this post was submitted on 15 Oct 2023
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I didn't want to direct this question to Americans specifically because, at this point, other countries have shown support to Israel in one or the other way. If my country was financing this, I would be taking the streets. Shit, I'm right now in the hospital but all I can think about is protesting anyway just to feel I did something to stop this madness.

Are you doing something about this? Are you feeling unsettled? How do you feel about all this mess?

EDIT: So, buying Chinese stuff takes the USS Gerald Ford to Gaza’s coast. Also, TIL that that chocolate my cousin gave me when she was 20 and I was 5, (delicious stuff!) made me a slavist-ish. The fact remains, this genocide is being paid and supported by taxpayers money; of course, I was hoping that most of us didn’t pay taxes wishing for this. Thank you all for your responses, some of them were hard to swallow.

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[–] ctobrien84 69 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I mean, if you've purchased chocolate in the last century, you're supporting slavery by your logic. Same for many other commodities, but most people know about diamonds. You could be protesting your entire life, justifiably, about many things. Most people in the world cannot consume without inadvertently causing harm and suffering somewhere in the world. It's nice that you're now thinking about it though.

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[–] [email protected] 61 points 11 months ago (7 children)

Since you probably buy stuff made in China like everyone else, you tell us.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago (1 children)

China meets the manufacturing needs for most of the world, it's economically not realistic to boycott them

That said, we still should boycott them, at least in principle.

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[–] [email protected] 51 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Leading question.

Edit: For an actual "answer", some people are in fact taking it to the streets. For your favorite country you can search for it and if you don't want to do that here's an article for the US. While you may argue that we should've expected this, at the time of financing all we know is that there was a first strike and people were angry. Now it's different, at least in my local circle.

Either way, this should not be a question for asklemmy. It should be in the politics community or something.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] scorpious 10 points 11 months ago

rhetorical “question”

[–] [email protected] 35 points 11 months ago (3 children)

I feel that taking one side over the other without allowing for any nuance in that complicated clusterfuck over there is disingenuous. I feel very sorry for all civilians caught between the many murderous assholes in that region, but I can't fully support one group while completely condemning the other. Acting like it's a black and white issue is so very wrong and not helpful.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago (1 children)

But our government did pick a side. So what is our obligation, then?

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

Well put and i completely agree!

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[–] TokenBoomer 33 points 11 months ago (11 children)

Not good. All I can do is vote. Until they take that away.

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
Keep posting of that's all you can do right now.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago

Great quote you made me think of.

The truth hurts, but silence kills. -Mark Twain

[–] Astroturfed 15 points 11 months ago

I love genocide. I just wish there was some way I could actually vote for it. Instead I'm stuck voting for the closest option which does none of what I want but fortunately both sides support Israel killing Muslims in mass.

I'll put this here because people are dumb as hell /s

[–] [email protected] 12 points 11 months ago

DISGUSTING.

Prime minister of my country supports Israel because “they’re allowed to defend themselves”.

What is happening now, has nothing to do with defending themselves, it’s their mission to genocide. I cannot believe the entire world is fine with it. Western but also Arabian countries unfortunately.

In my opinion, “justice” does not exist. It never did. Because it seems the law doesn’t apply to Presidents and a country that purely stands for genocide.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

It's never just been the US - Israel doesn't just have a whole bunch of enablers... said enablers also back the very idea of a modern-day Israel.

France, the UK, Germany, Australia, Apartheid-era South Africa all played their part in helping with all this - I guess the fact that it's all countries with histories that are deeply entwined with white supremacism, antisemitism and colonialism is purely coincidence, eh?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago

My country has been voting to condemn Israel's treatment of Palestine in the UN until 2022 but they will probably vote the same now. As far as I know my country doesn't support Israel monetarily either so I'm pretty happy.

[–] PetDinosaurs 10 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (15 children)

Also please remember that Europe purchased nearly the entirety of products produced by slaves in the Americas.

If there were no European market there would have been little incentive for American slavery.

