In 2014, I made a Facebook Status update about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, and since I’m a straight shooter, I’ll tell you all right now I was ignorant on the entire affair, and after pondering on the Hamas/Israel bloodthirsty attacks on October 7th, 2023, I’ve came to the conclusion it’s time for me to give my two cents on the affair. For anyone that doesn’t know, while a Google search will show that Palestine is a state within Israel, it also functions as its own separate government, and Israel has been trying to “own” Palestine for decades(and I’ll get to that in a moment).
As a premise, I am not an expert on international conflicts, U.S. Politics, world history, genocides, and/or anything related to war strategy. I do not have a post-secondary(college) degree on anything related, so please, excuse how myopic I may come off on this topic. Since I’m not an expert on anything related to what I’m about to discuss, one may be wondering why I’m writing a MyTake on something I admittedly have limited knowledge about-I’m doing this because there are aspects which need to be addressed, and I recommend everyone on here does the same thing. Our voices are important on this matter, especially in the age of instant information, and widespread social media use. Trust me, I’ve been apprehensive about making this status update here on Facebook, so I fully understand not being confident in speaking out. On October 7th, 2023, a terrorist organization named Hamas attacked Israel, and Israel retaliated, but the history of this conflict is so much more complex than that. Contrary to what you may hear, Hamas is not one person; It’s an evil terrorist organization.
Contrary to what social media, and the mainstream media wants you to believe, this conflict did not start on October 7th, 2023(as evident in the photos throughout this take). To the surprise of many, it didn’t start in 2014, 09/11/2001, 1991, 1985, 1968, or even 1958. The conflict began in 1948, and has been coined by real experts as the most complex geopolitical affair in modern world history. In my opinion, using the term “conflict” paints this entire situation in a lighter connotation, and quite frankly, it should be known as a war. Say it with your full chest: This means WAR!(no, not the baseball statistic). We become uncomfortable when we see the word war, but knowing an uncomfortable truth is better than a comforting lie.
Second of all, while Hamas is an evil terrorist organization that did attack first, Israel didn’t just “retaliate”. Israel fought back, and went full overkill on Hamas, and innocent Palestinians. That part is important because adamant Israel supporters will deny this, and smear the pro-Palestine movement as anti-semitic(and I’ll get to that in a moment). We also need to understand that we can(and should) agree that Hamas is evil, and The Israel Defense Forces(IDF), better known as the Israeli Military, are also evil(two things are true here, and I’ll get to that in a moment). You heard that right: While Palestine did vote for Hamas in 2006, many people didn’t. Believe it, or not, the United States of America(USA) is not the only country in the world with a military.
Third of all, the USA has been involved in this war since the conflict began in 1948. I’m seeing social media trends that are blaming Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and even Barack Obama for a war that began in 1948, and that makes about as much sense as you think it doesn’t. Since we’re a country full of playground bullies who want to point our stubby fingers at everything, we can point this one on Harry S. Truman, who’s been six-feet under for over 50 years. How productive is that? Joe Biden hasn’t attacked Palestine(neither has Trump, nor Obama, nor the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man either), nor have they enacted any genocides on their people(and we’ll get to that topic in a moment).
Next up, let’s play a game I like to call “Two Things Can Be True At Once”, or perhaps you prefer the expansion pack, titled “Multiple Things Can Be True At Once”. Wanna know how to play, kids? It’s simple-different opinions, statements, facts, and/or aspects in society can be true simultaneously. As I’ve stated before, while the war's political science term is “conflict”, I’m calling it a war because it’s a bloodbath between two different sovereign states. While wars are conflicts, I’m not watering down what’s going on over there. Whenever I state this is a war on other social media platforms, I face retribution. The counterargument I see most often is “IT’S A GENOCIDE, NOT A WAR” from an irrational baboon. Well, this is where my game comes into play: We can agree it’s a war, and a genocide. If one doesn’t think that’s possible, one is asinine. How does one explain The Holocaust, which was a co-product of World War II? Does one sincerely not think World War II was a…war? Genocides are often masked behind wars. It’s not like genocide is a Tuesday afternoon adventure. The war has been going on since 1948, and I’m sure both sides have some blame throughout these decades. However, let’s narrow in on what’s going down here in 2023: It’s a genocide, and I’m not just saying that because the ‘Trust-Me Bro’ Experts” are saying that(but I’ll get to them in a moment). I’m saying that because that’s the most logical conclusion I can come up with given the information which I’ve had access to.
