Using terms like ‘Hezbollah stronghold’ blurs the line between civilian and combatant. It makes it seem like the victims of these attacks more or less deserve their fate because of Hezbollah’s actions. When civilians are killed they deserve to be paid a minimum amount of respect, i.e. we are required to grant them their innocence, without categorizing their deaths under payback for actions they themselves had not taken. In the case of this latest spate of bombings in Beirut’s Southern Suburb, this begins with the need to consciously separate ‘Lebanese Shia’ from ‘Hezbollah supporter’ and ‘Hezbollah supporter’ from ‘Hezbollah militant’.
Posted on: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 07:54:54 +0000