Tensions spill across universities like Columbia and Harvard as students on each side accuse the other of a kind of bloodlust
To one side, Columbia students stood silently, wrapped in the blue and white of Israel as they gripped pictures of the murdered and abducted. Across the grass and brick divide, a slightly larger cohort of students chanted “Free, free Palestine.”
The faultline between the two ran along the claim by each that the other was pursuing a kind of bloodlust – a charge that has divided university campuses across America in the wake of the bloody Hamas attack on Israeli communities and Israel’s ongoing military assault on Gaza.
Reactions within US universities to the killing of at least 1,300 Israelis and the abduction of about 100 more have swung from celebration of the Hamas assault as a legitimate act of resistance to occupation to condemnation along with a demand that it not be used to ignore the deaths of Palestinians killed in Israel’s retaliation on Gaza.
The boomers spent a lifetime equating blind, unconditional support of israel to benevolence, in the same way they blindly equate being anti abortion to being pro life despite supporting little to no assistance for unwanted children and unwilling mothers. Its FREE and it sounds pretty at face value so they made it their position.
I can read and see the white hot hatred of boomers in power over the fact that younger generations don’t value an Israeli life over a Palestinian life or vice versa. It literally seems to dumbfound them that we didn’t come to their same shallow from the inception conclusion. Sorry, fuck your team sports, and fuck all the imaginary friends you use to rationalize killing real human beings that exist here in reality. I would never pick a religion or a skin tone to determine who is more worthy to love.
And the fact is, neither the Israeli government or Hamas that controls the Palestinian government take care to spare civilian life. That isn’t a Hamas thing, that is a this conflict thing.
And the Israeli government is the force with more responsibility to temper their response for 2 reasons: They’re a much larger military. Something something power, something something responsibility, peter parker. Israel always gets a global pass retaliating against Palestinian civilians when Hamas attacks Israeli soldiers, which doesn’t exactly scream “keep our civilians out of this.” And 2: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockade_of_the_Gaza_Strip
You can’t run the world’s largest open air prison, largely filled with people guilty of no crime, and get credibly angry when the prisoners robbed of hope turn to desparation and vengeance.
There are no heroes in this conflict, and with the blood dripping off both parties, Im inclined to be more supportive of the force less capable of defending themselves and their side’s civilians.
This is the first year in a long time that could be considered a conflict, rather than a globally sanctioned, continuous slaughter.
I support the civilians. Both governments can go slather themselves in honey and take a hike in bear country.
The Enlightened Centrist who absolutely MUST make sure others know that they are. For smugness.
I strongly believe that in this case, being on the side of the civilians in all cases is not enlightened centrism…it’s just the correct side… Do you think the civilians of one side deserve retribution?
Siding with the Israeli government is to support Netanyahu and his fascistic genocide of the Palestinian people
Siding with Hamas (Hamas =/= Palestine) is to support violent extremists.
I never took a side. I called out smugness. Not everything in life boils down to two sides that people MUST be on.
I don’t think I ever said or implied that there was only two sides to this conflict or anything else in life and if that can be inferred from my comment then I need to edit it for clarity.
But to be clear, you did take a side. It just happens to be against whatever smugness you’re interpreting from those who are only for the civilians in this conflict.
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I commented about smugness and nothing else. Try gathering more brain cells.
Oh no! People want other people to work things out where everyone is accounted for and taken care of. How evil. Big ick.
Fuck off with your pompous ass.
There’s an old proverb that goes ‘Better to be an enlightened centrist than a miserable prick’.
Not sure what reminded me of that.
Can you comprehend this is about having to announce yourself? People have an incessant NEED to point out what enlightened centrists they are. Its up there with vegans always letting you know they are.
Hint: some of us also may hold similar views as you, but we don’t go around announcing it at every opportunity.
The only one here running around announcing themselves here is you.
Don’t worry Bud, we all know you’re a moron. You can stop telling us.
