Friday, January 06, 2012
Natural enemies
News:
Yank sailors rescue Persian sailors from Somali pirates.
Good. Just plain good.
And it's not really unusual. Yanks and Persians are not natural enemies, and have mixed well in Oklahoma and Texas for 40 years.
These getalongs can happen across some but not all boundaries. Yanks and Krauts got along in WW2 when given the chance; Yanks and Russkis got along in the Cold War when given a chance. Japs are the big exception. Yanks and Japs are probably natural enemies. Japs may well be natural enemies to all other nations.
The most important division, the hardest line to cross, is the line between warrior cultures and village cultures. We've intentionally forgotten this line, but it still exists. Japs and Arabians are warriors; Persians and Europeans are villagers.
You can see the line in raw form in Oklahoma where village-culture Cherokees have been part of the power structure from the start, while warrior-culture Osages are marooned in a sea of welfare and alcohol. Both tribes began with lots of oil money, so an egalitarian leftist would assume their outcome must be the same. Nope. They're innately different, and they used the oil money in characteristic ways. Cherokees bought oil companies and Senators (just as whites did) while Osages bought Cadillacs and booze. The oil companies and Senators gave the Cherokees prosperity and power. The Cadillacs wore out and the booze killed the Osage.
We're dealing with the same major dividing line here, whether we can name it or not. Somalis are pure warriors, thus natural enemies of village-culture Persians and Yanks.
Persians have been civilized a whole lot longer than we have, but we're still on the same side of the line. Barely. A few more years of rule by Bushobama neocons and we may revert to Osagery.
= = = = =
Update Sat morning: BBC is interviewing the captain of the Stennis. He emphasizes that the Persian sailors and the Persian people are innocent, and invokes the deep fraternity among sailors around the world. Sounds like he's goddamn tired of American imperial saber-rattling, and complaining as loudly as he can get away with.
BBC followed up with real balance (Bless you, Lyse Doucet!): Now interviewing a Persian, who cites an incident the other way around that wasn't reported in the West because we're too eager to make Persia seem like the enemy. I can't immediately find an online reference to that incident, but there was one story in December when Persian ships rescued a Saudi tanker from pirates. Might be the same incident, might not. ¶ 5:46 PM
Yank sailors rescue Persian sailors from Somali pirates.
Good. Just plain good.
And it's not really unusual. Yanks and Persians are not natural enemies, and have mixed well in Oklahoma and Texas for 40 years.
These getalongs can happen across some but not all boundaries. Yanks and Krauts got along in WW2 when given the chance; Yanks and Russkis got along in the Cold War when given a chance. Japs are the big exception. Yanks and Japs are probably natural enemies. Japs may well be natural enemies to all other nations.
The most important division, the hardest line to cross, is the line between warrior cultures and village cultures. We've intentionally forgotten this line, but it still exists. Japs and Arabians are warriors; Persians and Europeans are villagers.
You can see the line in raw form in Oklahoma where village-culture Cherokees have been part of the power structure from the start, while warrior-culture Osages are marooned in a sea of welfare and alcohol. Both tribes began with lots of oil money, so an egalitarian leftist would assume their outcome must be the same. Nope. They're innately different, and they used the oil money in characteristic ways. Cherokees bought oil companies and Senators (just as whites did) while Osages bought Cadillacs and booze. The oil companies and Senators gave the Cherokees prosperity and power. The Cadillacs wore out and the booze killed the Osage.
We're dealing with the same major dividing line here, whether we can name it or not. Somalis are pure warriors, thus natural enemies of village-culture Persians and Yanks.
Persians have been civilized a whole lot longer than we have, but we're still on the same side of the line. Barely. A few more years of rule by Bushobama neocons and we may revert to Osagery.
= = = = =
Update Sat morning: BBC is interviewing the captain of the Stennis. He emphasizes that the Persian sailors and the Persian people are innocent, and invokes the deep fraternity among sailors around the world. Sounds like he's goddamn tired of American imperial saber-rattling, and complaining as loudly as he can get away with.
BBC followed up with real balance (Bless you, Lyse Doucet!): Now interviewing a Persian, who cites an incident the other way around that wasn't reported in the West because we're too eager to make Persia seem like the enemy. I can't immediately find an online reference to that incident, but there was one story in December when Persian ships rescued a Saudi tanker from pirates. Might be the same incident, might not. ¶ 5:46 PM
