Ariel Sharon

---my former post: propaganda saves the world? is not finished
wait for the next one!

this is actually a mass email i sent to my friends

warning: the following material may contain offensive or incoherent material that represent writer's opinion. if anyone has any problem about my political view or anything and if you want to call me a bitch to my face...well, go ahead!

********honestly, i m going to write something quite offensive. if u don't know who's ariel sharon, just check it on internet!

hello everybody,

how's everyone doing? here in barcelona is a bit more chilly than before, but not as cold as i expect (much warmer than sicily actually!)

it's low season in the hostel and recently when i get bored i just ask some random ppl out to have a drink (no, there's nothing romantic) so, a couple days before i grab this israeli guy & we went to have a drink. i remember someone told me generally speaking israeli ppl are very opinonated--they usually have strong opinon about politics (becoz of their political situation. obviously), they 're either on this side or the other, very few ppl in between. & of coz i have very strong political opinion too (please, i was a political philosophy student) well, u can imagined what happened it's like mars crashing on earth. i kind of knew it would end bad even at the start, but, anyway.

so, this israeli guy, Yair, we were just talking about random stuff in life, blah blah blah while looking for a nice bar. he's 25 but haven't done university so i asked him what he was doing before---in the military service. i nearly forget military service is compulsary in israel.

me: where were u at the military service?
Yair: at the front line
me:... (stop walking) u didn't kill anyone did u?
Yair: no i didn't, believe me
me: u didn't shot any 10 years old palestinian kid in the head? or, beat up someone?
Yair: no, there was nothing when i was in military
of coz if he admit beating up some palestinian guy at check point i'd leave him & go home immediately. but on the other hand no one would admit that even if he did it. surely it will turn away all his newly met friends. so, god knows what happened.

we found a bar. we were just talking about music, travelling...fun fun fun. of coz after a while i kind of knew his political view is on one side & mine on the other (yes, i knew disaster was waiting to happen) we just keep saying-no, we're not going to talk about politics, just stick to salsa or indian beaches. but, like, everying eventually suck into a tornado, we cannot avoid the unavoidable.

ok, i know it was me who lit the bomb at last (i didn't mean it!)

me: how to say hello in hebrew?
Yair: shalon
me: shalon?? that just sounds like ariel sharon!
Yair: (very suprise) u know who's ariel sharon?
me: of coz, he's very famous, or notorious. he's a bastard. he killed many ppl isn't it? (it's very natural for me to say that! i didn't even think! but for mr. Yair it was like a knife stabbing right through his head of coz)
Yair: (he was in shock) i didn't expect u to know that much
--then i just keep talking what i knew for a bit, not that much actually. i admit i m far from a middle-east politics expert.
Yair: (after 2 minutes he finally awake from his shock & exploded) how can u say that??!! for me ariel sharon is one of the most important people in history!
me: ...okok, i know we're going to kill each other
Yair: no, sweety, i m not going to kill you, u doensn't worth me killing.

so, basically he thought i m some kind of rubbish or cockroaches that worth even less than someone he'd kill (!!! ok, that's the first time in my life that someone told me that!) i didn't bother to argue with him coz i know it would be pointless. but of coz at that moment i was pretty pissed myself. please, if he can think about me that way i can just say the exact same thing about him too. & ariel sharon killed a lot of people, it's something so undeniable that even the crapy tv news in hk would mentioned that: he allegedly (coz he never got convicted) commited war crime back in the 70's & 80's & like many powerful ppl he got away from trial. now he's in a vegetable state lying in hospital probably will never wake up. & mr. yair, who claimed he travel all around the world (6 months in japan, 3 months in india ...blah blah blah) & i m the first person he met that think ariel sharon is a bastard??? i m sure there're many ppl much more radical than me. if he never met anyone like that it's either: 1. all the ppl he met are totally indifferent (or ignorant) 2. his conversation with the ppl he met stays in superficial level & never about anything deeper.

---there're more to come: that at the end mr. yair accused me of being a racist & comparing me to nazi killing jewish ppl (ok, this is getting really ridiculous, i hope didn't really mean that coz it's REALLY naive) oh please u're talking to a hong kong people, do u know how many south east asians were killed by the japanese during the 2nd world war? u think jewish ppl is the only victim on earth? plus, your people were slaughtered before doesn't give u the right to slaughter other people now! (now, thinking about everything it really smells like propaganda: i remember chinese history books potraiting 'evil' japanese invaded china & we chinese are the poor victum blah blah blah--& then spread some anti-foreigners messages. i can imagine jewish history book can do exactly the same: oh we are the victum, we're so innocent & what we're doing now is just for self-defence)

i was talking to my friend later & she thinks it's better not to talk about politics (just to avoid above situation!). but i think it's actually better to talk about it, to get offended then to keep our mouth shut & mr. Yair is in his own world that ariel sharon is a hero & i m in my own world that ariel sharon is a bastard. If things go on like this probably we're going to ACTUALLY kill each other one day, which will be worse. we live in the same world & at the end everyone's doing what he thinks is right. it's better to talk about it & be offended now than stay in silence pretending everying's fine (which is not!!!)

after i calm down i was actually thinking mr. yair (or anyone like him) can actually tell me why they think ariel sharon is a hero. they must have their reason & i would like to know how can they explain the fact that he killed many ppl. but probably my. Yair can't have a calm conversation about this topic (ever). the world keeps turning & ppl are dying everyday & i do know there're things one can't change alone, or things that not gonna change in a short time,but

despite everything i still belive in peace, & living with dignity

cheers, Rita