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Violence knows no state boundaries and respects no one:

“A car explosion and what appeared to be a suicide attack injured two people, killed the apparent bomber and caused panic among Christmas shoppers in Stockholm.

Stockholm police spokeswoman Petra Sjolander said a car exploded Saturday near Drottninggatan, a busy shopping street in the centre of the city. Shortly afterward, a second explosion was heard higher up on the same street, and a man was found injured on the ground   He was later pronounced dead.”

People have a hard time understanding empathy and compassion; retribution and revenge though have been internalized quite thoroughly.

“Ten minutes before the blasts, Swedish news agency TT received an email saying “the time has come to take action.”According to the news agency, the email referred to Swedish soldiers in Afghanistan and Sweden’s silence surrounding artist Lars Vilk’s drawing of Muhammad as a dog.

“Now your children, daughters and sisters shall die like our brothers and sisters and children are dying,” the news agency quoted the email as saying.

Define someone as the “other”, marginalize them, strip them of their humanity call them terrorists or fanatics or zealots, it does not really matter.  Eventually, because we know revenge and because we know violence it will visit all those involved.

“Two people were taken to hospital with light injuries. It was not immediately clear in which explosion they were hurt.”

Empathy, respect, compassion.  Any of the three take more time, courage and dedication than revenge or retribution, and usually produce more amiable results.  Retribution makes the infidels/terrorists pay though.  It teaches the extremists/unbelievers a lesson that they will not forget.

The problem is that the wrong lesson is learned, and therefore the bloody game continues:  an eye for an eye.