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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[–] Omega_Haxors@lemmy.ml 8 points 1 year ago

I want to finance a complete genocide of mosquitos and i'm not kidding.

[–] HappyMeatbag@beehaw.org 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don’t like it one bit.

The government sees it as a strategic need to have a strong ally in the region. That view will not change, at least not anytime soon. The Pentagon considers it a national security issue, which puts it beyond politics. Unfortunately, I have to live with that.

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[–] java@beehaw.org 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Sometimes I feel like people forget that Israel was actually attacked.

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[–] PetDinosaurs@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (24 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.

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I think many people in the U.S. do feel extremely shitty about it. People do care, people are upset, and many are protesting and talking and doing what they can to try to mitigate or heal or push back against the actions of their own governments in the ways that they can. I don’t know if you were around for the 2000s, but people protested then, too. It may not feel that way depending on what media you see or what people you know, but many people do strongly criticize their own government and feel awful about the way their tax dollars are used and the rhetoric that comes out of their leaders. I think most americans (offline anyway) do condemn war crimes, do feel icky about our own government’s involvement and motives, and are mourning the suffering on both sides of this conflict. If you’re seeing lots of disregard for human life around you, it might help to seek out some of the groups and voices and people who are feeling unsettled and are doing something. I know there are lots of donations happening and I’ve seen news about events mourning the dead and groups trying to help the people who are there. It might not be on every front page, but it is out there, if you look for it. The people loudly saying that death and suffering is justified for certain groups of people will try to make it seem like everybody feels that way. But in practice, that has never been true. Anyone with a heart hates this shit. So many people are trying to help. Don’t let propagandists convince you otherwise.

[–] SecretPancake@feddit.de 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year 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.

[–] TheFriendlyDickhead@lemm.ee 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

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

[–] SkepticElliptic@beehaw.org 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Israel is retaliating against civilians for an attack carried out by Hamas. This is what America did in Afghanistan after the attack on the world trade center in 2001. It was dumb and it's dumb now.

[–] intensely_human@lemm.ee 7 points 1 year ago

I’d call it “retaliating” against civilians. Actual retaliation would mean hitting the set of people who attacked Israel.

IMO a big source of the problem is that we’re conflating four groups for two groups.

Government A, People A, Government B, People B.

Any time Government A attacks People B, Government B “retaliates” against People A, and vice versa. It’s not actual retaliation it’s forwarding the violence to someone new.

There are tenuous connections between these governments and these peoples, but it’s not like slapping the guy who just slapped you. It’s like slapping his kid.

[–] grysbok@lemmy.sdf.org 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

That's my emotional understanding of the current situation. I supported the invasion of Afghanistan whole-heartedly the night it happened, but I was a child then. 9/11 was upsetting and rockets are exciting. Now, with maturity and hindsight, that invasion was a cruel mistake. I believe this current invasion is also a mistake.

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[–] jimmydoreisalefty@lemmus.org 5 points 1 year 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.

[–] NOT_RICK@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

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

[–] shinigamiookamiryuu@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

An ongoing genocide or a genocide in hindset? And what kind? It would largely depend. Often when we give people money and they happen to use that money to pay for misdeeds, some people come back and accuse us of financing that misdeed. On the contrary, in any situation on Earth at any time, we have to be prepared for any given situation to have unconforming parts and pieces. In this situation, it's not like the government gives us a contract that says "here, sign this to show you agree to what we're going to use your taxpayer money for". If they did, I wouldn't sign, because my ethics as a relationship anarchist extend to politics, but they're not playing by relationship anarchist rules, so I become something to squeeze money out of without explanation, and it becomes less understandable how any burden is at play, especially when people start pressuring us to conform and cheat the system so-to-speak. We can try our best though.

[–] selokichtli@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 year ago

At any stage of this process are we being given a choice? There's the main problem to me. I agree with you that, at some point, we just should try our best. I believe this should include reclaiming some power back to the people.

[–] the_q@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

I feel bad at all the suffering in the world. Some days are harder than others, but I'm fully aware I'm nobody. Nothing in the grand scheme and less than that in the grander scheme. My small actions have no direct effect on anything. All I can hope to do is be a positive, supportive person to those around me and make decisions on how I live my life that causes the least amount of suffering.

As an American my vote has little weight. Those that are meant to represent me are bought and paid for. The systems that provide my food, shelter, employment, medical care etc are all corrupt and alternatives promising fairer, better treatment of those involved are just different expressions of that same corruption. I'm a slave. I'm cattle. I'm not being bombed or shot at, because I exist as a resource to ensure my masters continue to gain.

[–] mawkishdave@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year 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.

[–] MxM111@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 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.

[–] masquenox@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 year 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.

[–] Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

All the evidence so far tells me that nobody is serious about stopping the violence. The only way the violence will end in this region is if the entire region is turned into a sheet of glass.

My only interest in the region is ensuring that the violence continues, until such time as an option other than "glass them all" presents itself.

[–] intensely_human@lemm.ee 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Why is that your interest in the region?

[–] Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Because once we normalize ending violence with nuclear weapons, the whole fucking world burns.

[–] Summzashi@lemmy.one 4 points 1 year ago
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