Drop Dead or We'll Kill You

I'm on the way out the door to see Scott Ritter and Ray McGovern speak at on a panel about Iraq, Iran and the Middle East but I want to take a minute to point to Alan Dershowitz who's finally gone 'round the bend - moving on from redefining "torture" to redefining "civilian": (From Kevin Drum via Atrios)

We need a new vocabulary to reflect the realities of modern warfare. A new phrase should be introduced into the reporting and analysis of current events in the Middle East: "the continuum of civilianality." Though cumbersome, this concept aptly captures the reality and nuance of warfare today and provides a more fair way to describe those who are killed, wounded and punished.

[Lengthy distinction then drawn between truly innocent civilians vs. civilians who support or sympathize with terrorist groups.]

The Israeli army has given well-publicized notice to civilians to leave those areas of southern Lebanon that have been turned into war zones. Those who voluntarily remain behind have become complicit. Some — those who cannot leave on their own — should be counted among the innocent victims.

We don't need to redefine civilian. We need to grab a copy of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and figure out exactly what Alan's got. I'm going to go with what seems to be plaguing all these hysterical mental giants who start every argument with "This is a new kind of war" or "9/11 changed everything" which are both shorthand for "I'm such a special person that I require a life in unique times during which war is new and needs to be completely redefined to fit my experience."

The symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder revolve around a pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and sense of entitlement. Often individuals feel overly important and will exaggerate achievements and will accept, and often demand, praise and admiration despite worthy achievements. They may be overwhelmed with fantasies involving unlimited success, power, love, or beauty and feel that they can only be understood by others who are, like them, superior in some aspect of life. There is a sense of entitlement, of being more deserving than others based solely on their superiority.

Comments

[KathyF]

This probably explains why he was able to defend O.J. Simpson. Nicole and her friend weren't "innocent civilians" they were complicit terrorist sympathizers who knew better to be on that sidewalk that night when a homicidal misogynist was nearby. Thus they deserved to be hacked to death.

[eRobin]

I forgot about that. Of course you're right. Nicole had plenty of opportunities to understand that he was a threat. By refusing to go into hiding, she was complicit in her murder and in fact encouraged it. According to Dershowitz, she is as guilty of Ron Goldman's murder as O.J. is.

(disclaimer: I do think that there were serious 4th amndmnt questions with the Simpson case. )