Zainab Salbi: Women, wartime and the dream of peace

[pigeonflayer]

This lady is retarded. There was nothing useful in what she said. I think its insulting that she can just come on TED with some sad story and have it declared "enlightening"

[andreeaweed]

The goal of art was the vital expression of self.

[kharabeesh]

You are an amazing strong woman that the nation should be proud of.

[sdrawkcabnipyt]

your talking to the country that spends as much money as the rest of the entire world spends on war. Because there are more countries that dislike us than any other country around.

I like your speech, but I feel you should be talking to a country that spends their money on WAR, not defense. None of us will give up our security, until hostile nations can put away their differences.

[ClintSevilla]

She talks about a problem that has been around for centuries and poses a solution that any schmo could come up with(fuck being inspirational I want a way to act). Then after she gives a lack luster plan she talks in a way that continues to divide the sexes. You will not convince the people in power to stop discriminating others for their gender when you paint "males' with an equally broad brush. It is more of an undertone, but it is there.

[sdrawkcabnipyt]

@ClintSevilla its called being self absorbed

[cupty]

i agree that we need to help women. But women are just as vindictive if not more then men. I am sure that war would increase If a woman was in charge . And before you think that is a sexest pig thing to say I just mean women are full of passion and some times they fallow that more then they would like to admit.

[EclecticSceptic]

This is immensely poignant, in all the senses of the word.

[weeearthlings]

@akshunyob

it is not 'human nature to make war' - that is an opinion.

people are naturally peaceful and live that way all over teh world.

you're trying to make us sound like warring people don't THINK... it just happens.

Which is retarded.

[weeearthlings]

@akshunyob

No, you said 'its in OUR' nature. If it is in YOUR nature to be at war, that is YOUR problem. You do not speak for anybody accept your own self. And it is sad.

[weeearthlings]

@akshunyob

speak for yourself...

[breakfast4champs]

It saddens me that this video only has 9,000 views while cute puppies rolling around in the grass have millions of hits.

[cementium]

There is no greater pain then a parent losing his/her child.

[MrCattlehunter]

Oh look, another unoriginal and uninspiring emotional appeal that could be summed up in two words, in this case "war sucks".

I'm not sure what war movies or x-soldiers she was talking about, but the last dozen war movies I saw all made huge deals out of how war is hell, nevermind actual interviews with old soldiers. Even RAMBO is a movie about how WAR SUCKS. Maybe she's the one who doesn't understand what statements our culture has been making about war ever since WW2 and vietnam.

[JonesIsRye]

@MrCattlehunter I think her point is that war sucks and no one is doing anything about it except those who are continuing with their lives and not living with vengeful thoughts of those who have wronged them.

[saphira861]

Yes, the fear of losing someone precious to oneself is often the drive for men to fight and kill others in order to save their family. In exchange, they are killing people who have families themselves. Tragic. We should all see that we are not different afterall. We kill to protect.

[Nabeelco]

@0MoTheG

Firstly, many women do disagree with their sons going to war. In fact I think almost 100% would disagree.

Secondly, while women are the majority (by a very small amount), women don't have much power in society, even now a days in the western world, this is still sadly the fact.

Who was the last female President of the US? Who was the last Canadian Prime Minister who was female and actually held office for a substantial amount of time?

[jfabiani]

Thank you for speaking the truth. May those with ears and brains use them. Peace.

[caciquepadilla]

iin these countries she is talking about women have no right or power. this is why she is talking about it. for those who cannot speak and who are forced into silence.

[caciquepadilla]

she is from iraq people. in her country women arent aloud in the army. she isnt talking about america, she isnt talking about the united kingdom she is talking about iraq.

[Shundra]

What is this stupidity, one side lead by woman and an other by men?

Keeping life going only woman? Really? Woman don't kill in war? Really?

Sexist dialogue fulled by exemple... yes... I have other one: I remember that one of the jailor torturing in abugahib present was actually a woman. Nice exemple... Hey I remember also that during world war 2 a great part of the soviet sniper were... woman... oh ever heard of Queen Budica. Ilse Kosch during ww2 who tortured jew inmate... Yeah right.

[gulllars]

Why thank God? Why not thank chance?

