Monday, November 17, 2008

coming soon to a democracy near you

“Un terrorista no es solamente alguien con un arma de fuego o una bomba, sino también alguien que difunde ideas contrarias a la civilización occidental y cristiana". – El general Videla en una entrevista con el Times de Londres, 1978
This is a quotation from my Spanish presentation on the Dirty War in Argentina. Here's a translation:
A terrorist is not only someone with a firearm or a bomb, but also someone who disseminates ideas contrary to Western Civilization and Christianity -- General Videla in an interview with the Times of London, 1978
Videla was the leader of the military junta that took over Argentina in 1976 and over the next seven years brought about the "disappearances" of up to 30,000 people, many of whom were thrown, tranquilized, from planes into the Atlantic ocean. The remains of others have since been discovered in mass graves.

I think by Western Civilization and Christianity, he meant "whatever the government wants them to mean."

(Have I mentioned lately how happy I am that I transferred out of the Comm department and into a department where I can actually study real things???)

1 comment:

danay said...

I think a lot of people like to make "Western Civilization and Christianity" mean whatever they want them to mean in order to justify whatever horrible thing they're doing. It makes me sad, but it's just another reason to know what and why you believe and share that with others. I've been on a tear about this for the past week... thanks for allowing the forum for me to vent.