If I had a rocket launcher....

[Minstrel Boy]

The photos are off today's wires. The lyrics are Bruce Cockburn's



Here comes the helicopter -- second time today
Everybody scatters and hopes it goes away
How many kids they've murdered only God can say
If I had a rocket launcher...I'd make somebody pay



I don't believe in guarded borders and I don't believe in hate
I don't believe in generals or their stinking torture states
But when I talk with the survivors of things too sickening to relate
If I had a rocket launcher...I would retaliate



On the Rio Lacantun, one hundred thousand wait
To fall down from starvation -- or some less humane fate
Cry for Guatemala, with a corpse in every gate
If I had a rocket launcher...I would not hesitate



I want to raise every voice -- at least I've got to try
Every time I think about it water rises to my eyes.
Situation desperate, echoes of the victims cry
If I had a rocket launcher...Some son of a bitch would die

[htuttle]

1. Although written about Central America...

...it is an unfortunately timeless song.

[leftchick]

2. thank you MB

:cry:

[Virginia Dare]

3. I was just listening to that song yesterday...

and was thinking how timely the words were. Thanks for posting that.

[Lefty48197]

4. If I had a rocket launcher

I'd randomly launch rockets into Ohio cities and kill innocent citizens, because Ohio has illegally been occupying Toledo for years and years. That would make me a freedom fighter, I guess.

[scarletwoman]

5. Your post makes no sense whatsoever.

Would you care to elaborate on the point you're presumeably trying to make?

sw

[Lefty48197]

10. Neither does launching rockets into Israeli cities, or suicide bombers

or any of the other shit Hezbollah has been doing for decades to Israelis.

[scarletwoman]

23. Document it. You're just parroting talking points. (nt)

[MrPrax]

53. Does to me...

Do you assume everything that is posted on this topic is for YOU and your approval? You don't get it and no one is required to explain it to YOU.

[Ani Yun Wiya]

6. This response shows...

A severe lack of comprehension of the sentiment expressed.
As well as a lack of understanding of the realities which cause such expressions to arise.

I stand in full agreement with that expressed sentiment and would go one better:

Screw RPG's, I want an F-16...

[bvar22]

7. ROFL

Weak.....very weak.

[lastliberalintexas]

16. Do you not feel any sympathy AT ALL when you see these pictures?

Do you simply assume that they are Lebanese rather than Israeli, so you just don't give a shit about the hell that those people are going through? How can you tell? Is there some radar that I've missed out on that IDs the country of origin for people in pictures? Something like Gaydar but rarer?

As far as I know, these are just pictures of tortured people in the Middle East, as I am sterotyping their region based on their appearance. I have no clue whether they are Jewish, Muslim, Christian or even agnostics. They're just PEOPLE damn it- and they're hurting and need help. But I'm glad to note how little humanity you and others parroting the same phrases apparently have, as it makes it that much easier to simply put people on ignore.


And geez freaking loueez, yet another pro-war poster with a peace sign avatar.

[cptrflyr]

45. The Obvious.....

Far be it from me to point out the obvious but....


HEADDRESS!! Do you see the muslim head dress in the pic's. Or am I on crack?!!?

YOU ASKED!

[blonndee]

46. More obvious:

Three of the pictures have no such "head dress." (It's called a hijab, by the way.) Also, I didn't know Red Cross workers were necessarily Muslim.

Or is it the destruction and suffering depicted in the photos that makes it plain to you that the people in the photos are Muslim?

[cptrflyr]

50. Stick in they eye concept

I call this one the "Stick in the Eye" concept:
(Since we're talking about obvious!!)


Don't go up to the biggest guy on the block, poke him in the eye with a stick, then expect me to feel sorry for you, when he pummels you for it.

Hezb' allah...like many other organizations in the region...JUST DON'T GET IT!!

[lastliberalintexas]

51. So I guess the answer is that you have no sympathy for them

And thus the answer would also be that yes, you are on crack. You asked. :shrug:

[cptrflyr]

60. Nope!

I sure DON'T feel sympathy for 'em!

