Screw what's legal.... what about what's right?

[walldude]

I was reading the "White Phosphorous" thread (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1723146)and was quite astounded by some posts arguing that it's "legal". I don't know about you folks, but I have about had it up to here with what's "legal". Bush has been trying to skate on this defense for 6 years. I say fuck what's legal, what about what's right? Have we come so far as human beings that we think it's Ok to burn people with chemical weapons because it's not written down somewhere that we can't? WTF? I can't even fathom why I have to think about crazy shit like this. The Madness of King George is spreading, the "patriots" are loving every minute of it, and I'm sitting here trying to wrap my brain around the fact that there is actually a guy on my television telling me that it's perfectly legal for his country to burn the flesh off little children. Gee, I wonder why the people on the right think we are all "wackos"? I'll tell you why, because thinking about crazy shit like this will drive you to insanity. Sometimes I wish I could be as heartless and cold as Rush or Hannity so I could get rich off other peoples misery instead of driving myself crazy trying to figure out how we got here and how we are going to get out of this... :bounce: :crazy: :bounce: :crazy: :bounce: :crazy: :bounce:

:rant:

[The_Casual_Observer]

1. Anybody who says it's okay because it's "legal" ought to get a

taste of it, then reconsider.

[Monkeyman]

2. White Phosphorous can not be put out inside the body

It will burn all the way through and arm and bones. IT IS NOT RIGHT TO USE AT ALL---legal yes but I have seen it in use and it is a ugly weapon

[AllNamesHaveBeenUsed]

8. Not entirely true...

You can snuff Willie Pete with a wet dressing - temporarily. If oxygen is reintroduced, it will flare again.

[Mr_Spock]

11. Yikes

Sounds like nasty stuff.

[mom cat]

12. This is a war crime ... a crime against humanity.

[sui generis]

3. they're not saying that for our sake

They're saying it for the authoritarian personality disorder types who require authority and rules so they won't start flinging poop.

All the person in authority has to do is say it's not illegal and that makes it okay.

Really!

Scary. Really scary. Same people who don't see anything wrong with jesus sending people to hell for eternity to boil in a lake of fire for not being "saved", or worse, missing sunday service.

I can't for the life of me figure out what kind of evil those people could possibly be frightened of after the crap they do in the name of holy holy and sacred sanctimony themselves.

[walldude]

4. I think they say it for their own sake....

a way to attempt to wash some of the blood from their hands.

[walldude]

5. kick.. for the hell of it.

[Lindacooks]

6. K&R

[Cleita]

7. You are so right.

Doing what is legal is not necessarily the right thing to do. Everything Hitler did was legal because he made sure a law was either found or enacted that would enable him to do it. This is how he was able to extermine the Jews. He made them illegal. The Bush administration is doing the same thing.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

9. Some stupid excuses...

"It's not being used as an incendiary weapon, it's an illuminant."

That's like saying what the Nazis did was OK, because they were using Zyklon B to delouse the Jews, killing them was an accident.

"The U.S. (Israel) was not a signatory to that particular protocol of the Geneva Conventions."

That's like saying it's OK that Saddam gassed those Kurds because he didn't sign such and such protocol.

[walldude]

10. Now I'm seeing threads where Israel is being defended

for it's "Collateral Damage" because it's "legal".

[walldude]

13. Shameless self kick...

[MissWaverly]

14. we went after Sadaam saying he had these weapons

well if it was wrong for him to use weapons of mass destruction, then it's wrong for us to
use them, or Israel to use them, or anybody who has an (R) after their name to okay to use
them.

[Codeine]

15. Who said it was OK?

It's completely unreasonable to use Willy Pete in this situation. As I've been the main person arguing it's legality let me state unequivocably that it's totally, totally wrong to use the stuff. It's just not illegal.

Every time you make a factually incorrect statement you undercut our position. I'm just trying to correct a factual error, not defend the use of the stuff.

Please don't ascribe views to others that they haven't demonstrated they actually hold.

[walldude]

17. I made no factual errors... there are a couple deleted

posts in that thread that argued for the use of WP. My OP wasn't aimed at you so chill out my friend. It was aimed at the excuse of legality to defend the indefensible. Not just with WP but with the Iraq war, torture, spying, outing agents, etc, etc... I'm sorry if you took my OP as a personal attack, it wasn't meant that way, you actually argued that the laws need to be changed and I commend that, but there are people on DU who are so pro-Israel that they can do no wrong in "defense" of their country. It actually amazes me that these same people can see that our attack on Iraq had nothing to do with defending the US or our freedom but are totally blind when it comes to placing any blame at all on Israel.

[Burried News]

16. Kick it for Floyd nt