Scribe, ut possis cum voles dicere: dices cum velle debebis (Pl. Ep. 6.29)

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Gilad Shalit

Gilad Shalit!

Haled Mashal!

Convergence!

Gaza!

Ehud Olmert!

Kassam!

Sderot!

Moloch whose mind is pure machinery!

Moloch whose blood is running money!

Moloch whose fingers are ten armies!

Now seriously:

If you know me, you know that i don't like to repeat other people's opinions and news commentary. That's why i didn't want to write anything about these current events in Gaza - no-one needs me when there are more than enough Gush-Katif deportees and their supporters to tell everyone how precise were their predictions about the consequences of the destruction of their homes. Well, they were precise, any way you put it. My dear N., we gave it a try. I still hope that you are disappointed. Just read the news - BBC, CNN and YNet look just the same in my browser. Better yet, read Allen Ginsberg's Howl. My only pledge is: When you are reading the news, or anything else, just think for yourself. Don't think according to the opinion that you are supposed to have, don't think according to what your parents, teachers or news presenters told you to think. Deporting people from their homes for political reasons never made sense and never will.

But, if you still insist, a few points to think about:

  1. When a Kassam rocket hits "A Kibbutz in the North-Western Negev" - why is it always called "A Kibbutz in North-Western Negev" and not by its name? There are a lot of kibbutzim there, and believe it or not - they all have names! Just take a look at the map.
  2. Why is Gush-Katif called "a settlement bloc in Gaza strip", and Sderot is called "a development town"? It's much closer to Gaza than Gush-Katif. Just take a look at the map.
  3. Why are news reports from Gaza, always, always, look as they were shot with a home video camera? The place is chock-full of professional news reporters from all over the world, and they have very expensive and professional equipment. The cameras in Gaza are just as good as the Cameras in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Palm Springs. What you say - that the cameramen are in a hurry, that they need to shield their cameras from stones and bullets and it hurts the picture? Gimme a break, they had many, many years of experience to improve their filming techniques, despite those hardships. Yes, i think that it is a conspiracy. Somebody set up us the bomb.
  4. Why is one Israeli corporal getting much more news coverage than hundreds of people that are killed, detained or tortured in Iraq, India, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Sudan?

If you think that any of the above is not in line with common sense - can i do anything to change it? Can You do anything to change it?

You can: Just start by thinking for yourself. Don't become an Israeli nationalist, don't support Israel, don't support the Arabs, don't change you political view: Just think for yourself. The gap between the words in the news and the things for which they stand is wider than you think.

Thanks for the attention.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Is all this meant for me?
OK, my political views may not be as solid or as well thought out as yours, but:
1. I so think it is wrong for Israelis to settle in the midst of the Arab population FOR SPITE (like the infamous Seinfeld episode: spite is not a reason)
2. I think it is wrong that a disproportionate percent of Israel's defensive resources to be wasted to protect these people, who were too tightfisted to buy land 20 kms to the north or to the east. (Face it, money was a consideration).
I am in no way sympathetic to the Palestinians in Gaza when they were stupid enough, given the option of democracy, to elect the people who have brought their situation upon them (socially, economically, politically).
For all I care, Gaza and its surroundings can drop off the face og the Earth (preferentially, IDF-assisted).
But first things first - bring the boys back home. ASAP and safe.
Yeah, you can say I think like a girl, but you can't forget the fact that each and every soldier - alive, dead or kidnapped - has a mother waiting for him back home. You know what - they always say that if women ruled the world there would be no wars, just a lot more manipulation... :)

N.