Officially seen it all

Allison thinks she’s officially seen it all, with the news of the apprehension of a hermaphrodite would-be suicide bomber:

Israeli security forces thwarted a suicide bombing planned for Tel Aviv when they arrested a Palestinian hermaphrodite armed with a 15-kilogram bomb in the West Bank, Palestinian sources said.

Amal Juma’a, 32, is a hermpahrodite who goes by the name Ahmed, Palestinian Authority sources told Army Radio. The report said the terror attack was planned for Monday.

Sign of the times? Possibly.

But more likely, it’s a sign of the culture. It’s difficult enough in supposedly liberal, advanced-thinking areas of the world to have a “different” gender identity. Imagine what it must be like in a society that still treats women like chattel and has honour killings of women who are no longer virgins? Palestinian society isn’t exactly known for its advanced attitudes towards homosexuals, transsexuals, or, well, in this case, hermaphrodites.

There’s one place all the people who feel outcast or alienated can go to feel accepted, powerful, and special: to the terrorists. Groups like Hamas and Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade are only too happy to help the alienated “find purpose” by strapping some C-4 to their chests and going to blow up innocent Jewish children.

In case you’re wondering, this isn’t one of those “excuses for the terrorists” postings. It makes no difference whether a terrorist is a man, woman, hermaphrodite, or a Marilyn Manson-type: a murder is still a murderer.

But it’s a sad fact that the terrorist groups prey on the weak, on the maligned, on the fringes of society. They find their killers among people to whom murder-suicide seems like a career opportunity. There’s no way to tell whether that’s the case here. But it very well could be.

Update: Stefan and Harry are also amused. It wouldn’t have been so amusing had the intended attack actually succeeded.