I’M A MORON!
Fucking great! That’s what universities are for. Debate.
What a shame. These “smart” people should be leading by example and coming together in solidarity against violence on all sides. What a great image that would have been to see both groups protesting the war together. Fools.
You know that only Israel can stop the violence, right? If Palestine stops fighting, Israel continues the violence until they are eliminated. If Israel stops, then Palestine doesn’t have to fight back. It’s really very simple.
I have to disagree. If this was like the Russia Ukraine situation and one side was destroying and killing people in the other while the other was just defending their country then yes. If Russia stopped today, the war would be over as Ukraine has no history and is not attacking Russia or its people.
In the Israel / Palestine situation they are both attaching each others countries and people and have been doing so for years so if only one side stops, they will be in the same situation Ukraine is in with another still attacking them. Both sides need to stop if this is to end and I had hoped the smart people at Universities would have supported this versus taking a side.
I would take a side if only one was attacking but both are and have been doing so for a long time. I know it is all much more complicated than that,but it really does not have to be. If both sides stopped today, I mean really stopped and let each other just be, it would finally be over. If only one side stops, it will be another Russia / Ukraine Situation which is barely better.
It is easy to destroy, but really solves nothing and worse fosters hate and more destruction.
The worst part about your comment, is that I see the exact same comment but flipped in that it would all stop if Palestine stopped the violence. If both sides feel this way, then both sides are entrenched and committed to more of the same. Unfortunate as I hate seeing the destruction and deaths on both sides including children. Can we please just stop it.
Boy there’s a lot of smug in the air in here.
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Even if you sympathize with the colonizers, how is the seige of Gaza an appropriate response? Murdering over a million innocents for what?
It’s not and they know it. They’re just grasping at anything hoping to mollify the indignation they feel for Israel’s government. They’re digging in their heels, because the propaganda of, “Israel good,” is dissonant with the reality that their manufactured beliefs were wrong.
What are you waffling about. There been less than than a few thousand deaths in early strikes and they’ve issues evacuation warnings to avoid collateral before launching the main operation.
Well shit, by your statement, 9/11 was a mere couple thousand deaths. Why everyone get so worked up about it?
I see you’re already counting people as dead before they’re killed. If so, how do you feel about Hamas murdering 9.3 million Israelis? They haven’t done it yet, but they want to. Israel of course doesn’t want any civilian deaths, but Hamas builds terror tunnels under their homes, launches rockets from their schools and hospitals, and uses the civilians as expendable meat shields.
You are right that Palestinian civilians deserve to be able to live in peace and safety but Hamas is the one taking civilians hostages and using them as human shields. Either Israel has a right to defend its borders against its neighbors who hate them and wish to kill their innocent citizens or it has no right to exist.
“They do not want us to live” is a catch phrase. Anyone else notice that? Like its a meme for this event but like it does something.
How do these phrases catch on so fast now. Its crazy.
They’re also very well crafted to force the narrative down one narrow, black-and-white path.
Accurate for both sides too
What a mess
One side of these protests has had people out chanting about gassing the demographic on the other side, so maybe they have a point?
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Let’s definitely get into an uproar over the opinions of teenagers
At what age does someone’s opinion start to hold any value for you?
Your brain is fully developed at age 25. Sometime around then I’ll start to give a fuck what you think… depending on your life experience up to that point.
Please state your age and life experience.
More experienced and wiser than you.
Thanks, my suspicions about you are confirmed. You’re an idiot.
Why does every American feel the need to take a stance and vomit their opinions? It’s ok to just be quiet and observe.
Let’s all slow clap for every person going out of their way to say that humans/civilians deserve to live peaceful lives. Good job. Good for you. Here’s your fucking cookie for your good deed for the day by stating the obvious on the internet to feel better about yourselves.
A fucking lot of good this comment does.
Just like every comment that says the obvious so the commenter can feel like a good person.
