About Safarov, the national hero.

Note: My formatting on Blogger has gone crazy. Just like the guy I am talking about below. Tried fixing it, but some things can never be fixed. Just like some people.

Well, isnt it just wonderful. An axe murderer turned into a national hero by the Azeri king who enjoys demonstrating just how little respect he has for anyone else's opinion.

Obama-shmobama!  Hungarians-shmangarians!... Ha! I don't give a flying f***. I am one of the richest guys in the world and guess what? I can do whatever i want! And not only i am brave like that, but also crafty, because by doing something like this, i suddenly gained support of thousands of nationalists. Now, instead of focusing on my corruption, despotism and other lovely personal traits, most of the Azeris are gonna love me for pardoning the guy who killed an Armenian. A sleeping one.

This is what the president must be thinking. Because, what else can possibly explain this decision?

I did not even feel like blogging about this, to be honest. I am just too disgusted to even bring myself to talk about it. 

The actual event itself is sad and f***up, of course. But there are thousands of sad and very f***d up things happen every day on our lovely planet. But what i found most upsetting is just how many Azeris are excited and proud about this. In one Facebook discussion i came across, in over 300! comments, majority of brainless idiots rushed to prove their national pride by insulting one intelligent girl who dared to share her concern about Safarov's freedom, and what it might mean for Azerbaijan. The attacks got nasty and personal-very similar to the ones i get on this blog.

"Your mother must be Armenian!"
" Go back to America, you are not a true Azeri! "
" How dare you call yourself azeri?!"

I watched the poor girl trying to defend herself. Trying to explain things to her fellow countrymen, things that, in theory, should not even need explaining! And of course, failing at the stone wall of nationalism. 

Nationalism is a crazy thing. It seems to turn people blind and deaf. It is very similar to religion in many ways- anyone who questions anything that had been done under the umbrella of patriotism should be immediately punished and silenced.

I started reading articles in Azeri media about the pardoning of Safarov, and came across some amazing examples of bollocks. I mean, the quality of it is beyond any expectations. Take this one article i have come across. 

"Citing the words of national leader Heydar Aliyev "When there is mind - no need to use force", Ali Ahmedov regarded Safarov's release as a result of this mind and wisdom."

Eh? What about the murder of a sleeping man? Not simply a murder but a 16-hits-with-an-axe-to almost-severe-his-head murder? Sorry....what are we talking about? 

"Both Karabakh, and Ramil became victims of saboteurs. The first is occupied by the enemy, while the other for so many years was imprisoned. Ramil was released, next is the liberation of Karabakh. Please God, day will come, when President, Supreme Commander Ilham Aliyev announces the liberation of Karabakh. All believe and wait for it. One injustice has been relegated to history, the other, I believe, will also be eliminated," Ahmedov said.

Oh, my....I gave up reading anything else on the subject after that. I realised that some people simply live in a parallel universe and don't follow any logic of human beings. 

But okay. For the sake of trying to understand...let's think of cases when a really cruel murder was indeed, provoked and could be forgiven. Like in those action movies that make us feel good because some child gets kidnapped or/and killed, and the main hero goes after the evil guys and kills them all and never gets punished or captured. I never really thought about it much- when can a murder be forgiven? Who has a moral right to pardon someone who had taken another humans life? And i guess, for all of us, there might be some things in life that we would kill for. I would kill anyone who tried to kidnap or badly harm my child. Definitely. 

However....

I would not kill a random sleeping Armenian. Even if he laughed at me in a funny way, while talking to another Armenian. Even if he winked at me when he passed me in the corridor. And I am sorry. I know you are going to tell me I am not patriotic enough but, I would not even try to chop his head off if he'd said anything insulting about the Azeri flag. I mean, I would maybe think he was an idiot, but really? To murder him with an axe for it? Might be a touch extreme, don't you think? 

I really believe that one has to be a certain kind of person (i.e. a crazy murdering kind) to get that wound up at someone who might have insulted him. Note the "mind have" bit, since none of us will ever really know what had happened. Okay, the murderer had some relatives killed in Karabakh, they reckon. But they were not killed by this particular man. And even if we imagine that the guy was disturbed by the events, even if we try to understand why and how he could do something like this...it is still a bit hmm....bizarre to not only set him free (without any medical help) but also turn him into a national hero.

And finally. Forget the morals of it, or whether it was legal or not. Forget Obama and whoever else might have disliked what Aliyev has done. But think about what it might mean. For the glorious nation of Azerbaijan. For its future. For the peace. 

Think about retaliation. Think about certain comments already appearing in Azeri news implying that Azeri diplomats and delegations might be travelling with caution from now on. Also, think about other pathological, maniacal, murdering patriots who now think the door has been officially open to kill other innocent people to become national heroes. With a new house and some money. 

And imagine what it is going to be like from now on, if an Armenian abroad meets an Azeri. Is he or she going to think "hmm...is there an axe in his rucksack by any chance? Or shall i bring mine to the lecture/work/event today- just in case?" This is not the world I want my children to grow up in. 

And if this is what the majority of Azeris now truly think ( and I mean truly believe, rather than shouting what everyone else shouts on Facebook to demonstrate their patriotic feelings)- that this man deserved his freedom and glory, that what he did was right.....then I am glad I am out of there.