Nazi Rehash
You may or may not have heard. The Taliban, rulers of Afghanistan, are taking a lesson from the Nazi. Inflammatory statement? Perhaps, but it isn’t to much of an exaggeration.
The Taliban, an Islamic theocracy, has decreed orders that all non Muslims must wear a yellow piece of cloth attached to their pockets so they can be easily identified (different from Jews in the ’40s in shape only). Their claim is that this is to protect them from harassment from The Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (aka religious police (not the inquisition)). Apparently this is supposed to protect them from being arrested for trimming their beards and other such mortal sins and serious crimes.
But if this is the case why have they been given three days to vacate any dwelling they share with a Muslim? To protect them from… owning property… having a place to sleep?
The Taliban is the natural progression of a theocracy. During a humanitarian crisis they closed down an Italian hospital and beat its staff because the men and women ate together. No non-Islamic symbols are allowed to be publicly displayed. They recently destroyed two famous ancient Buddha statues in the name of Islamic purity. They have religious police (Hello!)
Hindus are afraid for their “security” with these new measures and where’s the outrage. India is upset. Surrounding states think they might be on the wrong path. And from the US protectors of freedom?
“We want to make quite clear that forcing social groups to wear distinctive clothing or identifying marks stigmatizes and isolates those groups and can never, never be justified,” spokesman Richard Boucher said in Washington.
That’s it. That is the sum total of official U.S. outrage. It’s not surprising that there isn’t greater outrage, it would be politically questionable for the current administration to bring up the problems inherent in a theocracy. Not as they rush headlong into one. Oh, I know we have miles to go before we’re anywhere close to the Taliban but…
“As night does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there is a twilight when everything remains unchanged. And it is in that twilight that we must be most aware of the change in the air, however slight, lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness.”
U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas
I think it is telling that instead of loud cries of outrage The United States last week announced a $43 million emergency aid package.