Archive for April 2009
the nature of being human
It seems crazy, but somali pirates are upset about 3 of their own being killed and another will be prosecuted after failing to “successfully” kidnap a victim.
Why are the pirates upset and ticked that the outcome of this past week’s stand-off came to an end the way it did? What type of reaction did they think would be appropriate for their lawlessness?
Their response reminds me of how North Korea, acting as a petulant child, makes threatening comments and adopts hostile posturing in order to get the world to pay attention to it.
The funny thing about these responses is that it reflects our humanity. In response to being caught doing something that people understand (by conscience) shouldn’t be done, the pirates and NK, become defiant. It isn’t different from when someone points out to me something I’ve done and in response I say something like, “Well, you do it, too!”
Caught in the act of doing something wrong, it is human nature to lash out, blame, redirect attention or justify the action. At first, for me, the pirates seemed like idiots. But thinking about it, maybe they’re more like mirrors…
