103: Trapped in Bottom of the 9th (1)

【Is it Justice?】
Bottom of the 9th inning with 2outs.
 
It’s a popular baseball expression also used in an everyday setting, often to illustrate a dire situation where we’re “on the brink of elimination.” That is, a situation in which one more out and the game’s over; we lose.
 
And it’s sad to say that we find the Bottom-of-the-9th-inning-with-2outs situations across the world.
 
The attack against Israel by terrorist organization Hamas. The Russian military’s abhorrent invasion of Ukraine. So many conflicts/violence unfold in the world, spreading sorrows everywhere.
 
And the terrible truth is that these conflicts are repeated, seemingly endless, throughout the history of mankind.
 
Truth be told, at the core of this perpetual pattern is our faulty justification for retaliatory killings in the name of self-defense.
 
The Israeli military explains, “They killed us first, so us killing them back is self-defense” and attacks Palestine. Here’s the logic: if we kill the enemy who killed us first, then that same enemy will no longer pose a threat to our livelihood, therefore us killing them back is a legitimate self-defense.
 
Despite it’s emotional appeal, the problem with this self-defense logic is that it’s nearly impossible to precisely target any retaliatory attack at only “those who killed us first.” Our long history of wars/conflicts have already proven this point repeatedly. It’s because the innocent people who have nothing to do with the initial killing get caught up in these retaliatory attacks. 
 
For this reason, “Retaliatory killings in the name of self-defense” translates into “Willfully accepting the inevitable killings of the innocent people.”
 
As a result, there is no justice in this self-defense logic.
 
Yet, by carrying out the faulty justification, the Israeli military retaliates, and the innocent Palestinian people are killed. Among those killed are the innocent people who had nothing to do with the initial killing of Israeli people by Hamas.
 
Small children are among those killed.
 
Even the newborn babies are among those killed.
 
Even if not killed, innocence is lost. Childhood is lost. Livelihood is lost. Joy and happiness are gone. Fathers are taken away. Mothers are violated. Sisters and brothers are tormented. Families are destroyed. Poverty crushes them. Emotional wounds dig so deep, they scar forever.
 
To state the very obvious, there is no justice in any of this.
 
And what follows? Next up, the innocent Palestinian people use the same logic, “They killed us first, so us killing them back is self-defense.”
 
In this way, “Retaliatory killings in the name of self-defense” translates into “Willfully accepting the inevitable killings of the innocent people.”
 
There is no end to this self-defense logic.
 
“But if there’s no justice in killing them back, then what are we to do? Doing nothing means the innocent people will continue to be massacred. My family and I may be next. We have no other choice but to kill them back!!”
 
And that’s the Bottom-of-the-9th-inning-with-2outs situation; on the brink of elimination with our backs against the wall. 

Read Next: Trapped in Bottom of the 9th (2)【Raw Emotions】
 
Complete Series: Trapped in Bottom of the 9th (1)～(5)
[1]   [2]   [3]   [4]   [5]   

Read Theme: Violence/Peace