Well said Mark. I'm irritated with those who refuse to show any compassion for what occurred on Oct. 7 and/or make Hamas out to be a freedom fighter or are unwilling to acknowledge their war crimes. What is happening in Gaza is horrific but it's disturbing to listen to people who are unwilling to see the gravity of that day or Hamas' intentions. Blanket statements of Palestinians good, Israelis bad (or even vice versa) just leaves us spinning in circles of hate and deepens the divide.
I happen to agree with everything I've read in your piece, and so am not going to share my opinions that would be essentially the same as yours. Always been "progressive" and always will be, but also reality-based in my more wisdom-ous years (and don't get me started on what seems to be age bias in multiple areas of publishing). And so "interesting" how Jewish writers/authors had to push so hard to be part of "diversity", and how Israel (whatever I believe about how differently they might have responded initially) is held to a standard so high that it's completely out of reach. My way to cope: keep writing and submitting; keep canvassing and doing voter registration; keep speaking out.
I want to condemn religion, but I suppose it's human nature to join into groups that feed into the us against them paradigm. In this conflict, I can't see any solution; pursuing Hamas through their human shield seems like such an overwhelming task, and I can't condemn those who in watching this war unveil feel compassion for the dupes who are dying. What is the endgame here? What will Gaza be like in 2025? I don't know. Will it be Bagdhad all over again?
Well said Mark. I'm irritated with those who refuse to show any compassion for what occurred on Oct. 7 and/or make Hamas out to be a freedom fighter or are unwilling to acknowledge their war crimes. What is happening in Gaza is horrific but it's disturbing to listen to people who are unwilling to see the gravity of that day or Hamas' intentions. Blanket statements of Palestinians good, Israelis bad (or even vice versa) just leaves us spinning in circles of hate and deepens the divide.
Agreed, there's a lot of black and white thinking going on. Deeply worrisome.
I happen to agree with everything I've read in your piece, and so am not going to share my opinions that would be essentially the same as yours. Always been "progressive" and always will be, but also reality-based in my more wisdom-ous years (and don't get me started on what seems to be age bias in multiple areas of publishing). And so "interesting" how Jewish writers/authors had to push so hard to be part of "diversity", and how Israel (whatever I believe about how differently they might have responded initially) is held to a standard so high that it's completely out of reach. My way to cope: keep writing and submitting; keep canvassing and doing voter registration; keep speaking out.
Thanks for this thoughtful response, Carol. It's appreciated!
I want to condemn religion, but I suppose it's human nature to join into groups that feed into the us against them paradigm. In this conflict, I can't see any solution; pursuing Hamas through their human shield seems like such an overwhelming task, and I can't condemn those who in watching this war unveil feel compassion for the dupes who are dying. What is the endgame here? What will Gaza be like in 2025? I don't know. Will it be Bagdhad all over again?
Well, I can say this -- you're asking good questions.