Quote:
Originally posted by Meridae'n
Why though, do we feel it's appropriate to condem these actions as cowardly. Do we accept terror more easily if it comes in the form of a man in uniform, with a gun?
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This was the point Bill Maher of Politically Incorrect was trying to make right after 9/11. His exact quote was "We have been the cowards. Lobbing cruise missiles from two thousand miles away. That's cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building. Say what you want about it. Not cowardly. You're right." It caused an uproar and his show was cancelled shortly thereafter.
I think the reason they are viewed as cowardly is because generally, suicide attacks are directed against unarmed civilians, including women and children, going about their daily lives. Nobody ever called a Japanese Kamikaze pilot cowardly, because those attacks were made on heavily armed Allied warships that were shooting back and that were involved in a declared war between nations.
Yes, it takes an unbelieveable amount of devotion to your cause, a willingness to sacrifice your own life in the hope that one day the ideals, right or wrong, that you are fighting for will be realized for your fellow people, but I think the cowardly aspect of it involves getting on a bus or walking into a market that is full of women and children that you KNOW can't defend themselves against the hell you're about to unleash on them.
There's also the natural tendency to refer to any opponent as "cowardly". You sometimes hear an adversary refer to their opponent as having fought well, but more often they will call them weak or cowardly.
-Mikey