truly, i detest bush as much as the next guy (gal). no, really. when bush was re-elected, i cried . . . for a week. i'm serious. you can ask any of my friends. and when he finally leaves office, i'm going to throw a party. a very, very BIG party . . .
but when i read today that a children's puppet show on palestinian, hamas-owned television ran a sketch in which a child puppet stabbed a bush puppet to death, i was more than a little disturbed.
and you know, yeah, a lot of things in this world disturb me . . . most more, much more than this last.
it's not like i'm unfamiliar with the whole effigy concept, either. i get it. i do. old news. i understand. it's just that, for the most part, adults are capable of processing such visuals and information, whereas children are not.
kids are going to see that violence and think that THAT is what they are supposed to do when they disagree, vehemently even, with something or someone. they're not going to understand that it's an outlet, a form of protest, albeit a bad form of protest, rather than a call to violent action.
i know that violence is precisely hamas' aim; getting kids to wage war as soon as they're able to hold a gun . . . hell, sooner, perhaps . . . is their goal . . .
god, i don't know. i was gonna make a point here somewhere, but every time i talk about the middle east, i get overwhelmed and tongue-tied . . .
as a teacher, working with kids everyday . . . young, impressionable minds who would be guided by our example, our kindness, our tolerance, our generosity, our equanimity, our patience, our mercy . . . i cringe at stuff like this. as a moral human being, frankly, i cringe . . .
when will people ever learn that violence ONLY begets more violence?
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