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I first read of Jose Padilla from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ginmar's journal. I followed the links back to the NYT article, and wasn't able to read it all. But what I did read horrified me. There are so many layers of horror, I don't know where to start.
First is the shear affront to the fact that he is, regardless of his guilt or innocence, a human being. There is NO justification for treating ANY human being like this. Let's go wider. There is NO justification for treating any living creature like this. To reduce a human being to a state of learned helplessness is just plain wrong. Not even Hitler. Is that clear? Retaliation serves no useful purpose. This is my most basic assumption.
Second is the utter disregard for the due process of law. Due process of law. DUE PROCESS OF LAW. Here in America, we have a complex, and yes, imperfect system set up so that we do not oppress the weak, the helpless, the marginalized. We do not oppress ANYONE. Jose Padilla was taken out of the process at the whim of the president. Was it the president? Who gave the order to declare him an "enemy combatant"? Why should that bypass basic human rights? I could be wrong, but one of the reasons America broke away from England was because there were different levels of law based on class. We supposedly have laws that apply to everyone, equally across the board. That's a farce in reality, and Padilla's case isn't the only one to prove it.
Third, and hardest to articulate are the implications of this. How can I trust a government that does this to human beings? I can't. I can't trust them to do it only to "guilty" parties--Padilla never got a trial. He can't because he is unable to participate in his own defense. He doesn't believe that his lawyers are there to help him, he thinks they are part of an interrogation strategy. This shouldn't be done to guilty parties. This shouldn't be done at all. All it took was the declaration of "enemy combatant", and he is reduced to a simpleton. Without a trial. Without a formal charge.
This could happen to me. This could happen to my friend Karen, or to Bruce, or to my son. This could happen to Jesse, or Mike. This could happen to Kat, or Gary, or Billeh.
This scares me. This scares me a lot.
ginmar's journal. I followed the links back to the NYT article, and wasn't able to read it all. But what I did read horrified me. There are so many layers of horror, I don't know where to start. First is the shear affront to the fact that he is, regardless of his guilt or innocence, a human being. There is NO justification for treating ANY human being like this. Let's go wider. There is NO justification for treating any living creature like this. To reduce a human being to a state of learned helplessness is just plain wrong. Not even Hitler. Is that clear? Retaliation serves no useful purpose. This is my most basic assumption.
Second is the utter disregard for the due process of law. Due process of law. DUE PROCESS OF LAW. Here in America, we have a complex, and yes, imperfect system set up so that we do not oppress the weak, the helpless, the marginalized. We do not oppress ANYONE. Jose Padilla was taken out of the process at the whim of the president. Was it the president? Who gave the order to declare him an "enemy combatant"? Why should that bypass basic human rights? I could be wrong, but one of the reasons America broke away from England was because there were different levels of law based on class. We supposedly have laws that apply to everyone, equally across the board. That's a farce in reality, and Padilla's case isn't the only one to prove it.
Third, and hardest to articulate are the implications of this. How can I trust a government that does this to human beings? I can't. I can't trust them to do it only to "guilty" parties--Padilla never got a trial. He can't because he is unable to participate in his own defense. He doesn't believe that his lawyers are there to help him, he thinks they are part of an interrogation strategy. This shouldn't be done to guilty parties. This shouldn't be done at all. All it took was the declaration of "enemy combatant", and he is reduced to a simpleton. Without a trial. Without a formal charge.
This could happen to me. This could happen to my friend Karen, or to Bruce, or to my son. This could happen to Jesse, or Mike. This could happen to Kat, or Gary, or Billeh.
This scares me. This scares me a lot.