Quote:
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One's cultural or social status isn't abdicated by being a "terrorist" or an "insurgent."
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what you see is a function of where you choose to look. for ace
there are only "terrorists"
a "terrorist"--like god--is the daughter of the name.
you find them everywhere, you find them nowhere, they are like the scarlet pimpernel.
seeing through the category is like putting a bizarre prism in front of your glasses and then forgetting that you've done so. the forgetting is more important than the placement, because once you've forgotten, the strange fragments that you see become the world.
it is only from that kind of viewpoint that it makes sense to draw a distinction between "the iraqi people" and "terrorists" which is like "fifth column" or the "hitlero-trotskyite wrecker".
there is no argument possible here really because the problem is that the views of "reality" at the source of ace's position and those of others are fundamentally incommensurate and ace has a deep committment it seems to his view.
personally, i long ago reached the conclusion that it doesnt matter how often it is pointed out that this view looks arbitrary except to others who share it because it is a circular argument in the end and what's worse it applies in both directions so nothing need move, nothing need change, no discussion can happen.