Friday, Nov. 16, 2001 The One That Will Get Me Hate Mail If I move to America, rob a bank, spend three months in jail for the offence and then manage to escape would I come home to a warm welcome, surrounded by members of the press eager to hear my heroic story whilst film producers start planning a movie based around my exploits? Would I hell. So can someone tell me why we had to witness the nauseating scenes on television today of those poor, brave 'aid-workers', enjoying their freedom in Pakistan after being released from the clutches of the nasty Taliban. Did I miss something here? Those people were in a foreign country, posing as legitimate aid-workers, yet they were nothing more than missionaries attemting to convert members of the Islamic religion, despite the laws of the country expressly forbidding them to do so. Does this mean I can rob my local off-licence and get away scott free when I explain to the police that I needed the money to buy more bibles? Now I don't often go on about my dislike of the Christian faith and I'll be the first to defend anybody's right to worship whoever or whatever they want to - because if I don't, then I'm no better than all those small-minded little Jesus lovers who want to stamp out the opposition. Yes the rules in Afghanistan as imposed by the Taliban were draconian and yes, westerners were right to try and help these oppressed people in any way they could manage. Just too bad that the Jesus crew didn't spend their time trying to make sure that a few women who were dying for lack of medical attention weren't helped instead. Forget about smuggling bibles, why didn't they take a few books that could be used in the highly illegal schools which brave Islamic women were running in secret, risking their lives so young girls could get a basic education. But, hey, why bother trying to do something practical when you can piss about converting the heathens, convincing them to see the light? Sure, their life might suck and they might be living in incomprehensible deprivation, but as long as you can convince them they're going to paradise when they die, everything will be all right. Oh, hang on, didn't Osama Bin Laden con a few people into committing mass murder by promising them something similar? Wasn't it simply wonderful to see a fresh-faced girl talking to a press conference today, telling of her terrible ordeal in an Afghan jail, but knowing she would be alright because God was looking after her? No it's not. Here's some facts. Those people are alive because even the Taliban knew it would be an incredibly stupid move to stand her and her comrades up against a wall and shoot them. That has nothing to do with God, but a hell of a lot to do with politics. Still, since they're so into people preaching a different religion, maybe they won't have any objections if half a dozen members of the Church of Satan or some similar organisation turn up at their church next Sunday and start handing out leaflets. Would those people be shown the same compassion the Taliban showed to their captives? I don't think so.
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