I get her point in the talk, there is a civilian part ot every war that does not recieve focus. The number of histories refered to is too high, and makes it more of a story time talk than a talk analyzing this fact and discussing how to approach it to make a difference.

The point of including women and civilians at peace talks negotiations was good. The call for 50% is the same kind of mistake as saying there are 2 options, therefore they bot hare 50% likely.

[Badwolf182]

Toe nail perspective lol that is soo Gestalt!

[cray32]

Waste of time............i hate feminists a bunch of sexists 

[Dudekahedron]

This is only just a little bit sexist... And also rather narrow minded...

I'm not saying war is good, but it has certainly been necessary.

[gregjalbert]

Investigate, prosecute, imprison and boycott corporate war mongers. projects . publicintegrity . org / WarCard / ... WarCriminalsWatch . org ... DefundWar . org ... WikiLeaks . org … UnitedForPeace . org ... JustForeignPolicy . org ... prosecutegeorgebush . com ... 50 Top U.S. War Criminals: afterdowningstreet . org / citizenarrest

[SuperiorApostate]

I bet Helen of Troy was against war too...

[adjuvante]

Zainab's story is incredibly moving, and a great appeal to broadening the spectrum of people involved in discussing war.

However, to what point would it be good to have a majority of people who are economically (among other fields) illiterate at such a discussion table? It is always great to pull politicians discussing at the table from abstract thinking and remind them that they are dealing with human lives, but should the people who remind them also be the ones who make the final decision?

[whgpeck]

i hate feminists!!!!!!

[kevendubin]

Total feminist propaganda garbage.

[tkherbi9a]

PLEAAASE talk fast!! I really wanna listen to your story, but you talk too slow gah

[goney3]

insightful, a little too poetic at times, but a really good presentation.

[ORCA4312]

"...the only group of people who are not fighting, and not killing, and not pillaging, and not burning..."

Women good, men bad.

She's also a liar. Some women DO fight, and kill, and pillage, and burn." The difference is that most women have their men do the dirty deeds FOR them.

And in prison, they rape, too.

[ORCA4312]

@ORCA4312 There is no massive outcry from women when enemy cities are burned. When their children are hungry, they are just fine with their soldiers going to the next village and killing and looting.

[dunceordie8675]

wtf?

[kiddhitta]

fighting for peace, is like have sex for virginity.

[euripideesshreds]

Whew ! Yea, at about 13:00 I got quite choked up. Some very moving stuff here... the woman is brilliant. I love the statistics, her math is compelling, I pray her vision spreads far and wide. 

[ORCA4312]

@euripideesshreds "Peace from a toenail's perspective"

She's a loon and a man-hater.

[elduran5]

Traphik is garbage!!!!

[dumbachari]

wow.... very insightful speech.... thank you.

[AtheistOnTheMove]

only a fool would seek peace without the means to preotect it

[Thestralsxxx]

@AtheistOnTheMove How do mean, "protect"?

[xxVIKxx100]

The whole video was about seeing the other side of war, the peace side(The teachers, hospital and factory workers etc... Yet his comment goes directly back to the perspective of war, like the brainwashed tool that he is. He wont elaborate on some one-liner he heard on fox news.

[hardinmichael1981]

I think a lot of the so called "men" who down rated this video missed the whole point.

When did she say that war was men's fault? What she said was that society has ass-backward priorities. Why so defensive? Guys, when are we going to learn that its not always about us?

[GordonEdward]

Hmm... Sounds like nothing bad happens to men in this world.

[stonetop]

@GordonEdward err nope, talking about the issues women face does not mean ignoring the issues men face

[GordonEdward]

@stonetop I guess looking at half the picture is going to give you the best way to resolve the problem.

[ORCA4312]

@stonetop It does when they are the same issues. Men hate war. Men love their families. They love them enough to march into a meat grinder to protect them. Watch 'Saving Private Ryan' and tell me how many of those men liked war. Watch them get tron to pieces and burned alive, and tell me how much you feel for the women at home playing with their children.

Wars are primarily caused by the privileged elite - the ruling class. The lower classes pay the price. Women, children, AND men.

[FalconFreek]

I hate women who cut their hair like this

[DraskyVanderhoff]

George Carlin will agree with this women.

