O/T:- Palestine / Israel

[slack_pie]

I dunno, I think it's easy to be too pessimistic. I suspect there's only a small number of hyper-partisans (plus bots and trolls and attention-seekers and stirrers trying to spread disinformation for fun or political ends) saying the really awful things. All this on social media platforms which were never effectively moderated or regulated to start with and even less effectively now.

I think most real people's real opinions are pretty similar and pretty nuanced. There are - of course - people with sympathies more on one side than the other, but most comments and statements I've read are calling for pretty much the same things, though with a difference of emphasis. Even those whose sympathies are more with one side than another don't typically hate/say horrendous things/glory in violence and destruction.

From what I can see on social media, people are so quick to take sides. Do you stand with Israel or Palestine? It's the same with every major issue these days - people take a side and then treat it like a sport. In reality, this conflict - like all the other serious issues the world is facing - is more nuanced and complicated than that. Taking a side is a strange thing to do when there are innocent children being needlessly slaughtered on both sides of the divide.

I can't see how this situation can be resolved. I presume Israel's plan is to destroy Hamas root and branch, which probably means turning Gaza into a wasteland. But in the process, they'll create a new generation of Palestinians (and Muslims in general) who want nothing but revenge and suffering for Israelis. And on and on it goes. That's if one of Palestine's many powerful allies doesn't weigh in and start WWIII.

There's something seriously wrong with us humans.

[Newish Pie]

From what I can see on social media, people are so quick to take sides. Do you stand with Israel or Palestine? It's the same with every major issue these days - people take a side and then treat it like a sport. In reality, this conflict - like all the other serious issues the world is facing - is more nuanced and complicated than that. Taking a side is a strange thing to do when there are innocent children being needlessly slaughtered on both sides of the divide.

I can't see how this situation can be resolved. I presume Israel's plan is to destroy Hamas root and branch, which probably means turning Gaza into a wasteland. But in the process, they'll create a new generation of Palestinians (and Muslims in general) who want nothing but revenge and suffering for Israelis. And on and on it goes. That's if one of Palestine's many powerful allies doesn't weigh in and start WWIII.

There's something seriously wrong with us humans.

Good post - I agree with almost all of that. I guess the bit I'd stress is the "on social media" bit. It's really a small minority on social media, which in turn is a minority. A lot of performative noise, a lot of it done for attention.

Absolutely agree about the "stand with" nonsense that's sprung up. I think initially it was a quite positive way of showing solidarity with victims or people suffering where it was relatively uncontroversial, and now, as you say, it's become picking a side. One of the nice things about sport is that we can pick a side (or rather, a side picks us) and indulge our tribalism in a relatively harmless manner. But this isn't harmless.

Jampie's excellent post (12) sums up really nicely why this isn't the simple case of goodies and baddies.

I think a solution is possible. I think a lot of people would have said that Northern Ireland was similarly irresolvable, and although it's not been resolved, at least the killings have all but stopped. But this took a lot of brave people to take first steps, and then it took a new generation to emerge who'd only known peace. Think if there is a solution, it's going to take multiple generations.

[slack_pie]

Good post - I agree with almost all of that. I guess the bit I'd stress is the "on social media" bit. It's really a small minority on social media, which in turn is a minority. A lot of performative noise, a lot of it done for attention.

Absolutely agree about the "stand with" nonsense that's sprung up. I think initially it was a quite positive way of showing solidarity with victims or people suffering where it was relatively uncontroversial, and now, as you say, it's become picking a side. One of the nice things about sport is that we can pick a side (or rather, a side picks us) and indulge our tribalism in a relatively harmless manner. But this isn't harmless.

Jampie's excellent post (12) sums up really nicely why this isn't the simple case of goodies and baddies.

I think a solution is possible. I think a lot of people would have said that Northern Ireland was similarly irresolvable, and although it's not been resolved, at least the killings have all but stopped. But this took a lot of brave people to take first steps, and then it took a new generation to emerge who'd only known peace. Think if there is a solution, it's going to take multiple generations.

Yeah, I totally agree with what Jampie said too. Both sides have reasons to be angry and vengeful. Both sides have done awful things that they should be condemned for.

It blows my mind that some people only see the bad stuff that one side did and are blind to the atrocities that the other side is responsible for. I'd be angry if I were an Israeli. I'd be angry if I were a Palestinian. How do you resolve a situation like that?