At its best,
Politics is the response to the mood of the people,
at its best.
At its worst,
Politics is the response to the mood of the people,
at its worst.
[Newton Fortuin, 31 December 2023]
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Example: Obama's politics of Hope vs Trumps politics of Grievance.
This post originated from a Facebook comment discussing the Gaza-Israel conflict, accompanied by the caption: "How in the world does anybody in their right mind think that what is happening in Gaza is going to bring peace to anybody?"
Reacting to the post, an individual brought up Benjamin
Netanyahu's military background. They drew a comparison
between Netanyahu and Hitler, drawing parallels to the Holocaust.
Reacting to this, someone expressed disapproval, deeming the comment highly offensive. They suggested the importance of engaging one's thoughts before expressing them online in the future.
Without taking a definitive stance on the Palistinian-Israel issue, the response addressed the pervasive sensitivity surrounding any reference to the Holocaust observed over the years. I acknowledge the complexities of the entire historical context, reckognizing the inhibiting impact of this sensitivity on meaningful self-reflection.
I frequently encounter remarks like yours, where people express strong disapproval of any mention of the Holocaust, often leading to immediate labellingas antisemitic. In my view, it is essential to from time to time critically engage in and reflect on such comparisons.
No, there’s in-truth no comparison to the atrocity that Hitler
inflected on the Jews, it was utterly barbaric and an eternal stain on humankind.
The deeper question however is how does a society
that has endured such collective trauma reap such unimaginable hardship on an
entire people with such impunity: robbing them of their land (with illegal
settlements continuing to this day), locking them up in what essentially are
concentration camps, and killing and blowing up their children?
Where is the humanity and compassion of the
Israeli's given what they have endured at the hands of Hitler?
Unfortunately, Israel as a collective (and
certainly not all Israeli's but as reflected by the current far right wing ultra-nationalist government they have elected, and thus indeed reflect them currently as a
society) prefers to act like the abused who has become the abuser, now wanting
to wreak havoc on the dispossessed and less vulnerable people of Palestine. In doing
so, completely disregarding their humanity and right to exist as a people. A
real shame in my view on those who needlessly died at the hands of an abusive regime 80
years ago, and is a real dishonour on their legacy.
There could have been a way to execute the
retaliation against Hamas for their brutal acts without impunity and arrogance, but moreover, disohonor.
Unfortunately, it appears – and as the current status quo unfortunately is again
a poignant testament to – that "the only thing we learn from history is thatwe do not learn from history".
[Newton Fortuin, 30 December 2023]
