Quote:
Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy
A schoolmate of my son, a Palestinian, and two of his friends, also Palestinian, were shot yesterday in Brattleboro Vermont, on the edge of the UVM campus.
I think it's obvious that calling everyone you disagree with an antisemite, a Hamas supporter, etc. enables this kind of terrorism. Regardless of whether we learn the shooting was done by a MAGA terrorist who hates everyone or by a Zionist terrorist whose hatred is focused on Palestinians and their supporters, the cancel culture encourages this. And Palestinians aren't safe at schools and elsewhere because of it.
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The incoherence of the aggressive actors here is more depressing then the polarization. Sadly, everything is now polarized, so I expect that. Our media, our social media, feed us the world in binaries.
And while I'm of no religion, I must admit - the absence of religion is felt. That sounds odd, of course, given the current mess in the Middle East accrues significantly, historically, from religion. And it seems fairly certain the greatest bigotries we'll see here will be from the most religious (most notably, aggressive Christians, is my guess). Nevertheless, the fervency, the extremism, and the vehemence of responses to the Israeli/Palestinian situation, indicate a desire among many to belong to something. To be part of "a side." And this is proven by the ignorance and incurious nature of the loudest involved in the war of words and actions over here.
The strongest voices, as always, refuse to or cannot chew gum and walk at once. Israel is at fault for numerous things. Hamas is at fault for numerous things. We can differ in assessing degree and which is most at fault in this moment. The issue is incredibly complex. But the crowds don't want to hear that.
I'd wager almost none of the people holding flags and chanting "River to the Sea" have a clue about the subject. The people tearing down stickers showing hostages have no clue. The people asserting it's totally and exclusively Anti-Semitism and that there is no difference between critiquing Israel and attacking Jews generally have no clue.
The list of nuanced conversations necessary, or that at least can and should be had - even for one like me, who strongly supports Israel and thinks Hamas owns the current mess nearly 100% - is endless.
And yet... Flags in the streets. All or nothing positions. Maybe it's just our genetics, one more proof the Yeats' axiom, "The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity." But maybe not. Maybe everything from our domestic politics to the environment to our sexuality to our economy to race to "equality" has become black and white battlegrounds for the simple reason that people are pack animals, and they need to cleave to something bigger than themselves. And nuance won't do. It doesn't provide the certainty of blind faith, of that primordial dopamine rush one acquires from "believing" regardless of facts.
I see a tremendous amount of free floating religious idiocy in the world, applied to almost every subject. And it makes me a bit wistful for the older, simpler varieties. At least they tended to stay in their lanes.
