A couple of things caught my eye this morning as I was drinking my first cup of coffee and scanning headlines and social media. The first is that I am really, REALLY glad I don’t have to be on I-30 this morning in Arlington. Traffic is never fun during rush hour but this morning it is much worse than usual. Several hours ago, police began a slow speed chase in Hunt County of an RV. According to reports, the driver allegedly shot a woman who managed to escape and call for help. However, there were children onboard so the cops had to act carefully to make sure nothing happened to them. Long story short, the RV caught fire in Arlington. Fortunately for the kids, the man did go to the back where they were and let them out. Then, according to latest reports, he shot himself. Tragic events that could have been much worse. Over the next few days or weeks, I’m sure we will learn more about what started this terrible chain of events but, no matter what, my thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of all involved and most especially to the kids.
I’ve kept quiet, for the most part, about what happened in Manchester. For one, I wanted more information before commenting. However, as it becomes more certain the bomber was an Islamic extremist, I have a couple of things to say. First, we can’t condemn every follower of Islam for what this man — and I use that term loosely — did. As with any religion, there are fanatics. Islam has more than its fair share but to paint them all with the same brush would be just as wrong as painting every Christian with the same brush as Westboro Baptist Church and Fred Phelps.
Second, we can no longer sit back and rely on memes and hashtags and “I stand with …” to fight back against those like the bomber. It is time to cut the head off the snake, salt the ground, saturate it with pig’ blood and end the matter. ISIL and organizations like is hide behind the Koran, knowing the West will bend because they are simply following their “religion”. Nope. They are not religious warriors. They are terrorists and the sooner we deal with them as such, the better. We are at war and, whether we want to admit it or not, war is not civilized. We can’t expect the enemy to play by any rules, much less ones we try to impose on them. It is time we adapt and overcome. If not, we will continue to see soft targets being hit and, next time, it might just be on U.S. soil.
On a lighter note, it’s 40 years ago that Star Wars opened. Some of us remember when there were no prequels — hiss, burn them!
Now the question. It takes time to write novels — duh. I’m averaging one every 3 – 4 months. There are a lot of variables. Sometimes is isn’t quite as long and other times it is a bit longer. So, would you like to see more short stories, not only in the Honor and Duty series but my other series as well, in between? This wouldn’t impact release times for the novels. Let me know.
I guess it’s time to get to work. Nocturnal Rebellion is coming along. It looks to be on target to come out next month. Target date is June 20th, give or take a day or three.
Maybe it’s not “fair” to condemn all Muslims for those terrorists, but I’m tired of the meme of “Christians have done/do bad things as well”. (Not you Amanda).
If Christian terrorists did the shit that these Muslim terrorists are doing, they would be rejected as “Christian” by the vast majority of Christians and I’m not completely convinced that the majority of Muslims reject the Muslim terrorists.
On the other hand, those Liberals who “scream” #NotAllMuslims and Islamophobia would condemn Christians as a group for the actions of the Christian terrorists. 🙁
Paul, I get what you’re saying but think about this: if someone acted that way and said their motivation was Christianity, those Christians who might step forward to condemn them don’t live in fear of being killed for it. At least not here in the US or in most of Europe. Nor do those same Christians live in fear of being lumped together with the sob who committed the atrocity. That is what many Muslims deal with here. You might not want to believe it but I’ve seen it happen to friends. I’ve seen it happen to Sikhs simply because they look Muslim. I’m not saying there aren’t bad Muslims — the evidence is there to the fact there are. And yes, those folks would condemn Christianity — of course, most of them already do. Shrug.
Manchester: I like TXRed’s idea yesterday. I’m sure you saw it: “if, say, a mosque’s leadership and financial backers are found guilty of supporting terror, or aiding someone who committed a crime, why not allow the families of the dead and injured to claim the property, tear it down if they so desire, and make other use of it? Why not confiscate the bank accounts of the offending institutions and use the funds to pay for the medical treatment of the injured and the burials of the dead?”
If some of these losers get the idea that attacking the west will result in more of the west coming into their lands, maybe they’ll leave us alone.
Star Wars: I can remember when it was “Star Wars” – no suffix no prefix, just Star Wars. The prequels were a massive mistake – Badly written and poorly acted. I can also remember my reaction to hearing at graduation practice that Darth Vader was Luke’s father (ESB), and how I thought (and still think) that it contradicts what Obi-wan said in SW. SW was originally a stand-alone. It was only after it was a mega hit that GL got the idea to make it a series.
Short stories: Yes, please. But that’s just me being greedy. *grin*
I did see TxRed’s idea and love it. Of course, I think that same idea could be applied across the board to a number of different groups.
I am so glad to know I’m not the only one who went “huh?” when Vader was revealed to be Anakin. It was a contradiction and Lucas spent how many years trying to explain it away?
And I love greedy readers. I especially love greedy readers who keep encouraging me to write. Now, have you left a review? (pretty please, if you haven’t)
I’m pretty sure I left a review of Nocturnal Origins. I need to get the first of the Honor and Duty series.
No pressure, really. I’d appreciate it if you can. With the change in Amazon metrics every review helps.
I understand the fear “nice” Muslims have of the “nasty” Muslims, my annoyance is more to the shit-headed Liberals who “damn” any criticism of Muslims and don’t allow society to deal with the “nasty” Muslims.
Mind you, I think the “nice” Muslims in the US have no excuse for their silence concerning the “nasty” Muslims.
Of course, I wonder about the “nice” Muslims in Europe. Do they really have the same “excuses” for their silence that Muslims in the Middle East?