Normalize the phrase “the nonstop bombing campaign known as the nation of Israel”.
By Caitlin JOHNSTONE
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It’s not okay for grown adults to believe Hamas attacked Israel without provocation, solely because they are Bad Guys who are Bad. That kind of infantile fiction has no place outside of a children’s cartoon show. You have access to a whole internet full of information. Use it.
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It’s cute how Israel apologists think accusing someone of being a terrorist supporter will work on anyone over 30. We saw this exact same schtick after 9/11, kids. The exact same vitriol, the exact same shrieking emotional hysteria. You were wrong then. You’re wrong now.
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Talking about the causes of attacks always gets you accused of supporting the attackers. Talking about the well-documented western provocations which led to the invasion of Ukraine gets you accused of loving Putin and being a Russian troll. Talking about the well-documented apartheid abuses which led to the Hamas attack gets you called a terrorist supporter, which is also exactly what happened after 9/11 if you talked about the well-documented provocations which led to the rise of Al Qaeda.
You’re not allowed to talk about the actual reasons why bad things happened, you’re only allowed to talk about the bad things and call them bad. If you ascribe any causation at all to the bad things which happened, the causation must solely and exclusively be that Bad Guys did them because the Bad Guys are Bad.
You are required to turn yourself into an unthinking mental infant who can only relate to world events by pointing at them and yelling “GOOD!” or “BAD!”, with “good” and “bad” always perfectly aligning with the information interests of the US-centralized empire.
If the answers go against the information interests of the US-centralized empire, then you’re not allowed to ask the questions. You can only believe what the talking heads tell you to believe and clap along to the beat of the imperial drum, like a child clapping along to a song on a cartoon show.
When empire simps berate you and accuse you of treasonous malfeasance for talking about the causes of terrible world events, what they are really saying is, “Stop asking questions. Stop thinking. Believe only what you are told. Become stupid. Become a drooling moron with American flags in your eyes. Stop using that tongue to question authority and affix it firmly to the imperial boot forever.”
If you can’t talk about the causes of violence, then you can’t prevent violence. So if you’re an empire that’s held together by endless violence, that’s the last thing you want people doing.
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A guy stole my phone. Wasn’t sure where he was staying so I had to set fire to the entire neighborhood. A lot of people died, but it’s his fault for being where noncombatants are. He was using his neighbors as human shields. He is 100% responsible for their deaths, not me.
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Electronic Intifada reports that an Israeli woman who was taken hostage at the rave on October 7 told Israeli media that she watched other hostages get mowed down by IDF troops who were firing indiscriminately on Hamas fighters.
“They eliminated everyone, including the hostages,” she told Israeli radio. “There was very, very heavy crossfire” and even tank shelling.
This will never, ever be acknowledged. If they’re blaming Hamas for all Gazans killed by Israeli bombs, they’re sure as hell going to blame Hamas for Israeli hostages killed by friendly fire.
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Israeli rightists are so bat shit insane that they literally assaulted and spit on the families of the Israeli hostages for trying to keep their loved ones alive.
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Normalize the phrase “the nonstop bombing campaign known as the nation of Israel”.
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I decided years ago never to get sucked into the dopey herd mentality demands to publicly “condemn” or “denounce” or “stand with” anyone whenever something bad happens. It’s such a cringey example of the phony Instagram activism that has come to supplant real political engagement these days. If you have a position just use your brain and articulate yourself in your own words like a normal human being.
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End the apartheid regime, establish equal rights for all, and all wealthy governments who’ve been backing Israel’s abuses pay so many reparations to Palestinians that they can live a quality of life so high it will be like the abuse never occurred.