And for the record...I didn't ASK! It was a statement!

[ThoughtCriminal]

8. If I Had a Hammer...

IF I HAD A HAMMER (The Hammer Song)
words and music by Lee Hays and Pete Seeger

If I had a hammer
I'd hammer in the morning
I'd hammer in the evening
All over this land
I'd hammer out danger
I'd hammer out a warning
I'd hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land

If I had a bell
I'd ring it in the morning
I'd ring it in the evening
All over this land
I'd ring out danger
I'd ring out a warning
I'd ring out love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land

If I had a song
I'd sing it in the morning
I'd sing it in the evening
All over this land
I'd sing out danger
I'd sing out a warning
I'd sing out love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land

Well I've got a hammer
And I've got a bell
And I've got a song to sing
All over this land
It's the hammer of justice
It's the bell of freedom
It's the song about love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land

----
On the other hand, if Red Foreman had a Hammer...

"My first job was at a slaughter house... It's where I learned to use a hammer"

[malaise]

9. This was posted yesterday

by Tom Yossarian. I've been singing along since then.
http://www.knology.net/~rareandfirsts/Maguire-Eve_Destruction.mp3

[rinsd]

11. A call for retribution is all the situation needs...

:eyes:

[Minstrel Boy]

13. It's a cry of frustration

Some of Cockburn's comments on the song, from The Cockburn Project:

"...if we're ever going to find a solution for this ongoing passion for wasting each other, we have to start with the rage that knows no impediments, an uncivilized rage that says it's okay to go out and shoot some one."


"Whatever temptation I feel to be involved with that has more to do with fascination than frustration. The frustration I feel is the more honest -- well, not more honest, it's the more useful feeling, and that says to me that the solutions like the kind of response that 'Rocket Launcher' talks about are not the way to get things done. I mean, sometimes they're inescapable, but it's not a principle on which to act, really, for me, especially because it's not natural to me to do that. I'd just be another honky trying to get in on something, trying to give my life meaning, if I went and did that, and I don't have to resort to that to give my life meaning. But I have supported and will again support people in those kinds of positions who are doing that kind of thing because I don't think they have much choice sometimes."

[elehhhhna]

25. It's a perspective that helps me understand suiciders & "insurgents"

[Beaverhausen]

12. I'm seeing Bruce Cockburn tonight - at the House of Blues

Oh, this ought to be good. His new album is full of anti-war, anti-Bush songs.

[MrPrax]

54. Hope he sings...

Lovers in a Dangerous Time...another classic.

Mind you the Barenaked Ladies' version, with their great harmonies, is simply divine and perhaps one of the best covers ever of any song...

[jrd200x]

14. How about some Pics from blown up buses, discos, and pizza parlors

in Israel? All courtesy of Hamas and Hezbollah.

I'm sick of all this "blame Israel" crap. They've been suffering like this for 50 years - for a week they bomb Hezbollah and everyone sides with the terrorists. How sick.

[jonnyblitz]

15. post them then. I am sure they will pale in comparison to

what Lebanon look like after the IDF completes the massacre.

[rockymountaindem]

21. I was going to do that, but I thought better of it

Honestly, I had found three good links, but I don't need to exploit the suffering of people who got blown to bits on a bus to prove anything to you.

[jonnyblitz]

26. you don't have to show me pictures. I know how awful it is.

I personally wouldn"t post any pictures from either country.

[rockymountaindem]

27. While we're definately on different sides of this issue

I can certainly respect you for that.

[gratuitous]

17. No problem

Was it the child in the first picture or the old woman in the fourth one that blew up buses, discos and pizza parlors? Because by golly those Lebanese need to suffer, don't they? We'll keep piling wrong upon wrong, atrocity on top of atrocity until we get to "right".

Damn good strategy. I wonder why it didn't occur to me before?

[lastliberalintexas]

18. Assume much?

How do you know that none of those photos are of Israel? MB didn't provide specifics, he just posted pics from today's wire. So you just jump to the conclusion that MB could dare only feel empathy for the Lebanese, right? :eyes:

But wait, I guess the amount of damage *was* a clue that this is probably Lebanon...


