I'm outta here again for a while.
I don't want to continue to waste time typing or reading in an argument that gets nowhere. I don't even know why I'm typing this. It's not going to change anyone's mind.
The discussion over the situation in Israel has become absurd. Yes, yes. I'm sure you have Jewish friends, and you're really not an anti-Semite. Maybe you're even Jewish yourself (issues there, maybe?). But part of not being racist is listening to what the target group hears when you say things. What you're saying sounds and feels anti-Semitic simply because you are holding a group of people to a different standard based on who they are.
When I see a bunch of diaries and comments calling Israelis "child killers" by Americans, well, I have to chuckle. Don't you think we look like a bunch of assholes to the rest of the world??
I'll lay out my case on the flip. Tell me why I'm wrong, and the have a nice few months.
Where are the Darfur diaries? Where are the Tibet diaries? Where are the diaries about Kashmir, about Afghanistan? Where are the diaries about our own illegal war in Iraq anymore? Where? Hmm.
The liberal world's obsession with Israel points to a different source, because the body count can't be the factor. There are higher body counts everywhere. The length of the conflict can't be the controlling factor. There are older conflicts throughout the world.
I was convinced when I was college age that I didn't have a racist bone in my body. I wouldn't listen to people who told me sometimes my conduct led to that inference. I knew they were wrong. I was raised to hate prejudice. I grew up in a diverse community. It wasn't until I moved to Hawaii and I could no longer live in white privilege that I realized how subtle it is. How my speech slightly changed to reflect the non-white prestige speech. How I was conscious of my skin color everywhere I went for the first time in my life.
My eyes opened. There were so many perceived slights that weren't real. But it matter when people cared enough to at least listen.
So, this obsession with this conflict. What it sounds like to me is Billo freaking out about gangsta rap when rock music has discussed all the same topics for decades. What's the difference? Hmmm... That's not "music" (because to Westerners, music is about harmony, not rhythm, so therefore rhythmic forms of music are inferior...)
All of the excuse making for Hamas on this site is ridiculous. All of the willful ignorance about the misfeasance of the Arab governments in this is ridiculous. As for Israel's bad acts, well, we hear plenty of them.
And the criticism of the media, of politicians for being in AIPAC's pocket, it just sounds like another version of The International Jew. I know, you don't mean that. But it sounds that way.
And the protests. The protests in places where there is no Israeli government. In Jewish neighborhoods? Hmmm...
And about being Jewish. A lot of people around here think religion is dumb. That's fine. But don't do the false equivalence thing. All religions are not equally bunches of murderous sheep worshiping ghosts. If you're of a Christian background and you reject that religion's legacy, it's easy to say, oh, hey, Muslims did 9/11 and Jews kill Palestinians. It must be the religion. Therefore all religion is bad. Whew, not just mine!
In fact, much of human progress has come from religion. Jews are responsible for several orders of magnitude less wars, killings, and oppressions of conscience than Christianity or Islam. Buddhists probably have us all beat.
So, yeah, you're mad that Santa Claus isn't real and they lied to you in Sunday school. That has nothing to do with Jews or Muslims.
Islam is also a beautiful religion whose very name means "SLM" peace. It's not the adherence to a religion that breeds violence. Christianity may be the exception to that rule, with its focus on the cross, the instrument of execution, and death. Most other modern religions don't have that focus.
So, it's not enough for you to blame this on the alleged disaster of Abrahamic religions.
So, I've decided to take the time that I waste typing these messages to people who are just going to tell me that what a bunch of people in a far away land that I've never been to who may or may not practice the same religion as me is no different than what we in America have always done, I'm going to take that time and do what my stupid ignorant religion tells me to do: give until it hurts, heal the planet, and do justice. I'll take on an extra pro bono client. Plant some trees. Donate some food.