PSA

[sabotabby]

If you believe that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and sundry conflicts throughout the Middle East, will never be solved while current political and economic structures are intact, then I think you're likely right.

If you believe that said conflicts will not be resolved because you are the sort of curmudgeon who believes that people will always be fighting for some reason in one part of the world or another, then I disagree with you, but I'll shrug it off and not think any less of you for being cynical. I like cynics—I am one, at times—but if I didn't think a better world was possible, I'd have to pretty much give up, y'know?

If, however, you believe any of the following:

• there is something different about people in the Middle East that makes them fight more than people elsewhere, either because of a genetic factor or because of deeply rooted cultural values;

• Jews and Arabs have never gotten along and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been going on since the beginning of time and they never will get along because of something moronic written in some book somewhere;

• the ones who want to fight should be put on an island somewhere where they can duke it out and everyone else will shrug their shoulders and go on with their lives, and furthermore you are very clever for coming up with this solution all by yourself;

• "they" don't want peace;

• a resolution will only be reached once one population is deported or slaughtered; or

• the only way there will ever be peace in the Middle East is if a) the desert is turned to glass, b) the desert is turned into a parking lot, or c) someone drops a giant fifth-dimensional alien squid on a heavily populated area;

then really, you are an idiot, you lack historical perspective, and you are a racist schmuck. I got over that "turn the desert to glass" bullshit in high school at around the same time I got over Ayn Rand. It's basically the fascist end of the liberal "a plague on both their houses/cycle of violence" mentality and is just as absurd. The only reasons to think that you're living at the end of history are because you have an ego problem or are heavily invested in your own apathy, or both.

Yeah, just braid my hair and call me Pollyanna, motherfuckers. This too shall pass.

Comments

[kappsgurl.livejournal.com]

I don't know much about it to be honest. I'll blame it on me being lazy, but everything I've seen in the news seems pro-Israel. I'd be genuinely interested in a blog from you where you lay out the best solution in a sabotabby world.

[sabotabby]

Well, my best possible solution would be worldwide socialism. :) Short of that, I believe the most just solution is one secular state with constitutional provisions in place to guard against any one ethnic group getting too much power. It's not the sort of thing that I expect to see in my lifetime, though it's a possibility, since the fragmentation of Palestinian territory has eliminated the possibility of the classic realistic solution (which is a return to the 1948 UN-established partition plan or some variation thereof).

But I'm not arrogant enough to think I get to decide these things. I'm a Jew living in Canada, and I have the privilege to turn my back tomorrow and pretend none of this shit is happening. It's up to the people living there to develop a workable solution. Western interference so far has only caused a clusterfuck.

[livingfossil.livejournal.com]

What if I believe that carpet bombing neighborhoods should be tried at show trial?

[sabotabby]

Perfectly acceptable.

[livingfossil.livejournal.com]

What if I think that war criminals need not be tried--the resources are better spent on education--but rather should be summarily shot? Watching the last few weeks unfold in the mid east has soured the lovingkindness I held for the Israeli state (and it wasn't that sweet to begin with).

[sabotabby]

Do show trials really cost that much? I mean, you could sink the expense into the art and culture budget, turn said trials into cheap entertainment, and use the proceeds to rebuild the shattered Palestinian economy.

[jenlight.livejournal.com]

I <3 U.

[sabotabby]

I get fiery right before bed sometimes.

I <3 the cute puppy thing you posted, by the way.

[jenlight.livejournal.com]

John Green is pretty awesome. I think you'd like him sort of. He can get a bit centrist on some issues, but I allow it since he is kind of adorable.

[livingfossil.livejournal.com]

I like this idea. It's forward thinking. And besides, watching show trials would give me something else to do in the wee hours.

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

I grew up through the cold war. For much of that time there were quite good reasons to believe that I was living at the end of history. I no longer believe that to be the case, but I don't think it is or was an ego problem. I think it was a not unreasonable evaluation of the world -- I felt the odds were stacked against me making it to my thirties.

[rbowspryte.livejournal.com]

I got over that "turn the desert to glass" bullshit in high school at around the same time I got over Ayn Rand.

Fuckin' Ay!

you have an ego problem or are heavily invested in your own apathy, or both.

ZinG!

So many folks I know pride themselves on impressing others with what an asshole they can be and what freakin' insulting thing can next come out their mouth. I think their apathy is a mask for a humanistic/diplomatic or sheer cognitive puzzle too hard for them to crack or too frustrating to ponder. Like parents who only know discipline through violence (If I hit it it will stop.)

Hey I'll help braid your hair if I can remember how. You can braid mine too.

[turkishb.livejournal.com]

But I already made the down payment on the squid. This is now your problem.

[metalana.livejournal.com]

The Middle East conflict is rather unpleasant to read about, so I have remained quite ignorant. So I was under the impression that Jews & Arabs have been conflicting for a long time. Can you point me to some more accurate history?

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

Yep... that's exactly how it is, "they" don't want peace.

Ummm, which "they" are we talking about? I know that Jews are white in this context and thus and "us", but one can never remember if Jews ever manage to get rid of their scapegoat reputation... 'cause ya know, Jews=Israel so very nicely and Palestinians=Terrorists just as sweetly.

*wishes she was an ostrich*

[troubleinchina.livejournal.com]

So many folks I know pride themselves on impressing others with what an asshole they can be and what freakin' insulting thing can next come out their mouth.

I agree with this comment completely.

Also, I am braiding my hair right now.

[austintacious.livejournal.com]

Thank you for addressing the "Glass Bowl Argument." I hear a lot of that idiocy down here in Texas. Assholes.

Gordian Knots, etc.

[jordansc.livejournal.com]

"I think their apathy is a mask for a humanistic/diplomatic or sheer cognitive puzzle too hard for them to crack or too frustrating to ponder."

It's the asshole version of lateral thinking: the best solution to the problem (they maintain) is the one that is utterly unthinkable & will outrage anyone who actually cares about the issue. It's a way of posing as not only cynical but also coldly clear-sighted, a slaughterer of sacred cows, etc.

[jordansc.livejournal.com]

"If you believe that said conflicts will not be resolved because you are the sort of curmudgeon who believes that people will always be fighting for some reason in one part of the world or another, then I disagree with you, but I'll shrug it off and not think any less of you for being cynical. I like cynics—I am one, at times—but if I didn't think a better world was possible, I'd have to pretty much give up, y'know?"

My Freshmen always resort to this argument. Since the dawn of time, X problem has existed, therefore it always will and there's really no point of thinking about it any further. This is usually followed by a sketch of human nature that includes the problem, as if we're all just equipped with genes that code for racism and factory farming. There's something to be said for cynicism, but I've lost all patience for this sort of fatalism.

[rojonoir.livejournal.com]

I just finished watching Blackpool, and right now, I would love to see some show trials with show tunes.

[dmlaenker.livejournal.com]

I think that Jews and Palestinians do want peace; but I also believe a majority of them (or at least those in power) want victory more than they want peace.

I wish I knew how to change that.

[ironed_orchid]

Everybody wins!

[ironed_orchid]

Freshmen tend to be really deterministic thinkers. Some of them get over it. One of mine even apologized a couple of years later.

[seanmonster.livejournal.com]

What if I believe that Israel has a national equivalent of Battered Child Syndrome?

[ayoub.livejournal.com]

Two things:

1. The tribal nature of the Arab world leads to territories being of huge importance.

2. When a culture has the word "thank you" being the same as "thank god" it's hard to separate religion from political actions.