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From: jimr@hcrvx2.UUCP (Jim Robinson)
Newsgroups: net.followup,net.politics
Subject: Re: Does CND exist because of totalitarianism?
Message-ID: <2334@hcrvx2.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 26-May-86 20:01:15 EDT
Article-I.D.: hcrvx2.2334
Posted: Mon May 26 20:01:15 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 27-May-86 01:46:04 EDT
References: <157@unido.UUCP> <720@ark.UUCP> <122@paisley.ac.uk> <137@stracs.cs.strath.ac.uk>
Reply-To: jimr@hcrvx2.UUCP (Jim Robinson)
Organization: Human Computing Resources, Toronto
Lines: 38
Summary: 

In article <137@stracs.cs.strath.ac.uk> jim@cs.strath.ac.uk (Jim Reid) writes:
>What's wrong with popular support for pacifism? The more people who object
>to violence, the better. We'd all live in a better world if there were
>more pacifists. 

Depends on which side they were on.

>Sorry, I don't see the connection between CND and totalitarianism. CND
>exists because some nations think it's a good idea to stockpile weapons
>that can obliterate the planet we all live on and then threaten each other
>with these weapons. Where does totalitarianism come into it? [I'm only a
>stupid pacifist, so what do I know? :-)]
>
>It's humanity that will benefit from the CND movement - Raygun and Gorbachov
>would not even be trying to have talks about talks about arms reductions
>if it wasn't for the massive public opinion against them, particularly in
>Western Europe.

I suspect that the Soviet Union couldn't care less what *anybody's* opinion
was of them. Since the leaders can't get kicked out of office they have
no reason to care what the citizenry thinks. And if they don't care what
their own people think why in the world should they care what foreigners
think? The reason they want arms talks is because the arms race is a drain
on their economy. Such a drain makes it difficult to keep their people
happy (hence a high rate of alcoholism), and it makes it difficult to
finance conventional mischief around the world (however, they do have their
priorities "right" - military aid to Ethiopia but no food aid until the West
shamed them into providing some). 

I am curious about the use of the term pacifism. Is it being used to mean
an opposition to war regardless of the circumstances? This has always
seemed to be an incredibly naive view to me and I'd be very interested
in hearing a defence of such a position by someone who believes in it.

J.B. Robinson

To paraphrase Lazarus Long: The meek shall inherit the earth - about
6 feet of it.