I know that Israel has a right to defend itself but turning away aid workers, ramming a boat carrying aid and showing very little regard for who they hit in their attacks is simply revolting, The people of Israel have been targeted for so many centuries. They've been beaten down, oppressed and massacred. They were treated like garbage in nearly every land they've lived in and they, the Jewish people have suffered terribly. I get that. I also get, and accept that I can't understand their situation. They do have a lot of people who hate them, but Arabs have a lot of people who hate them too.
Take a look around the "free" world today...the stigma against racial profiling is...well pretty much gone...especially if your an Arab. As a society we just say it's fine to treat Arabs differently than other people...because well..they like to blow up people. Yes, some Arabs do like to blow up people, but most do not. Most are perfectly happy to live their lives and would really prefer to be left alone. Why do you think that the Arab and Islamic world has been so happy with China? Because China doesn't try to force their values down Muslim necks. I'm not saying that we, in the west need to adopt the values of the people of the Arab world but we have to at least understand that their lands are theirs and we should give as much respect to them as what we want for ourselves. They shouldn't hurt us, and we shouldn't hurt them. I feel like I'm saying something controversial but it's actually basic kindergarten manners.
I don't want to post the pictures I've been finding. It's just so horrific, what is happening. I just want to say that at this moment their are people being blown apart and suffering unimaginable horrors. For us, this is all just lines on a page and bytes on a screen, but for these people this is every minute. It is real and it is horrifying.
I think Israel's reaction is entirely too extreme and is counter-productive as it is simply going to turn more people even further away from Israel. There could very well be a day, maybe sometime soon where Israel finds herself in the same situation as Taiwan. I mean that Taiwan cannot really depend upon the United States Pacific fleet any longer. Technically, the U.S says it will help Taiwan, but that U.S resolve is not what it once was and China owning much of the U.S debt load has a great deal of say in U.S governance. Israel can today count on the support of the U.S and a number of other countries, but I think the political risk of being too close to Israel correlates with how Israel is perceived. If Israel is though of as being a sort of oppressor, public opinion might force the U.S to cool down it's relationship with Israel.
5 comments:
Did you hear Obama's statement concerning rockets raining down on his daughters heads,...he would act, and in an forceful way.
Fact is, if there were no rockets fired,there would be no air strikes. There are no easy answers and both sides are at fault in this continuing insanity. (I agree with Bill Clinton. Arafat could have had a State and this mess would be done) Israel is just better at making war, a result of being attacked by it's Arab neigbours repeatly(USA aid helps too). And it is Hamas that places military assets in civilian areas. And it is the stated goal of Hamas that the Jewish state cease to exist(echoed by Iran).
China's Xinjiang province is subject to Islamic seperatist violence. Just as the three southern provinces in Thailand are subjected to the same seperatist violence.
A majority of Muslims practice a fundamentalist Islam and that religion is now in conflict with itself. It is in all our interests that an Islam that can coexist with other viewpoints emerges from this battle as the victor.
The comparison with Taiwan is interesting but the precence of the Jewish lobby in the USA chances the equation on that.
great essay, you are the clearist thinking Lefty I know. :)
-Roger
Alright, valid points but I'd like to point out that there is a reason why Palestinians are angry. Under the terms of the previous peace, and disengagement, Palestine has been unable to function. The Gaza Strip has been fenced in by Israel, a few years ago more figuratively but today in a very tangible way. The West Bank has been carved up and interupted by so many Israeli settlements that it could never possibly function without the removal of those settlements.
I would be angry if I were Palestinian. I wouldn't want Israeli settlements blocking the road between my house and my job.
So, brings us back to the question of who's fault is it...originally and when we see that it's difficult to lay blame we have to then turn to what is the solution. Isreal has the power, Israel should be using restraint.
I am not a fan of Hamas, but if I were Palestinian I might be. If I were Israeli, I would probably be more sympathetic to Israel's current war.
I think that Israel is gradually getting more liberal (the population, not necessarily the power holders) and perhaps the population will demand a softer hand.
Regarding a fundementalist Islam. Perhaps fundementalism is in the majority but not if you mean radical groups who want to kill. There are lots of fundementalists of different religions who think the world is bad but are not about to pick up a gun. My parents would fall into that category. Actually, my mother has lots of guns but she never shoots people.
I've asked a lot of Muslims about their opinions on the U.S. Most still make the distinction between American foreign policy, and the greater American society. Others seem to regard the whole country as "sick". I think that with a new administration in the U.S, and a public that has so firmly rejected the Cheney doctrine, opportunity exists to make some improvements in relations.
Taiwan had a strong ear with the U.S at one time. The Chinese diaspora was very pro-Taiwan at one time. They've switched sides.
Anyway, blah blah blah. My comments tend to be longer than my original posts. Thanks for your comments. It's good to get some representation from "the other side".
Well,..I am not a Right winger. To be honest I see the left and right as just different sides of the same coin. Of course if I were placed in the shoes of either of these groups in the middle east I would be entrenched in the thinking of my own and vilify the other. A good person to read is Benny Morris. This is a man who is a clear thinker. He does not allow ideology to cloud his thinking in my opinion.
Keep the blogs coming
_Roger
Morris just wrote a piece for the NY times regarding the current mess. I have to say I agree with him completely. -Roger
Oh yeah...forgot...., I know lots of fundamentalist Christians as well, they don't go out killing either. That is not what I meant. But the truth is Islam needs to have it's own reformation. There is a real battle for the direction and soul of that religion. This is not just my thinking but that of many enlightened Muslims.
-Roger
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