"Dude, Don't Bogart the Semtex"

Lileks rips into idiotarian Kurt Vonnegut for saying all kinds of nice things about terrorists and suicide bombers. Curious how this takes place in the context of a book tour pushing a collection of Bush Derangement Syndrome essays. (Note to Wonkette: This ain't banned here.)

For example: It is "sweet and honorable" to die for what you believe in, they are "very brave people" and "it must be an amazing high" to die as a suicide terrorist.

However, the great Lileks puts it all into perspective:

Mr. Vonnegut – again, a patriot whose dissent is being cruelly ground into the nurturing earth before your eyes – seems to think that suicide bombings literally happen in a vacuum, an unpopulated space where the bombers just pop like soap bubbles. It may be painless for them – alas – but it is not painless for the victims. You’d think such an obvious observation would go without saying, but we are dealing with an intellectual. What Vonnegut calls brave – blowing yourself up so you can fly up to the great Bunny Ranch in the sky and rut with fragrant houris blessed with self-regenerating hymens – does not exactly compare to the bravery required of the survivors.

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[T]here is nothing to be gained from pointing out that Vonnegut is an addled old fool whose brain has rusted in the antiestablishment default position for so long he cannot distinguish between suicide bombers and people who stage a sit-in at a Woolworth’s counter.

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Vonnegut is described in the article as a “peace activist.�

As a wise giant said in “The Princess Bride� – “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.�

Update: Clearly, a horde of people responded to fact-check Lileks on a matter of earth shaking importance. He notes:

And yes, I attributed the “Princess Bride� quote to the wrong hero. At least the number of people pointing that out exceeded the number of people who thought Vonnegut made some brave points. There’s hope. See you tomorrow.

posted by Harry Callahan at 11:25 AM

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