naraburns nihil supernum
1yr ago
(text post)
29866 thread views
Israel-Gaza Megathread #1
This is a megathread for any posts on the conflict between (so far, and so far as I know) Hamas and the Israeli government, as well as related geopolitics. Culture War thread rules apply.
4bpp
After January 20th, all orange flairs are considered political
1yr ago
I find the position that I am reflexively most inclined to subscribe to here to be woefully underrepresented in the discourse: neither side is in the wrong. If a village of hunter-gatherers hunts some elephants, and then the remnant elephant herd tramples the village, goring women and children in the process, would you say that either the hunters or the elephants are wrong and evil? Both sides are just doing what they must to survive (and retain the hope to thrive). If anyone is to blame at all, it's whoever put them in this position where they have no other choice to begin with - but even that responsibility seems to largely lie with diffuse, impersonal and/or simply long-gone forces.
Walterodim
Only equals speak the truth, that’s my thought on’t
4bpp 1yr ago
Sure, the Belfour Declaration and its consequences have been a disaster for the Levant.
OK, now what? The position that both sides have a legitimate beef is all well and good as far as it goes. I agree with it and have done my best to articulate it to people who are less inherently sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians. I may have even moved them a little in that direction! But so what? After I understand the situation, I still have to deal with what actually exists on the ground now. For me, that means siding with Israel not based on some deep-rooted claim regarding who should really control the region, but based on simple friend-enemy distinction.
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Notes -
I find the position that I am reflexively most inclined to subscribe to here to be woefully underrepresented in the discourse: neither side is in the wrong. If a village of hunter-gatherers hunts some elephants, and then the remnant elephant herd tramples the village, goring women and children in the process, would you say that either the hunters or the elephants are wrong and evil? Both sides are just doing what they must to survive (and retain the hope to thrive). If anyone is to blame at all, it's whoever put them in this position where they have no other choice to begin with - but even that responsibility seems to largely lie with diffuse, impersonal and/or simply long-gone forces.
Sure, the Belfour Declaration and its consequences have been a disaster for the Levant.
OK, now what? The position that both sides have a legitimate beef is all well and good as far as it goes. I agree with it and have done my best to articulate it to people who are less inherently sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians. I may have even moved them a little in that direction! But so what? After I understand the situation, I still have to deal with what actually exists on the ground now. For me, that means siding with Israel not based on some deep-rooted claim regarding who should really control the region, but based on simple friend-enemy distinction.
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