Something to say

[rowyn]

I want to say more than this, more than just "bastards, which isn't enough to convey how I feel (isn't there enough pain and grief in the world enough earthquakes and pipeline explosions and volcanos to satisfy their lust for death why do they need to make more).

I feel angry and powerless, and I don't want simply to turn away, to say "not my problem". It's my problem. It's everyone's problem, if only just a little.

I keep thinking of this story, that I believe koogrr pointed me to a long time ago. Some images stay with you. This one stayed with me. After 9/11, a lot of people in many countries showed support for the US. But this one, in particular, I remember. Because these were people half a world away, who probably think of America as a place unimaginably wealthier than they are. Who should've thought, "Wow, what a tremendous and terrible loss. There's nothing we could do that would make a difference." But they did something anyway. And you know what?

It made a difference.

At least to me.

I want to make a difference. I want to write something stirringly eloquent for them. I want to dust off my decade-old terrible Spanish and say something that would help, if only a little. Something to let the people in Madrid know that they aren't alone, that a whole world full of good, decent people is with them, grieving for their loss, and condemning the terrorists that did this to them.

The Spanish equivalent of "I'm sorry" is "Lo siento. That literally means, "I feel it." I always liked that phrase better than "I'm sorry", beca use it captures that empathy. Lo siento is not 'Whoops, my bad' but 'I sorrow for your loss'. The latter is much more eloquent.

Lo siento.

For most of the the last two and a half years, I've worn red, white, and blue ponytail holders at the end of my braid. You know. I never used to think the American colors went very well together, but then I decided that a little patriotism goes with everything.

I think tomorrow, I'll wear red and yellow, instead.

I don't know that I can do anything useful.

But I can try.

Comments

[makovette.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the inspiration I needed to make some sort of pathetic excuse of an entry in my own LJ.

I should have done something when the Bali attack occured last year, but what to do that isn't in the end self medication just to make the pain go away...?

Sigh...
Mako

[level-head.livejournal.com]

It is particularly poignant in the wake of al Qaeda's announcement of responsibility. They had threatened Spain before for helping the US; this is their "punishment".

There is no excuse for this terrorism.

===|==============/ Level Head

[rowyn]

Has al Qaeda announced responsibility? I heard that "the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigade" had sent an email saying that al Qaeda did it, but the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigade isn't all that credible. (They claimed credit for the blackout on the East coast last summer, for example, which was totally bogus). It's not certain that they're even connected to al Qaeda, much less speaking for them.

Even so, that would hardly mean al Qaeda didn't do it. I don't think they ever claimed credit for the 9/11 attacks, either.

Bleah.

[level-head.livejournal.com]

As of this moment, it's not quite clear -- only suggestive:

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge (search) said Friday he could not confirm whether Al Qaeda had a hand in the bombings.

"There is no specific information" available that would point to the identities of the perpetrators, he told reporters during a visit to Thailand. "There is a lot of speculation."

The five-page e-mail claim, signed by the shadowy Brigade of Abu Hafs al-Masri (search), was received at the paper's London offices. It said the brigade's "death squad" had penetrated "one of the pillars of the crusade alliance, Spain."

"This is part of settling old accounts with Spain, the crusader, and America's ally in its war against Islam," the claim said.

The paper's editor, Bari Atwan, told Fox News the alleged letter from Al Qaeda "looks authentic" and consistent with letters the paper has received from the terrorist organization in the past.

A nasty business indeed.

===|==============/ Level Head

Self-medication is better than nothing?

[rowyn]

I don't know, either. *hug*