What is a genocide? Well, one needs to have knowledge about prefixes, and suffixes(Google what these words mean if you don’t know). The prefix “Geno” comes from the Latin Word genos, which refers to a race of people. How do we define race? While race is a social construct, we often define it by skin color(black, and brown people, for instance). While we often mesh race, and ethnicity together(i.e. Asian-Americans), for all intents, and purposes, a vast majority of Palestinians are brown people. The suffix cide is Latin for “killer”, and this is why we have words such as homicide, suicide, matricide, and regicide(Google what these words mean if you don’t know-Google can be your best friend). There are also other current genocides, most notably a genocide against black people in the Republic of Congo(that’s an African Country, for people who don’t know), but since the internet didn’t instruct you to be outraged over that one, the performative activists haven’t mentioned this one. Since many Palestinians are brown people being killed by an oppressive class of people(white people, Jewish, or not), I’m calling it a genocide. Don’t believe me? Google the death totals of Palestinians compared to Israelians. As of today, via estimations, 15,000 Palestinians have died, compared to 1,200 Israeli citizens.
Please, don’t get me wrong here-it’s disgusting citizens are dying, period. My heart aches for every civilian death, especially the children. With that being said, it’s still lopsided-one side clearly has more systemic power than the other, and the tough pill for us USA-ians to swallow, is that side(Israel) is being funded from our purse of the U.S. Congress, via bipartisan support(For those that don’t know, our congress includes the House of Representatives, and the Senate).
Now, let me ask you something. If someone told you they just started watching basketball in this 2023-2024 Season, and also claimed to be an expert on the sport, today, December 9th, 2023, what would your reaction be? Hopefully, you’d be dumbfounded, and insinuate that someone you know needs to put down the crack pipe, since they’ve only been a fan of basketball for two months, and it takes years to be an expert on anything.
So, if you’re still with me(and I realize this is going on much longer than I anticipated, I apologize), why are some of you out there openly admitting you just now learned about this war in October, 2023, and simultaneously centering yourselves as experts on the subject? I’ve known about this war since the early 2000s, and I’ll admit I’m still a buffoon on the subject. Just because you relish in social media clout, and you have thousands(or even millions) of “likes” on a TikTok, Status Update, video, etc., doesn’t make you an expert on any subject.
Unfortunately, I’m seeing this trend on every issue we speak about in the world. I’m not putting myself above anyone else, for the record-I've been had. I’ve fallen for propaganda. I’ve allowed my subjective bias to cloud objective reality. We’ve all been there, and if you claim you haven’t, you just admitted you have. It’s okay to admit you don’t know something. It’s okay to admit you’re wrong. It’s okay to admit you’re ignorant. Please, I’m begging all of you, don’t let social media evaporate nuance, and critical thinking within these discussions. If you’re going to protest this war(and especially the genocide aspect of it), ensure to mention the name Benjamin Netanyahu.
Finally, as I come to the conclusion of this essay that I’m expecting about five of you to read without checking your phone for something else(at this point, it feels more like a Greek Epic than an essay), let’s just go over some non-negotiables: War is ugly. Genocide is evil. Hamas is evil. The IDF is just doing their job, which means it’s inherently evil(just like our military). Joe Biden(nor any of our presidents) are funding, or have funded a genocide across the globe. Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu is a megalomaniac, who indeed, has progressed with a genocide. The 75-year war is complicated-the genocide in 2023 is not. Genocides all around the world as just as significant, and have been just as significant as the genocide against Palestinians. Children being murdered is abhorrent. The Holocaust was not any better, or any worse than any other genocide. Being an anti-Zionist doesn’t make one anti-Semitic.
For the record, I'm pro-Palestine regarding the 2023 attacks.
I’ll end this with two quotes.
“Really, what we want now, is not laws against crime, but a law against insanity. That is where the true evil lies”-Mark Twain
“Real eyes realize real lies”-Serj Tankian.
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