perspective (N. Korean prisoner escapes)

all it takes is an article like this to remind me just how fortunate we all are.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/10/AR2008121003855.html

 

"We all" referring to who?

 

Everyone besides Shin Dong-hyuk

 

I read that too yesterday. It really sounds unbelievable that a child could survive in such an environment. But to not believe it is to fall into the classic trap that allows it to continue.

This past weekend I was watching a CNN special "Scream Bloody Murder" (it is on Youtube in 14 parts). It was about the various genocides of the past 100 years, and interviewed people who tried to alert the world but were ignored. One interviewed was Elie Weisel, and he was asked why the public tends to dismiss the claims when they are made. His response made a lot of sense, basically that if you believed and felt empathy for all of the suffering, you wouldn't be able to sleep at night or enjoy anything simple like a glass of wine without overwhelming guilt at your good fortune.

Without getting too political so this is moved to P&R, someday North Korea will fall and we will finally know for sure the living hell its citizens have endured.

 

True. Unfortunately, some will continue to act like it wasn't all that bad and some will contend it never happened. Sort of like WWII concentration camps.

I believe this is the same guy that was interviewed on the National Geographic special on North Korea.

 

We should also take a look at how things like this come about and how they are allowed to continue in this day and age. Kim Jong Il is enabled by South Korea and China. Darfur is entirely enabled by China, which wants access to cheap Sudanese oil and props up the Sudanese regime in exchange. Rwanda was enabled by? I don't know, but why did Clinton apologize for it? Were we culpable to some extent? Genocides in Iraq by us over oil, in Afghanistan because we didn't, and still don't, give a ****, Sierra Leone over the world's desire for glittering, shiny diamonds, Chechnya, Bosnia. It never ends.

Aided by reasons like Russia's desire to expand, our love of SUVs and cheap goods from China, South Koreans' fear of having their standard of living lowered a little, etc., etc.

Why not fly in thousands of drones into N Korea and hold the army at bay while the civilians are escorted to safety. More drones could drop quick-setting concrete all over the nuclear reactors and simply entomb them, robbing Kim Jong Il of the ability to let off his nuclear bombs in frustration. Yeah, I know, I know, I have it all figured out.

 

I had two South korean room mates when i was staying in the dorms one summer. One of them really did not want to go home. In fact they both loved America and the people, which is a refreshing change....