Like, shooting a gun is bad. But shooting the shooter? Not the same (thus, not "whataboutism" because you can't say "who care about other shooters in the scene - whataboutism!") .
[1] https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-894273
[2] https://themedialine.org/top-stories/is-al-jazeera-a-mouthpi...
Wat 0_o? Did you even read my comment?
I really don't know how we're going to ever combat it. The main issue I see is there is a very very strong human tendency to "take sides" and "be part of something", and people have always worked out how to exploit that and use it for nefarious purposes.
I'm just worried that with social media there is basically no way out and it's really looking dangerous for the time being.
Just check the facts about each and every government in the middle east.
Netanyahu said that "Qatar is not an enemy country". Is he wrong about that? https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-08-14/ty-article/.p...
Qatar is spreading fake information and is funding Hamas as well as anti-Israel classes in major US colleges.
If you don’t trust Netanyahu then you should disregard the link you shared as well and that just strengthens my point.
This is absolutely true but people don't want to hear about this. Qatar is the main propagator of many student bodies in the US. This is how you get students saying "gloabalize intifada", "death to the USA”, occupying buildings, etc.
Qatar has a long, well funded strategy for influence in the west which is pretty much their only leverage.
In addition they are the main funders of Hamas, alongside hosting the Hamas leaders in fancy hotels in Doha for many, many years.
I see almost zero concern for people of Sudan, North Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Uighurs, Detained US immigrants etc and I'd say zero anger towards these people's oppressors, as if they are just "good guys misunderstood".
Of course I believe all people should be safe, free from harm etc, but I just cannot some how get totally outraged about one specific cause and neglect all the rest. The only reason I could imagine myself doing this is if I'd been "red pilled" by some social media campaigns, which I suspect more people than I'd like to admit are.
You can see it here on HN whenever, for example, someone mentioned censorship by Chinese models, there will be responses trying to change the topic to Gaza, with the misinformation that Western models refuse to discuss that issue.
It is so effective, because they make such an easy target of themselves all the time. Anyone following the news and thinking a bit and maybe also keeping track of their crimes, could easily believe any claims about any additional crimes Israel is engaging in. Their own behavior makes it very easy to believe they have done even more terrible crimes.
Escalation of conflicts into wars with any neighbor country, that isn't on a tree by the count of 3. Assassinations of disliked individuals, regardless of in which country they reside, just like Russia did in the UK. Inhumane treatment of prisoners. Incredible discrimination of their neighbors. Supporting violent and armed mobs, to rob people of their homes. Illegal expansion of territory.
I mean, with that sort of track record, there is not much we wouldn't believe they are capable of. And then you have completely delusional people online, who go maximalist in their attitude, trying to defend all of that and trying to lay claim to all the territory that Israel would love to conquer. That's basically the Zionists. I don't see how they are not loath-worthy, and I also haven't yet seen something like a "mild, non-maximalist Zionist", who would convince me of "not all Zionists are bad".
> I see almost zero concern for people of Sudan, North Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Uighurs, Detained US immigrants etc and I'd say zero anger towards these people's oppressors, as if they are just "good guys misunderstood".
That's because in some of those cases there is little influence that "the West" has. I do think, that you are grouping quite uneven situations there though.
Sudan: Inner country turmoil, civil war and militias. What exactly do you expect others to do? March in?
North Korea: Eh, well, a crazy dictatorship, armed with nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. At least they stay contained in their own country mostly, when they are not sending meat to Russia.
Russia: It is being dealt with by Ukraine and its supporters. They are f'ed for the coming decades and maybe will even crumble under the looming economic crisis. All because their dictator couldn't help but invade a neighbor and doubles down infinitely.
Ukraine: But the West _does_ do something about it? I mean, did you follow the news the last couple of years? Ukraine's supporters are everywhere!
Uighurs: What exactly _is_ the situation? Have you visited Xinjiang?
US immigrants: How are they comparable with all the other situations you have mentioned?
> but I just cannot some how get totally outraged about one specific cause and neglect all the rest.
Then you have an eternity of feeling bad ahead of you. We have so many crisis and bad situations and crimes against humanity ongoing on this planet, that you will never be not outraged. I don't think we can "demand" outrage from others. A human only can show they care about so much. Gotta pick your battles.
But it’s also October 7 that made the average joe even more extreme in their opinions.
I doubt there are any true friends in the middle east, just temporary allies of convinence.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Liberty_incident
Does this mean that USA and Israel aren't friends?
Obama used social networks to spread a milquetoast 'yes we can' message, not to justify an ongoing genocide. How is that even a comparison. Israel is closer to Triumph des Willens than it is to promoting the Affordable Care Act, you do realize that right?
It's not 'far from being a perfect state', it's waging old testament wars of extermination on its neighbors and towns
Of course we could argue any country try to defend itself, but an ever expanding bellicose colony stealing lands from adjacent countries is hardly what could be described as a "defending" stance.
> People need to wake up to the one-sided lies of the antizionist hate movement that single it out and want to destroy it and its people.
The end of a State doesn't mean the end of its citizens. It simply mean that a state apparatus and power structure is taken down and replaced by something else.
Asides from the idea that Jews can colonise Judea, Israel returned Sinai to Egypt and left Gaza in 2005 only returning after the recent Hamas murder/rape rampage, which shows ‘ever expanding’ to be an obvious lie.
Nonsense.
Cause they seemed to be just fine selling that land.
Also “ignoring the partition”? Literally the day the partition was adopted, the Arab league attacked Israel. 6 nations to 1, yet Israelis outsmarted them all (which is why you keep hating us).
Read more here (not TikTok) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Arab%E2%80%93Israeli_War
The irony is that this statement (which I disagree with) could be applied equally well to both Israel and the Palestinians.
It would be easier for the Palestinians to just move on if millions of them didn't live under 59 years of Israeli military occupation, with no end in sight. They have no way of moving on, because the IDF controls their lives, and Israeli settlers are taking their land piece-by-piece.
Israeli leadership is as fascist as it gets. Openly so.
But I suspect you know nothing about Jews besides social media.
Next thing you’ll say we’re not native to that land right? We only lived in the middle east forever, but our food is cultural appropriation too, right?
Also, there was a strong political will to try a peaceful approach to Gaza (with thousands of Gazans coming in to Israel for work every day), and with the belief that Hamas wants a peaceful approach as well.
Hamas is planning further attacks now, what do you suggest Israel do about it?
Still, that doesn't absolve Hamas from any actions done, they are terrorists at it's core and the worst type, they are willing to use civilians(and babies) to further their agenda, I don't condone them and personally and think the world would be a better place without them(as any other extremist)
What you are actually doing is trying to blame the victim for “allowing” it to happen.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/lapid-says-netanyahu-knew-for-...
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/10/24/middleeast/palestinians-h...
Genocide denial is not cool. Do you really think Hamas, who has 40000 fighters, had 20000 kid soldiers? You're crazy!
There were very few Jews in Palestine for nearly 2000 years. The founders of Israel were almost all Europeans, and their families had been European for almost 2000 years.
This would be like the Italians showing up today and claiming that they are the rightful owners of France, because Gaul was a Roman province before 500 AD.
Note that I said ethnic cleansing and genocide, both go on and went on for years. Also, it is Israel who is expanding, putting settlers in places where they should not be. The idea that the ethnic group being pushed away is not allowed to defend themselves and if they do they should be subject of genocide is literally fascist.
Israel is not engaged in self defence as much as they are engaged in aggression.