Forgive them for they know not what they do?

by Mazin Qumsiyeh

Standing ovations to a criminal spouting lies
Regurgitated in News and Editorial pages
Yet, what is censored is far more important
and its ramifications far more significant
Some victims adopted the language of their oppressors
Others resigned to their proscribed fates
Many in a peace movement co-opted or afraid
letting others pay the sacrifices
Goebbles would have envied thier media devices
allowed to endlessly quibble
Baghdad burning while they argue over the sound of the fiddle
(using colonial language)
“How do we fix Eyraq?”
“How do we fight Eyran”?
“How do we isolate the radicals”?
(even the majority wanting freedom)
“How do we kill more extremists”?
(even as we created the largest green house to grow them)
How do we get more subservient UN institutions?
While violating all human rights resolutions.
maybe more money to Dahlan, Al-Hurra, and Iraqi puppets?
more tours of duty, fancy words and better bullets?
more new clothes for old generals
or old cloths for new programs?
maybe better hasbara language of
us vs them, them vs them,
terrorism vs democracies
Palestinians vs Israelis
Shi’i vs Sunni
Arabs vs Jews
blacks vs whites
black and white
language of hate and diversion
language of murder and deception
language of Nero and Ghenkis Khan
Churchill and Balfour
Hertzl and Samuels
Clinton and Pelosi
Browne and Raymond enriched from Oil
that somehow got under our soil
Starbucks’ Schultz pontificating
that Israel must do more killing

Forgive them for they know not what they do?

They tell us if victims stop
just maybe, maybe they can drop
some of the worst torture methods
maybe allow some of us to live on our lands
with limited supervised demilitarized autonomy
if we promise the occupiers security
maybe then revive the US constitution
bring kinder pimps for prostitution
maybe share 10% of the privatized resources
with the manufactured competing provinces
promises to give us a glimmer
of tunnels which may have light less dimmer
A promise of another Condi trip peddling a map
like Kissinger peddling his Zionist crap
to get accolades from his masters
and money from his (undisclosed) consultants
While committing and supporting war crimes
with designer suits and fake smiles
fake words of democracy and million dollar bonuses
they play musical chairs
in countless institutions with deceptive names
occasionally jumping to corporations
and then back to government halls
that keeps its only credibility by spreading fear
of Arabs and Muslims
While manufacturing Abrams tanks and misnamed think tanks
while US trained death squads kill the innocents
and propagate the ageless game of conquer, divide, and pillage

Forgive them for they know not what they do?

they said “our policy for the Iraq-Iran war was to get them to kill each
other”
deduct the one million who perished in that war
deduct the 1.5 million killed by US led sanctions
deduct the 650,000 Iraqis who perished and those yet to perish in neocon
latest war
how many Iraqis will be left in five years?
will they bring Democracy to the last Iraqi standing alive or hang her?
But Iran is next and Maybe China (hence the nuclear deals with India)
Meanwhile Arabs and Muslims are fair game
and don’t run fast enough

Forgive them for they know not what they do?

Dare not speak of empire they say
nor recognize the new empire’s day
Dare not point the finger at the new king
but follow his instruction and go shopping
And remember to support the marching liberators
spreading depleted uranium and enriched phosphorous
Dare not care for Americans, Iraqis, Israelis, Palestinians,
for freedom is on the march
Dare not care for global warming for the poor or for those dying
for Bush is supervising
Dare not mention Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Israel/Palestine
for freedoms are of corporations to operate in Venezuela and Iran
freedom is to do what they want to you and your inferior civilization
Dare not say anything here in America for you will be named
anti-American, anti-Semitic, anti-Israeli, anti-yourself
Dare not, they say
lest you lose your job
or be shipped to Negev or Guantanamou

Forgive them for they know not what they do?

They say if only we would pay our taxes without complaints
if only we would accept crimes as gifts
if only we would manage to smile under their boots
if only we would stop squirming
if only we would elect those complying
if only we would do that or this mission
that they debate endlessly on television
if we stop wanting to live
if we would abandon people’s love
if we would stop refuse kneeling
if we stop breathing
maybe they will change to golden sneakers
slap us with a velvet gloves
and make us a new Grenada

Forgive them for they know not what they do?

