Comments on: Benazir Bhutto (1953-2007)

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 08:58:50 +0000

Asif: I was wondering about that.

By: Asif Mohammad

Asif Mohammad — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 02:02:06 +0000

I am so surprised how the media is playing this whole Bhutto assasination out. They make it sound like every Pakistani, even the ones living abroad, think she is a real hero and was only choice for the upcomming election. I live in Vancouver,B.C. Everyone Pakistani here is sad she died as a person, but rather happy she is out of politics as a whole. She has alot of bad luggage when she was in power as well. Let us not forget.

By: Margaret

Margaret — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 18:59:53 +0000

“Self Guided martyrdom” is not problematic for me. “Courage to die for her convictions” is. It appears, from what I have read, she was aware that attempts would continue to be made to assassinate her. It seems that for one who wanted change for her country and believing she was the catalyst to begin the transformation, she was not making wise decisions about surviving in order to do so.As for pathology, there could be some. Having know martyrdom and execution from childhood can radically change perceptions of your ability to survive anything.I don’t see it as blaming the victim. Bhutto’s decision to ride in an open car in the middle of chaos was her’s alone. Should it have happened? How could it not?

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 15:51:04 +0000

Ah, now I understand where you are not getting it. You see, for her, I feel that both … yes, different … were true. She felt that her principles were worth dying for. There was almost no way could have been both active in her political efforts and lived. That is pretty clear. She knew this.You could have characterized her position as deciding that she wanted to die for her principles, or you could characterize her position as her knowing that dying for her principles was an almost inevitable outcome of working towards the ends she wanted to work towards. She chose to leave Britain under these circumstances.If she was thinking “I will die doing this” vs. “I could die doing this” is probably not knowable to us, nor is it important.If you think there is some way that this distinction to a person struggling with these issues is somehow determinative of victim-hood vs. not then you have never been in a position where you needed to choose to potentially die on one hand vs. not over some principle. Try it some time, it is enlightening. And rather refreshing.For now, please go away.

By: nathan bowling

nathan bowling — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 15:34:55 +0000

IMO, the term “self-guided martyrdom” is problematic; it reads as a pejorative. It leads one to conclude that you feel she decided she wanted to die for her principles–instead of that her principles were worth dying for.To this reader there is a difference between those two.n.

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 15:29:15 +0000

Nathan,You have chosen to see in what I wrote an attempt to blame the victim. You could not be farther from the mark.I could say that “I must not have made myself clear” or I could say that you are seeing what you want to see even if it not there. Depends on how much of an asshole I feel like being.Perhaps you don’t have he same understanding of self martyrdom that I do. I am not using that phrase as a marker for pathology, but rather, for a decision someone makes to die for a cause.Please readjust your understanding of this phrase and re-read. Let me know how that goes.G

By: nathan bowling

nathan bowling — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 15:16:04 +0000

I take issue with this part of your post:”I was fully resolved to the fact that she would not live very many weeks. There is no way, I am certain, that she did not know this herself. The man who shot her could reasonably be called a suicide bomber, but in some ways, he was merely a pawn in Bhutto’s own self-guided martyrdom.”So a person engaged in a struggle against a violent oppressive regime, despite apparent threats to their own safety is a “self-guided martyr”? Would you also call Medgar Evers, Safia Ahmed Jan, or Steve Biko self-guided martyrs? In doing so you empower and legitimize those who rule through violence and campaigns of fear and marginalize the sacrifices of people of tremendous personal courage.More than anything, Bhutto was exceedingly courageous. She was more courageous as an activist than she was effective as a prime minister. Her courage in opposing Musharraf far outstrecthed her skills as an executive or as a reliable force for government transparency during her corrupt term as prime minister.I thought to myself she was a “goner” when it was reported she was contemplating a public “sit-in” to protest martial law, however that did not lead me down the same road that you seem to have ventured. In blaming the victim of this crime you rhetorically validate the actions of those who murdered her and further empower those who fight for the destabilization Pakistan.

By: NYC Educator

NYC Educator — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 14:39:20 +0000

It may not be that simple. On NPR yesterday, they were discussing Benazir’s security. A guest said that she’d requested many security measures from the government, and that the government failed to deliver on most of her requests.

By: wile_e_quixote

wile_e_quixote — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 14:35:08 +0000

Blaming the victim, nothing to see here, move along, move along.

By: andythebrit

andythebrit — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 19:58:09 +0000

Flaunting security, or did she just not want to live in a cage? I wonder. So many of our “leaders” live in this bubble of security. It must be very isolating.My impression is that Bhutto had some faults as a leader…but she had no lack of courage. Unfortunately, courage does not stop bullets. A sad loss.