Musharraf: Benazir responsible for own death

In an interview with CBS' 60 Minutes, Musharraf has said that Benazir was responsible for her own death:

"For standing up outside the car, I think it was she to blame alone. Nobody else. Responsibility is hers," Musharraf says.

"Don't you think it will make her supporters crazy to hear you say that?" [60 Minutes reporter] Logan asks.

"Well, I don't think so. I mean, that's the fact. She shouldn't have stood up," Musharraf says.

I wonder if Musharraf also agrees that he himself is to blame for the attacks on his life. After all, if he had never taken over in a coup, no one would be wanting his death.

The idea that people are responsible for their own deaths is so absurd, but in this case it's an even more ridiculous argument. Benazir was a political leader, she was at a political rally, and she was engaging the crowd as she should have done in her capacity as a popular leader. If you follow Musharraf's argument to its logical conclusion, you will end up at the point where we must all stop doing politics. No rallies, no disagreements, no making anyone else angry, no speaking up, just keep your head down and shut up and no one gets hurt. Which is not true, of course, because that's exactly when people get hurt, when dictators think they can get away with murder because no one speaks up against them.

To me, this sounds a lot like people telling us not to be gay. If you feel society's derision, or face discrimination, or have to suffer social ostracism, well then just stop being gay already. You can have sex, you know, but just do it quietly, just don't talk about it, just don't ask that your partner be recognized and accepted. And if you behave like a straight person, well then no one gets hurt.

So I can never accept this argument, that people are responsible for the pain and suffering that is caused to them. Benazir didn't ask for it. The killers who fired the bullet and who detonated the bomb are the real culprits.