I actually saw that in a photo. My first reaction was to laugh. It IS pretty funny. Yeah, a lot of ignorant people seem to be marching in favor of Palestine, clearly with no idea what the geopolitical situation is about.
Not that I have a finger on the pulse of the whole thing. It might be the single most complicated global issue, and I think very few people can talk intelligently about this topic. Certainly not the university students who are marching in support of the Palestinians.
University doesn’t make you stupid, but I can’t escape the fact that the stupidest people I know have advanced university degrees, and some of the smartest people I know are mostly self-educated. Oh, now, don’t get your panties in a bunch. I know some smart educated people and some stupid uneducated people. This is just my own experience.
I am personally reluctant to say anything about “Palestine” because when I looked into it just a little bit, I didn’t find any evidence that there was ever a country called Palestine, other than some tenuous holdings in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Did I miss something? Yeah, maybe. I don’t know a lot about geopolitics, so I don’t have a strong opinion about things I know nothing about.
A lot of people do, though, and those people really should shut the fuck up.
But I also found that the “Queers For Palestine” was a real thing. That’s insane. That’s right up there with Cows For McDonald’s or Men For Emasculation. Murderers For Capital Punishment. Homosexuals would be the first to be killed under Palestinian – or any other Muslim – rule. That’s why I initially laughed. That’s why it was – and is – such a joke.
Tribalism is not a good thing, though it seems to be a natural thing for humans. That said, so does willful ignorance and refusal to think critically.
Tribalism is not a good thing. What is tribalism? I think of all sorts of tribalism as granfaloons – “a group of people who affect a shared identity or purpose, but whose mutual association is meaningless.”
Patriotism, for example, is largely seen as a positive trait. I’ve been chastised and strongly criticized for my lack of patriotism. But what the hell is patriotism? Pride in “your” country? Where on the planet does a country belong to its people? I can’t think of one. I should be proud to be an American? Why? That’s no accomplishment of mine. That’s an accident of birth. I had no choice in the matter. Hell, my parents scarcely had much more choice in it. What do I have to be proud of, even if I considered it a great country (which, by the way, I don’t, particularly)? It has and had nothing to do with me.
To the list of granfaloons, in addition to a shared country, are race, religion, sexual orientation, political parties….I could go on and on, but I think you, if you are thinking and are capable of critical thinking, get my point. If not, then stop reading. I may as well be addressing monkeys or birds here.
I don’t know a lot about the geopolitics of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, but I DO remember Jimmy Carter mediating negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians back in the 70s. I remember that Carter worked out a compromise. Palestinians could have had, for their own, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, permanently. I repeat – for their own. A homeland. Yasser Arafat, speaking for the Palestinians, rejected the proposal. Nothing would do but that the Palestinians get Israel from the river to the sea. That’s where that phrase came from. No compromise! He was a “strong” leader. So here we go again, and we’ll continue to deal with this. I understand the reasons. It’s the HOLY LAND for whomever. Another granfaloon.
And here’s the thing – it has almost nothing to do with me, personally. Far, FAR less to do with American university students.
I know that the Palestinians ELECTED Hamas to lead them, as Israel elected Netanyahu to lead them. Neither very good choices, and I guess that people pretty much deserve whatever government they have. I truly believe that is generally true anywhere, but all the more true in a democratically elected system.
Another opinion – a Muslim, or any other religious, government is inappropriate to lead a country.
If it has nothing to do with you, and/or if you don’t really KNOW (not just believe what your TRIBE says) what’s going on, then shut the fuck up. You’re not helping, and there’s every possibility that you are causing harm.
Just shut the fuck up.
