Diary: Mr. Ward Churchill is Wrong

Mr. Churchill's flaw of thought is so old that it can be considered a cliche'. Yes, people are responsible for their governments. Yes, they usually get what they deserve. And as it is a universal law for the Humankind, it is also universal that everyone dies alone and therefore blind revenge is what it is- murder.

People in the Pentagon and WTO were murdered. They might be good or bad, sleazy or honest, they might be civilians or military, men or women, doesn't matter. What matters is that they were earning a living in the environment and system they were born with and used to until they were brutally murdered. And the victim of murder as well as the hostage, as well as the victim of rape or torture is only one thing- the victim. Except that on the battlefield, we the people, the Humankind do not condone taking the lives of others as a legitimate way to exercise a political message. Bottom line- there is no message in murder.
Indians were brutally destroyed by the US imperialism, part of which was a mass infiltration of the white individuals and their families. But if there were murderous retaliations by the desperate Indian warriors (there could be some of those, I suppose) against the women and children of the settlers- those were what they were- murders.
We, the people of the US bear the responsibility for slavery. But the individual ferocious murders of the slave owners by John Brown and some of his followers were murders nonetheless.
This is a paradox of Michael Kolhaas and Emilian Pugatchev. In both cases those were the people of great personalities and great strive for justice. The first one became the leader of the pack of brigands in Germany after his wife was abused by the rich punks and died afterwards. The second one was the leader of desperate serfs in Russia in the 18th Century. Both didn't succeed. And both committed murders in the name of Justice as they saw it. As soon as they did it, the land swept from under their feet and they became what they were- the outlaws.

Mr. Churchill is wrong. The ones who committed the horrible deeds on 9/11 were murderers. They murdered innocent people in cold blood. The fact that they also killed themselves in the process does not justify anything; it only makes them more atrocious.
Forcefully taking an innocent victim with you to death is still a murder. Murder- suicide.

Why is it so old a cliche'? Because we, the people have history. That history had proven beyond any reasonable doubt that through all the crimes of the Humankind against innocent, from the Roman massacres to the ashes of Buchenvald and tears of Iraqi children the only possible proper tribute to all those souls of the innocent victims is the cool- headed investigation. Throughout those years professional investigations, detective probes, special prosecutions and trials, trials, trials of the individuals responsible, cooperative, negligent and even conformal were the one and only mechanism which the Humankind had developed to confront the Devil's Temptation of Vendetta and let the Justice have its chance. The mechanism not perfect by any means. But it is the only one that retained for us the possibility to be human and become better. There is no other way devised.
If Mr. Churchill really wants to make a point, he should demand an open trial of the 9/11 events. He should demand a criminal investigation by professionals. He should demand the due process: the prosecution, the attorneys, the public, the jury, the witnesses, the total and absolute Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth. So help us God. If only we could have all that, those victims of murder would at last rest in peace. All of them. He needs to strive for it; we all need to strive for it; it has to be done. Otherwise we will have a perpetual war where everything is justifiable.