Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Teneycke and the Sun Media, our very own Crusaders. . . . . . .

Anyone who has doubted that Harper's Conservatives are dangerous, trigger happy, militarists, with no interest in law and order or the constitution, and are infested with shades of frightening racism; then one need look no further than this Sun editorial which, most are assuming, is by Teneycke, one time spokesman for the big man himself. http://www.torontosun.com/comment/editorial/2010/08/16/15043236.html Has it really come to this? Have we become so Americanized by this administration that it has become expectable to talk about killing a boatload of 500 refugees in a nationally syndicated editorial for one the country's largest media outlets? I am disgusted and profoundly saddened that this seems to be the case. This is the language of some of the worst kinds of Republican voices in the US.

And let us say, for the sake of argument, that not all of these people are legitimate refugees. Let's even say that one or two are so-called 'terrorists' and the rest are just 'queue-jumpers" desperately looking for a better life. The Sun editorial staff is advocating killing them all instead of bothering with international (to say nothing of moral) law.

I recall another such position taken by a Cistercian monk in the 11th century. Arnuad Amalric, an inquisitor for Pope Innocent III, oversaw the siege of Beziers for the Church forces arrayed against the Albigensians. When asked by a soldier how the Crusaders would distinguish between legitimate Catholics and so-called 'heretics,' Amalric famously instructed the soldiers to "Kill them all. For the Lord knows them that are his."

The Sun group has essentially updated this quip. One can assume that were Teneycke and his cronies in charge of the a Canadian Destroyer sent out to intercept a ship full of refugees, he would instruct the soldiers to "lock and load" and blast the ship out of the sea. When the confused soldier would ask "but how do we know some of the passengers aren't legitimate refugees?" The reply would come; "Let them all drown. For the Lord will know the terrorists and queue-jumpers."

2 comments:

Jim Parrett said...

Can you elaborate on 'updated this quip'? What was exactly written and what was the death threat? I can't bear to read the Sun and probably won't be able to find the archived version with the original quip. Thanks.

Kirbycairo said...

I am not sure I understand your question Jymn. I gave the link to the Sun Editorial in the body of my blog. The quip that they updated was that given by Amalric during the Albigensian crusade when he said (to paraphrase) Kill them all and let God sort it out.