I guess the slave free northern states also purchased their fair share, but nothing compared to Europe.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago (9 children)

It's almost like capitalism fosters slavery, weird 🤔

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago

I don't mean to derail the conversation, but it pains me to say that Europeans have been financing the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh by buying Azerbaijani oil with almost no repercussion.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago (2 children)

The only thing I'm dissatisfied with is their free hand with bombing civilians along with military targets. I can understand that Israel is angry, and rightfully so, but they fancy themselves a western country, being better than terrorist Hamas. They can't let their anger take control. Bombing civilians undermines their legitimatecy, I think they should try and be as surgical as possible, like they did in previous rounds of fighting. Other than that, I fully support their desire to root out Hamas. Though conquering Gaza only has any merit to it if they decide to stay and govern it themselves, otherwise Hamas would just rise up again.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Are you satisfied about they having a nuclear arsenal after this? It's not a rhetorical question, I'm actually interested in your thoughts about this.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I don't know, what does it matter? They don't even acknowledge it, nevermind about using it. The only instance in which they might use their nukes is the Samson Option, which looks like something any country would do.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

It matters because it changes all logics in a war. In this case, I think it matters because you described them as angry, bombing civilians along with military targets. If they don't differentiate one of the other, the only thing stopping them from nuking the Gaza stripe is probably the inconvenience of being too close.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Ah, I see. No, they're not that stupid. Even if nuking Gaza didn't affect them because of proximity, they wouldn't. They rely on American help too much, and struggle as they do with international forces. Nuking Gaza would leave them ostricized and heavily sanctioned, if not invaded.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Looking at the geopolitics and many sides of the conflict, wouldn't other better and bigger groups join in if it comes close to the annihilation of Hamas?

Looking at Hezbollah and Iran, joining in as a minimum.

This would start making the war closer to WWIII.

Anyone with more information or confidence want to correct or add detail?

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[–] mawkishdave 6 points 11 months ago

My biggest complaint is that Ukraine has to be very careful about this or they would lose their support. Israel goes all out on this and the west can't give them sorry fast enough.

[–] daddyjones 5 points 11 months ago

I'm not sure I think Israel is engaged in genocide - although I'm deeply unhappy with some of their military approaches.

Hamas, on the other hand, is unashamedly aiming at genocide. Their started aim is the death of all Jews and they are frequently heard chanting "from the river to the sea".

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

Germany is bound to support them no matter what. I understand why but there should be some conditions. It’s a sensitive subject here.

Beyond that I don’t really understand this conflict enough to have an objective opinion.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

I fell like most people have very little idea whats going on. The conflict is extremely complicated.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago

Similar to all other wars, shitty but numb to human greed, at times.

Best when brought up organically, but steering toward it may also happen.

Teaching/learning and talking to as many people about it IRL, while also trying and failing on the interwebs.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

If my country was financing this, I would be taking the streets.

If I took to the streets over this, I would make protestors look bad because I have no experience, no social skills, no support network, and I'm a terrible rhetorician, especially when I am angry. Additionally, my family is fast to call the cops and has promised me that they would cooperate with the police if I ever got on their radar, so my presence would be a security culture issue.

Are you doing something about this?

Well, I have chosen not to work for companies that participate in such genocides, which is not a completely vacuous statement because they have sent me recruitment emails to design their fucking missiles! But frankly, I am fighting my own battles right now. I am desperately trying to find work. I am constantly fighting insurers to pay for the few times I ever muster up the courage to use my insurance. I am fighting my own goddamn family who will throw me to the fucking wolves if I can't afford the rent. I am fighting the urge to walk off into the woods and fucking die of embarrassment at having accomplished so little at my age.

So no, I'm not really doing anything. I'll cop to that. I've copped to worse, and at least for now I can live with being a hypocrite. Sorry if that's unsatisfactory.

Are you feeling unsettled? How do you feel about all this mess?

I fucking HATE America, I fucking HATE world governments, and this just adds to the list of reasons why. Unsettled doesn't even begin to cover it.

[–] NOT_RICK 5 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Call your congressperson and senators. They might not listen to just you but the more people call the more their positions can be moved.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Defeated and hopeless mostly. Almost the same as I felt funding the war in the middle east after looking at the casualties and reading testimonies from US soldiers. It's long weighed heavily on me that half of every dollar I'm required to pay to the government is used to kill people who have nothing to do with me, especially as someone whose worked since he was 16. The war in the middle east was met with the largest protests in US history at the time and nothing changed. We then elected a democrat who was given a noble peace prize, he kept the war going and killed many civilians with drone strikes. I don't even own a house and the rate at which my savings are stacking up, there's not much I can even afford to do. Welcome to the machine.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

If you were in power in Israel, and care for its citizens, what would your steps be as reaction to what happened? Please imagine both short and long term consequences.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

and care for its citizens,

If the Israeli government cared about the people it (supposedly) represents it wouldn't be turning them into violent colonialist goons to do the west's bidding in the middle-east, would it?

You might just as well ask how to fix the Apartheid-regime without upsetting white people or fix the Nazi regime without discomforting Nazis.

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