And furthermore, expressing sympathy for people who are being hurt is NOT "siding with the terrorists"- unless of course you buy into the George W Bush Book of Propaganda. And considering your other posts I've seen, I'd bet you do.

[Codeblue]

19. Bombing Hezbollah?

Try "bombing innocent Lebanese civilians who feel no better about Hezbollah than the Israelis who are killing them."

[magellan]

20. I don't side with the terrorists

I side with the innocent people who are being slaughtered. It's just that significantly more of them happen to be Lebanese right now. If Israelis were suffering the same death and destruction at Hezbollah's hands I'd be decrying both sides equally. As it is, the focus is on the disproportionate number of Lebanese suffering at Israel's hands.

[marions ghost]

22. what does this accomplish?

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry::cry: :cry: :cry: :cry::cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

[elehhhhna]

24. Answer: empathetic anger.

[marions ghost]

32. I'm sorry I dont understand your comment

empathetic anger from whom?

[Minstrel Boy]

33. If I may answer

the song reflects Cockburn's empathy and rage towards the plight of innocent refugees tormented by machines of war. He doesn't want people to take up arms, but to reflect on the feelings that make them want to.

[marions ghost]

34. yes I'm familiar with the song

from the 90's and I get Bruce's meaning, but thanks for the explanation.

It was the plight of innocent refugees tormented by war that I was referring to when I said 'what does this (kind of retaliation) accomplish?' :cry:

So basically I was just echoing the message of your post.

[elehhhhna]

36. MG I'm sorry -- I thought you meant the OP, not the bombing. MY BAD!

[marions ghost]

42. .. no worries

I see how my post was ambiguous now. Was so affected by the pix I didn't really preview it objectively. Nobody bad :)

[elehhhhna]

35. delete

[cptrflyr]

49. A moments pause....

Hopefully Hezb'allah willtake a moments pause next time they think about crossing the border to kill and capture the Israeli equivalent of our Border Patrol.

[Redstone]

28. Well, go to Lebanon, then. I'm sure Hezbollah will give you one.

Got some action to go along with them fightin' words?

Redstone

[Wonk]

30. Way to completely miss the point of the song :/

[AliceWonderland]

29. Hey, Minstrel Boy, where did you get that last picture of the girls?

It really moved me. Which wire is it from?

[Minstrel Boy]

31. from Reuters

It's from a university protest in Pakistan.

Here are a couple more:

[YOY]

37. I prefer this one

Fragile

If blood will flow when flesh and steel are one
Drying in the colour of the evening sun
Tomorrow's rain will wash the stains away
But something in our minds will always stay
Perhaps this final act was meant
To clinch a lifetime's argument
That nothing comes from violence and nothing ever could
For all those born beneath an angry star
Lest we forget how fragile we are

On and on the rain will fall
Like tears from a star like tears from a star
On and on the rain will say
How fragile we are how fragile we are

On and on the rain will fall
Like tears from a star like tears from a star
On and on the rain will say
How fragile we are how fragile we are
How fragile we are how fragile we are

[Minstrel Boy]

38. I'm not a Sting fan, but I do like this:

In Europe and America, there's a growing feeling of hysteria
Conditioned to respond to all the threats
In the rhetorical speeches of the Soviets
Mr. Krushchev said we will bury you
I don't subscribe to this point of view
It would be such an ignorant thing to do
If the Russians love their children too

How can I save my little boy from Oppenheimer's deadly toy
There is no monopoly in common sense
On either side of the political fence
We share the same biology
Regardless of ideology
Believe me when I say to you
I hope the Russians love their children too

There is no historical precedent
To put the words in the mouth of the President
There's no such thing as a winnable war
It's a lie that we don't believe anymore
Mr. Reagan says we will protect you
I don't subscribe to this point of view
Believe me when I say to you
I hope the Russians love their children too

We share the same biology
Regardless of ideology
What might save us, me, and you
Is that the Russians love their children too

[YOY]

39. I was listening to it walking in Moscow in winter a few years ago

Kinda a cool feeling going on there.