They condemn the “Islamic government” for oil rich Sudan
Imagine if we use “Jewish government” for atrocity in Palestine
They think we can forget larger genocide
in Congo and Iraq that they decide
They think we can blithely ignore
Genocide of native America
Israeli and American support of Apartheid South Africa
Death squads and dictators in South America
Millions of blacks enslaved
“third world” natural resources plundered
Terrorism on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
role of corporations and Zionists in Hitler’s Nazism
They think peace will come (to them) from the barrel of their guns
They think we cannot effect the change for peace with peaceful means
They invoke certain laws when it suits their greed
even as carpet bombing, massacres, and starvation their proud deed
Yet, they know well that the largest violator of UN resolutions,
not only goes unpunished but gets our taxes in the billions.
Dozens of US vetoes to protect that sacred cow
from human rights and International law
While they sharpen more knives and cut a bit deeper to
finish off Palestine, Iraq, America, and the truth
all sacrificed at the altar of Straussian neoconservatism,
Well-dressed think tank pieces, and social Darwinism

Forgive them for they know not what they do?

They ask us to drop Mandela’s way of fighting to end apartheid
Truth and reconciliation later, the ANC said, as they struggled
while being labeled all sorts of vile names
While DeKlerk met with Sharon, the real terrorists
But history gets distorted and Bush dares to celebrate MLKs Birthday
Evedn while adopting the dictums of Sharon, Olmert and Peres
Through wars and propaganda they dictate
with genocide merely a collateral damage to their crusade

Forgive them for they know not what they do?

They emphasize
in all manner of disguise
that we cannot yell,
should not rebel,
above all not question,
their self-declared notion
to steal the land
to cleanse the people
to maximize geography
and minimize demography
to kill and then cry about victims’ wrath
the left deludes itself with “suffering on both sides”
the right deludes itself with social Darwinism
while masters argue over their future
silence discussions
relegate those who speak honestly to insignificant positions
promote those who espouse racism to head committees
in our Congress and in greenback-financed Knesset halls
and in peace movements
Tribalistic language merges with libels of hate, violence, and extremism
to tar those who dare to stray from 100% loyalty

Forgive them for they know not what they do?

We heard that language from historians
Red Devil native barbarians
standing in the way of “our manifest destiny”
to “bring them democracy”
or at least to manage those left behind
circling the wagons
buttoning the hearts
shooting the guns
showing no mercy
to those inexplicable native savages
screaming incomprehensible shouts
hurting the delicate ears
conspiring to kill the white civilized
for no apparent reason
so God gave the instructions to feed the machine guns
and load the bombers
and pray to win more

Forgive them for they know not what they do?

For those going to demonstrate to talk about bringing the troops home (now?)
For those who claim Democrats will end the war (HOW?)
For those who support the neocon agenda
or Hamilton-Baker neo-colonial mishmash of propaganda
for those not wanting to talk about “sensitive issues”
like the Israeli lobby
like global warming
like real nuclear proliferation
like our individual responsibility
like the media monopolies
like the lies and distortions
like ongoing genocides
like ethnic cleansing
like decency
For all of those we plead: untill when

Forgive them for they know not what they do?

Their rampages, their racism, their lies and distortions
as obvious as the naked emperor
to millions who do not care to
sell their soul and conscience
for pennies
But many sinking in tar fields of privileges
not learning from history, drugged with traditions
Celebrating Thanksgiving and Hanukkah but forgetting
that ancient stones and distorted history
are manufactured identities killing children
Others are trapped by prostituted imperial language
July and August, “Middle East”,
security, war on terrorism
and yes “democracy”
worrying about paying bills
for shopping at sweatshop Wallmarts
Many oblivious to suffering they inflict
by simply paying taxes,
by voting lesser of two evils,
by being consumers not citizens,
and by being afraid,
for their robotic lives,
their comfort levels,
their gods and their mythologies
Deluding themselves that they cannot change
That is ultimately the tragedy of humanity
accepting meritocracy and apathy
accepting racism
A shame on us all

Forgive them for they know not what they do?

Arab Children murdered by bullets made in America
Truth assassinated by professional lies in cowardly media
Viciously attacking a president who is asking a question
Palestine: peace or apartheid? Outrageous notion!
Even as he failed to address apartheid inside
Even when he ignored the 65 villages unrecognized
ignored the 6 million Palestinian refugees
ignored the 250,000 “Present absentees”
ignored Israeli schools segregated
ignored that those advocating democracy means being outlawed
ignored the blatant racism
the fruit of political Zionism
he and a million others are condemned
their good deeds no longer remembered
but they do not understand that being ruthlessly tough
makes more people stand together to demand enough is enough!
So go ahead and escalate and fail
OR Give peace a chance
give peace a chance

Please visit Mazin Qumsiyeh’s site at http://qumsiyeh.org/home/