pz myers: shades of gray

a very moving piece by pz myers. just read it.

i'm an extremist in this debate, i will freely confess. i hold an absolute view that no killing is ever justified, that individuals have the necessity to defend themselves against assailants, but that even that does not grant moral approval to snuffing out the life of another. don't even try to pull out a scale and toss a copy of the koran on one side and the life of a single human being on the other — the comparison is obscene. do not try to tell me that some people are 'moderates' when they tolerate or even support and applaud war and death and murder for any cause, whether it is oil, or getting even, or defending the honor of wood pulp and ink.

the bone is bleached white. the flesh is burnt black. the blood splashes scarlet. you can't render it in grays and pastels without losing sight of the truth.