16 Responses to The Logick of Kings

  1. lukas May 31, 2010 at 1:08 pm #

    because they defended themselves when attacked

    …for trespassing with intent to harm. It’s an ugly story for sure, but the Israelis are not the only villains here.

    • Roderick May 31, 2010 at 1:19 pm #

      “Trespassing” where?

      • lukas June 1, 2010 at 2:33 pm #

        On the piece of sea abutting the beaches of Gaza, which is claimed and controlled by Israel.

        Does the band of armed goons known under the name of “Israel” have the right to thoroughly inspect every shipment before it reaches the band of armed goons known as “Hamas”? Maybe not, but that’s a whole ‘nother argument.

        • laukarlueng June 2, 2010 at 6:46 am #

          I believe it happened in international waters. Besides, since all states are illegitimate, all their claims to property are illegitimate.

  2. Brandon May 31, 2010 at 3:08 pm #

    It’s sad that once again innocents have, for reasons known only to them, flung themselves in the path of Israeli bullets. But, these sorts of unfortunate misunderstandings happen, from time to time.

    We should try to feel Israel’s pain and suffering at this difficult time.

  3. Kyle Bush May 31, 2010 at 3:13 pm #

    I’m going to try very hard to avoid spending the entire day reading the outrageous rationalizations people are offering. The apologists are disgusting, but it’s hard to look away.

  4. Anon73 May 31, 2010 at 3:23 pm #

    Those were my exact thoughts when I was reading the article. If you or I armed ourselves and drove around a city at night and jumped onto the top of somebody’s car while they were in it and and yelled at them to get out, we’d be laughed out of court if we said “I was only defending myself”. But when governments and kings do it, it’s suddenly ok.

  5. Andrew May 31, 2010 at 5:21 pm #

    “At the U.N., Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called the raid ‘murder conducted by a state’.”

    Well, all violent offensives by a state are ‘murder conducted by a state,’ so that’s not saying much.

    • Anon73 May 31, 2010 at 6:37 pm #

      I think maybe you mean “killing” – states can legitimately defend people with violence sometimes (usually by accident!). Doesn’t “murder” usually mean something like “an unjustified killing”?

      • Andrew May 31, 2010 at 7:12 pm #

        Yeah, I understand. I was attempting to make a pithy remark but it didn’t come out well.

        • Anon73 May 31, 2010 at 7:37 pm #

          Ah well sorry to steal your thunder then.

  6. Bob Kaercher May 31, 2010 at 11:51 pm #

    “…Israel scrambled to explain how what was meant to be a simple takeover of a civilian vessel went so badly awry.”

    Yeah, funny how something like a “simple” act of aggression can suddenly take a wrong turn when the civilians on the vessel actually try to defend themselves from the aggressors rather than just get right on their knees and submit. I mean, what’s wrong with those people???

  7. LeftLiberty June 3, 2010 at 12:09 am #

    I think the matter becomes more complicated when we put on our methodological individualist hats. No such entity known as the Israeli government killed anyone; Israeli soldiers, primarily teenagers who were conscripted into the army, did the killing. As Phil Ochs once put it, “It’s always the old who lead us to the war, it’s always the young to fall.” It seems that all those directly involved with the confrontation deserve some sympathy.

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Finkelstein on Flotilla Attack and the Gaza Blockade by ‘Lunatic State’ of Israel (Video) « Little Alex in Wonderland - June 1, 2010

    […] Long, a heroic left-libertarian philosophy professor at Auburn University, calls this lunacy, “The Logick of Kings,” when: “The Israeli government explains that it had to […]

  2. Echoes and Mirrors » Daily Links - June 1, 2010

    […] Reader: The Logick of Kings The Israeli government explains that it had to kill innocent people because they defended […]

  3. Is The Flotilla Story About Perception Or Reality? | LILA RAJIVA: The Mind-Body Politic - June 4, 2010

    […] “The Israeli government explains that it had to kill innocent people because they defended themselves when attacked.” (Roderick Long, “The Logick Of Kings”) […]

Leave a Reply to Anon73 Click here to cancel reply.

Powered by WordPress. Designed by WooThemes