was trying to stop him, that he didn't see, and accidentally crushed beneath his bulldozer. Those of you that think he deliberately drove over Rachel Corrie are simply twisted, and we have nothing to say to one another.
I'm sorry Rachel Corrie is dead. But if her companions don't figure out that being American doesn't give you an invisible, impenetrable shield in war zones, more deaths will follow. And judging from what Howanietz said after taking three rubber bullets, they're not about to change their way of thinking. Get the body bags ready
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