Masochist's Dictionary: Dead Academics

Occupation: n. Profession, job, type of employment.

Idly following links from the esteemed pottymouth S Duck, esq, I happened across Today in Iraq. Looking at the posts for Monday, you can start by playing a quick game of 'Spot the War Criminal' with the image of Rumsfeld shaking Saddam's hand. Then things turn more sombre as you scroll down the list of names, and causes of death, of people killed, in only one home, during a US attack on Al-Qa'im. Note, these people were advised by the US army to stay in their homes.

Below this grim list is a list of academics killed in Iraq since March 2003. Now, it's a valid enough question to ask why academics' lives are more important than anyone else's, and even though I have a vested interest, I have to answer that they are not, although there is a debate to be had about the toll such deaths take on the cultural and intellectual wealth of a nation, and hence the nation's ability to fully enjoy the freedom we are repeatedly told they are having delivered. Somehow, I can't see this aspect keeping Bush et al awake at nights. But my point is this: scroll down the list. Keep scrolling. At what point do you begin to feel sick?

I reckon there's a good chance that academics will tend to be well-represented in the blogging world, and will also,by dint of ~~our~~ their profession, have contacts worldwide. So it's perhaps more likely that such a list will be composed concerning academics rather than other occupations, no pun intended. Having said that, I've no reason to believe that academics are any more likely to fall victim to the dreadful euphemism collateral damage. Keeping that in mind, what proportion of the average society's composition do academics represent? So, if that many academics have died, imagine the list of, say, plumbers.