[Karenina]

40. A favorite of mine, too!

:kick:

[YOY]

41. Try the Spanish version!

Manana ya la sangre no estara
Al caer la lluvia se la llevara
Acero y piel combinacion tan cruel
Pero algo en nuestras mentes quedara

Un acto asi terminara
Con una vida y nada mas
Nada se logra con violencia
Ni se lograra
Aquellos que han nacido en un mundo asi
No olviden su fragilidad
Lloras tu y lloro yo
Y el cielo tambien, y el cielo tambien
Lloras tu y lloro yo
Que fragilidad, que fragilidad

[Beaverhausen]

43. Here is another Bruce Cockburn song for those of you not familiar with him

...and his anti-war activities. He has traveled often to war-torn countries with groups like Oxfam and Amnesty International. He went to Baghdad last year and wrote this:

BAGHDAD - Bruce Cockburn

Everything's broken in the birthplace of law
As Generation Two tries on his tragic flaw
America's might under desert sun
I saw her frightened eyes behind the muzzle of her gun

Uranium dust and the smell of decay
Sewage in the street where the kids run and play
Not enough morphine and not enough gauze
Firefight in darkness like snapping of jaws

This is Baghdad
This is Baghdad
This is Baghdad
This is Baghdad
This is Baghdad
This is Baghdad
This is Baghdad


You couldn't see the blast-the morning was bright-
But some radiant energy flared up into the light
Like the sky throwing its hands up in a horrified dismay
Or the souls of the dead as they sped on their way

Carbombed and carjacked and kidnapped and shot
How do you like it, this freedom we brought
We packed all the ordnance but the thing we forgot
Was a plan in case it didn't turn out quite like we thought

This is Baghdad
This is Baghdad
This is Baghdad
This is Baghdad
This is Baghdad
This is Baghdad
This is Baghdad

[cptrflyr]

44. If you...

If you had a rocket launcher..YOU'D be the reason for the pictures you posted.

Here's a little tidbit for ya'...

Newton Said, " For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction..."

I say, "For some actions, there are overwhelming, disproportionate, extremely violent, reactions. In the hope that the initial action NEVER occurs again!!"

We can all hope that organizations like Hezb'allah would get this point and stay on their side of the fence. But, then again, they only stand to gain, when they put their women and children in buildings next to rocket launchers, then claim they were 'innocent civilians' when Israel attacks.

Hmmmmmmm.....

[blonndee]

47. "they put their women and children in buildings next to

rocket launchers"?

You can't seriously be this ignorant. Can you? Where are the rocket launchers in that ambulance? Why does the Red Cross say there were no rocket attacks from Qana, where the IDF slaughtered a basement full of frightened civilians? Why hasn't the IDF released the ACTUAL video of their Qana massacre, but instead released a completely unrelated video from a different day in response to the killing?

[cptrflyr]

48. Things that make you go hmmmmm....

Lebanon released the casualty list from the Qana bombing. ALL women, children and elderly...NO military aged males.....I suppose they were all at the unemployment office eh? Let's think realisticly here...southern Lebanon...historically pro Hezb'allah...no military aged males in the building in question (attacked around midnight by the way), sure...they were all just innocent bystanders. The whole world knows Hezb'allah takes painstaking efforts to avoid fighting around civilian area's.......................WAKE UP!!!!!!!

[ComerPerro]

52. If these are pictures of Iraq, its a tragedy, but if its Lebanon, then

they had it coming.

That's the official stance of some here, right?

I don't want to offend anyone and be labled an anti-Semite.

[Clarkie1]

55. The people launching the rockets chose to start this fight.

It's unfortunate the people launching the rockets love death, and delight in such tragedy.

[Minstrel Boy]

56. Yes. The delight is written on their faces.

Their staged displays of delight for the cameras are really the story of this war.

[Clarkie1]

57. They are not the ones launching the rockets. nt

[Minstrel Boy]

58. Well the song is meant for them n/t

[Clarkie1]

59. Fair enough. It's a tragedy, no question. nt