“Well, you see son, the perpetrators of that genocide were the victims of the largest genocide of the 20th Century, so nobody felt comfortable doing or saying anything.”
Tanked the reputation of the Genocidal Apartheid regime as fast as possible.
I understand the frustration, but blaming individuals for a government’s actions, especially in 2024, feels misplaced. The reality is, many of us feel powerless to influence our own governments, let alone foreign policies, especially when it comes to complex international conflicts like the one in Gaza.
The U.S. government has entrenched interests and a long history of unconditional support for Israel, sustained by billions in taxpayer dollars. Despite widespread protests and public outcry, these policies seem nearly immune to change. It’s disheartening, but the truth is, most citizens have little say in how their tax money is used, especially on issues where both major political parties are largely aligned.
Voting every four years feels inadequate when the system itself limits real choices and perpetuates the status quo. Yes, we can protest, but even that has its limits. The mechanisms of government and foreign policy are beyond our direct control, leaving many feeling like we’re just along for the ride—forced to watch, speak out, and hope for change that rarely comes.
So while we share the outrage, it’s unrealistic to act as if we, as ordinary people, have the power to stop a war machine fueled by vested interests. The whole system feels like it’s rigged to keep us eating the consequences, whether we like it or not.
I know this is not the point, but “begs this question” is the oddest construction of that phrase I’ve heard yet.
“Begs the question” frustrates me. I know language changes, I know I shouldn’t be prescriptivist about this.
But it always strikes me as someone trying to sound smart and failing. They think it’s a fancy way of conveying something it didn’t mean (though now it does because people used it so much without knowing what it meant).
Just use “raises.”
I don’t know, I still want to do something but I don’t think street protests are enough. And I am against violence.
With Ukraine I donate money, early on I donated for buying drones. With Palestine it’s so bad that I think donations won’t reach them.
Source: I grew up in 3rd world countries where pacific protests for teachers salary are common place but won’t solve anything. I’ve also lived in another 3rd world country with strong unions where at least once a month there was a 1000 people protest in the main street in the capital, plus ad hoc protests that are much bigger, and that country is still sinking very fast.
I wonder how future historians will compare the October 7th, 2023 and the April 19th, 1943 events.