[Shaunt1]

I don't think wars are the fault of men but men and women who are for it.

[TheLesbianMafia]

We say the same thing Michael Savage says, take the women and children out and drop a neturon bomb across the woman-hating psychotic tribal regions .....weeeeee man-haters are us for hating the woman-haters!

[AssyrianRebel1]

@TheLesbianMafia Sometimes I do wish that things were that simple, but ignorant women-hating superstitious disgusting men are not created in a vacuum the truth is much more horrifying and nuanced, and therefore difficult to both understand and accept.

The truth lies an endless cycle of child abuse perpetrated by both father AND mother, in fact the most emotionally scarring abuse is typically administered by the mother, which is why these men grow to hate women so much, leading to more abuse.

[kinsmed]

War is bad. Okay.

But 15 minutes to get to the point...

and no concrete solution is offered here.

[pgunn01]

What about women soldiers? Women leaders? It's very old-fashioned of her to think and talk in these terms.

[stonetop]

@pgunn01 there are very few countries where women play any role in the military, and none that I am aware of where women play a dominant role in combat operations. The same goes for government.

[pgunn01]

@stonetop Military: Canada, Demnark, France, Germany, Israel, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, UK.

Women national leaders are considerably more common (even if there's not usually equal opportunity to get the role).

[stonetop]

@pgunn01 Woman leaders are more common today then they were in the past, but they are still not commonly found.

[ORCA4312]

@stonetop Most militaries don't encourage the promotion of cowards.

Let me know when the feminists support equal responsibility to fight. They only support equal opportunity. In the US - young men are required to register for military service. Women are not. Women are held to lower performance standards to enter police and fire forces.

As for politics, women are not as inclined to the competition as men are. Power is an aphrodisiac for women, not men.

[stonetop]

@ORCA4312 most feminists I know of oppose the draft for anyone, not just for men.

[stargazerg10]

women make the best leaders. just ask your mom. free the oppressed women of the world and you empower the world. exceptional presentation.

[0MoTheG]

@stargazerg10

Let us try it. All it takes is for women to stop electing men and start electing womanly women.

[ORCA4312]

@0MoTheG They won't because leadership is a masculine trait. Even if no men were elected - the masculine women would be.

Look at what happens in women's prisons. It is not the dainty ladies who run things there.

[MsBonSaint]

As long as war is profitable for the very rich, it will be difficult for peace to last for long.

[Buddhabr0t]

pacifism -> a philosophy which promotes the absence of war. often preached by those who rely on others, when it comes to personal security

[mpkfan]

The woman and her organization has distributed more than $84 million in the form of microcredit and direct aid to date.

To the charming people hiding behind your computer screens, can you count that high?

[ORCA4312]

@mpkfan Aid to WOMEN - and let men rot. Sexism.

[stonetop]

@ORCA4312 aid to women, who are statistically more likely to be poorer then men

[hedleypanama]

@stonetop but they are statistically more like to survive in wartime, compared to men :(

[stonetop]

@hedleypanama Can you cite that? Do women really come out on top when you consider the total of civilian and military casualties (and not just those who die in direct combat either)

[hedleypanama]

@stonetop

however MEN are FORCED to fight, not women: why do you think a women get "abandoned" by her partner: because HE IS FORCED TO FIGHT!!!!

Where in the world at the beginning of the XX century (whenever WWI and WWII) women are forced to fight?

Theorically, civilian collateral damage death is less than actual military combat.

I insist: Aid to women, and Fck men!!!

Men have upper hand in all grounds, except in wartime and family courts!

[stonetop]

@hedleypanama Forced to fight by who?

You keep talking about "forced to fight" which only shows that you have forgotten that soldiers are not the only ones who die in a war. People die when bombs fall on their cities (including those civilians who died during the bombings of WWII).

Men have the upper hand during war time as well... as it is the men who are generally doing the fighting, and the pillaging.

Your "Aid to women and f the men" is aid to building schools, supply clean water, etc...

[hedleypanama]

@stonetop I am agree with you, but I INSIST: A soldier is a person who is thaught to kill and die. Such training is compulsory for MEN only, not for women.

If such compulsory BS do not exist, or men were not forced to join to the army... then there will be no reason to fight in MASSIVE scale collateral civilian damage (that you proudly mention) will not happen!

