quote:
'm willing to state that those threats of genocide against all Jews worldwide, and the threats to annihilate the state of Israel, deserve condemnation.
Are you?
Yes, certainly. What I'm not going to do is worry about these threats when uttered by someone who might as well be threatening to grow silver wings and fly to the moon. At the very worst they are straws that show which way the wind blows.
I agree - we have to keep threats like these in perspective. While the threats may sound the same, the source is the thing to keep in mind. I am no more worried about this than I would be about the neonazis. These groups are trying to get attention for their own beliefs and common way to do that is to scare people. It's great marketing and certain to help spread their name. Works for the fashion industry (you're old/fat/ugly) just as well as for kids marketing (either 'buy this or your kids won't love you' or 'if you don't have/like this, your friends won't like you').
If you can frighten enough bunnies, you can start the spread of panic and your job is done.
Of course, the other side to this is genuinely dangerous groups. The rise of Hitler was mentioned and is an excellent example. Al Quaeda is a more modern one. The real trick is that you can never be sure of the assessment until hindsight kicks in. The crazies are only dangerous when they're not really crazies. To be a real threat, a group has to be organised and focused. Hamas is a far greater threat to Israel than our blogger.
Of course, the impulse is to be wary of any and all threats but this doomed to failure. All that results is that you spend your time jumping at shadows, thus admitting defeat by default.
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