Of course! civilian dies, but the soldier's job is to DIE!!! and that is a men's job...

[sausage4mash]

So perhaps we need more Margret thatchers in the world , lol , ridiculous sexist video.

Also : "appeal to emotion fallacy "big time ,God i hate these kind of videos .

[ORCA4312]

@sausage4mash It is typical feminist philosophy - feelings over facts.

[DraskyVanderhoff]

@ORCA4312 I agree on that , she should see some women from Argentina how peaceful they are... like Hebe de Bonafini.

We are animals and we descend from chimpanzees and gorillas , don't expect a peaceful nature in everyone or in every women.

[mcgrawtim123]

Fantastic talk. Great points. Way to go  Ms. Salbi & TED.

[Phelan666]

31 people are brainwashed warmongers.

[sausage4mash]

@Phelan666 It was 31 people pissed of with her sexism , way to go on missing the point !

[ORCA4312]

@Phelan666 No. WAR IS HORRIBLE. However, it is not only the fault of men, as this speaker implies.

[0MoTheG]

If woman are so pro life, then why don't they disagree with their sons becoming solders. 100%

By going to the factory in a war, you keep it going.

Woman are not a minority they are the majority.

Woman are just as nationalistic, radical, religious and pro war as men are, if that were not the case war would not have existed, ever.

[lucius215]

@0MoTheG intresting but i disagree for now, as this society has been gouverned by Men for thousands of years already, we wouldnt have any idea realy what would happen in terms of warfare when women would come to power. In essence i see them as less violent creatures, with a smaller need to obtain positions of power.

women do disagree with their sons going to war. imagine a mother saying: Go get em Tiger! Kill em all! :) isnt that something Men do? Uncle sam wants you! that sort of thing?

[0MoTheG]

@lucius215

I kinda agree with your first paragraph but not with the second.

I can imagine very well how proud mothers are of their solder son. You are stereotyping, you are confusing how men are supposed to be with the less crass reality. Men too don't want their sons killed, but that does not mean that other less rational factors win.

I agree with ORCA4312.

[lucius215]

@0MoTheG offc you are right, a father wouldnt want his son to get killed with the same intensity as a mother would, History might show us how and why. in the old days we left our nomadic excistence for the safety of a well defended surrounding. with that came war. war over turf, war over crops and riches, war over women and all that balagang. its my guess women, since they are more attuned to the cycle of Life would have kept on Following the seasons and gather their Buts off lolz. what u think

[ORCA4312]

@lucius215 Women love a man in uniform. Most would rather have a soldier for a mate than a teacher or gardener. Men do what makes them attractive to women.

[lucius215]

@ORCA4312 meh. i blame Good old testosteron, its not the uniform itself but the warrior or defender or saviour it symbolises. for a woman it says: Overhere ur safe. in return we want steak, blowjobs, and sons.,

[axel1973w]

@0MoTheG , because as usual (as it is with men too), there are not only smart women around. there are also plenty of stupid ones. lots of american mothers for example who are pretty proud in the first place when their sons subscribe to military to serve their land, then in second place after their kid is crippled or killed, starting moan and whine about it. Those kind of peoples. see?

[0MoTheG]

@axel1973w

what is the excuse here? stupidity? if there are stupid men and woman, than how does that work? I think that subaverage men are more stupid than subaverage women, therefore men are less guilty of stuff because their smarter wives and mothers should have out smarted them.

[shunnehling]

@0MoTheG Ever heard of conscription? Sometimes even when the male and females don't want to have a war, they are forced to by the high powers, like the government or royalty.

[ORCA4312]

@shunnehling Not the women, as a rule. Usually only the men.

So much for a society run by men.

[0MoTheG]

@shunnehling

yes, so? what is your point?

[jasonlajoie]

@0MoTheG I can agree with everything you stated except the last bit about "war would not have existed, ever." Women are only recently possessing equal right to men in the western world, and are still considered lesser in many other parts of the world. I live in Switzerland where the last Cantone (state) to grant women the right to vote wasn't until 1984. How woman are treated in their own homes is another story. Many women are still treated as lesser than their male children in many cultures.

[ORCA4312]

@jasonlajoie In many culture that is true. In western industrialized nations, women are superior.

Tell me who rules? The one who makes the money, or the one who spends it? The one who stays home with the children, or the one who marches off to be torn to pieces?

[0MoTheG]

@jasonlajoie

nor man or woman did get the right to vote without going to the streets. In england some woman "stood their man" and took the beating to get the right. If woman don't fight for their rights nor vote for other woman, I find it little surprising that their situation doesn't improve. Instead they wine about how they are suppressed by their boyfriends, husbands, sons, fathers and society in general. If they were a minority I would join their cause.

[8DX]

@0MoTheG Actually women are neither a minority or a majority. There is a surprisingle equal number of men and women in the world. (despite wars/average lifespans).

[Badwolf182]

@0MoTheG Excellent point! We women cannot talk abt wars like we have nothing to do with it. UR right it is WOMEN who need to teach their sons NOT to kill/rape/pillage

[caciquepadilla]

@0MoTheG this isnt america. this is the countries where women are left in the dust because they are seen as weak.

[racehorse87]

@0MoTheG I'm not sure that they are always given a position where they can express disagreement with a man's decisions, or where their opinion would be heeded if they did express it.

Additionally, in wartime, women may often face the choice of either going to work or letting their family starve. If the only work available is in the factory, then that is all they can do. In some countries, women have had to become prostitutes to support the family while the men are at war.

[0MoTheG]

@racehorse87

It is their duty as citizens to express their disagreement. Men are not given the position to disagree with the government either. I disagree to to hole: "but we are women, we can't do anything, we are so oppressed and week".

What is the choice men face? Get shot right here and now or try not to get shot in war. If they go to war without need (currently in the US) it is their fault.

[khatack]

@0MoTheG

Actually, most of war and conflict arises from emotions, and since women are more emotional than men, one could argue that women contribute even more to the suffering of mankind than men do.

[JonesIsRye]

@khatack Yes, all of those women politicians who are so greedy to expand not only their property but also their political power are the reason for most war and conflict...

Are you fucking retarded?

[khatack]

@JonesIsRye

Nope, but they sure as hell can spread hatred as fast as any man can. Besides, I said that "one could argue that women contribute more to the suffering of mankind than men do", not that it is so. Truth is, you can't calculate something like that. How many men have become monsters because of their evil mothers? Or stepmothers? How many men have lost their perspective of the world because of the charms of a woman?

And about the female politicians, you mean the ones like Sarah Palin?

[JonesIsRye]

@khatack LOL I mean female politicians that people actually care about. xD

[khatack]

@JonesIsRye

There are a LOT of people who actually care about Mrs Palin, even if their mental capacity is rather questionable.

[JonesIsRye]

@khatack Questionable or nonexistent?

[0ntology]

@khatack Get an education please.

[khatack]

@0ntology

I already have one.

Maybe you should consider your own advice. You should start with reading comprehension and philosophy, followed by history and psychology. After that you can come back and actually try to make an argument instead of a snappy and naive comment.

[stonetop]

great video.... but so many ignorant comments. A large number of people here need to pull their heads out of their arses.

[ORCA4312]

@stonetop Go back to your `women`s studies`class, man-hater.

[stonetop]

@ORCA4312 ahh yes, because even talking about the issues facing women in the various war zones around the world makes me a "man hater"? I know it is easier for you to feel good about seeing those bombs explode on CNN if you can ignore the non-combatants living there but it is time that we owed up to what is going on.

And for the record I am a man (more of one then you are apparently).

[ORCA4312]

@stonetop You have been brain-washed to hate your own kind.

You are a social eunuch - unable to function as a man.

Men are not saints, but neither are women.

[stonetop]

@ORCA4312 That's odd... the video does not claim that women are saints, so why would you say so? The video provides a view of warfare from a woman's perspective, a perspective that is rarely shown.

It also argues that more money should be spent on peaceful endeavors, a sentiment for which I find no real argument against.

And again, I'm more of a man then you because I don't hide from these issues.

[ORCA4312]

@stonetop watch from 13:00. Women are the ones who "are not fighting, and not killing, and not pillaging, and not burning..." in HER words.

[stonetop]

@ORCA4312 And that is a true statement. Women are not the ones fighting, killing, pillaging, and burning....

Do say "well if women ran things we would live in a Utopia" is starry eyed optimism at best... but her criticism is quite accurate when she points out that the plight of women in these situations is ignored, and that we spend far more money on bombs then we do on schools.

[QueerSwede1]

@stonetop ofc, dickheads cannot handle stuff like this, they get provoced and next step is running outside raping and murdering to assure their dickness.

[WyldOrbit]

Wow. I'm reading the comments, and These commenters are fucking retards.

[WyldOrbit]

Good point!

[DrQuijano]

I LOVED the first five minutes, everything else was meh.

[xilliah]

Interesting story, crappy comments.

[GameDevMonkey]

Wow this is poor. Very very poor. Totally deteached from the reality of the situation. A clear distortion of statistics. In fact a quick google search provided a wealth of information

Check out the small arms report on BMJ dot com. I'd post a link but you tube is being crap about it.

It takes a bit of reading and it's only a start for anyone wishing to fact check.

PM me if you want a link to the report.

[ORCA4312]

That was a hell of a lot of words just to say "Men bad, women good."

Typical sexist man-bashing. Most men fight in wars to protect or provide for their women and children.

Men are as women made us. You want to stop wars (no, you don't, BTW) - then stop choosing soldiers for mates.

Women don't give a shit how men make their money. They don't choose artists and craftsmen - they choose killers and crooks.

[yavanna1969]

Crap talk - However she is awesome in the new V series!

[lolingattheism]

Zainab should call taliban and tell them to take women into negotiation table... oh wait...

[lupa559]

how can we get TED to stop these bullshit talks, blah blah here's some idiot proposing a completely unrealistic idea about an issue we're all aware of but they'll still deliver it as though we're ignorant and uncaring towards it. The most famous photo's with the biggest impact in the world are hardly ever photo's of soldiers during war it is almost always the civilians effected, stop pretending they're being ignored

[ahmeds027]

@lupa559 oops thats insensitive 

[Jijou3]

BUUU Go israel. dont wake the sheep with this kind of videos TEDtalks. Please. Show them some cool statistics of something else

[MarkoKraguljac]

Wikileaks! :D

[antimicrosofty]

TED is a platform where ideas are exchanged and experts relay there experience. The fact that you guys have subscribed means you were interested on something posted previously and there is some other ones that don't; which mean that the goal is fulfilled.

It is intellectually very healthy to listen to different opinions from people talking about what they experienced, she had experienced living in war, she is describing it without playing the victim card, in a is very interesting humane way.

[MasterGhostKnight]

That was bad. Just because a war broke out on her door step it doesn't mean that now she is an autority on diplomacy. This was extremely absurd. TED has really got their quality down. From ideas worth spreading from ideas worth cleansing.

[SAsgarters]

If she wants to be sexist, misrepresent statistics and turn it into a victim contest, fine.

Women get raped, males above the age of 10 get rounded up, executed and mutilated. In that order, if they're lucky. Males under the age of 10 get raped and forced to kill for the enemy and mutilate and rape civilians.

[ealts]

TED! Stop posting talks by such idiots because I"m real close to ending my subscription. Your channel hasn't posted a talk I graded to be at a high level in a long time.

[ealts]

Idiot!

Are people such dupes that they fall so easily for such words of honey: peace, non-violence, "defenders of life" etc. etc. Sorry, but her ideas are disconnected from reality.

[MsBonSaint]

@nathanc777 Why? Please elaborate.

[seemoretube]

This is worse than poetry performance theatre.

[Buddhabr0t]

omg this is so boring. nothing new to see here

[GravDiga]

it's over the top and is too emotional for me.. i care.. but i don't need to be forced to care.. in such a repetitive speech.

it's good to wake up the sheeple though.

[bmw123321]

boring

[reprimand33]

Well just pray!! It seems to work well for you!!

[Aboodabumood]

Israel is the reason wars.

[P1ranh4]

huh, just when she said "sirens" an ambulance passed my window..

[tmnbhat]

no likes or dislikes?

[kokofan50]

@tmnbhat their are 10 now

[BroBroDude]

wtf is this shit

[BenDy994]

SECOND!

[ChrisIsUrDaddy]

fiiiiirst