Empire (hacktivismo)
Jim Rovira
jrovira at drew.edu
Mon, 31 Mar 2003 22:52:35 -0500
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Matt P. said:
> I fear the pro-Israel lobby in Washington not only controls the U.S's foreign
> policy, but is contaminating the social psychology of the U.S with the almost paradoxical elitist victimhood which has
> characterized the social psychology of the Jewish race since biblical times.
>
I'm not sure it's safe to make large assertions about the nature of the
"Jewish race since Biblical times," but I think the psychology you
describe is actually being exhibited by rival groups -- Muslim and
Jewish -- competing for victim status. Much anti-Israel rhetoric
consists of attempts to establish the victim status of Palestinians at
the expense of Israel.
Fact is no one -- and I'm just talking about this century -- has clean
hands. Gershom Scholem's journals record anti-Jewish rioting in the 20s
and 30s in Palestine and terrorist bombings by Arabs leveled against
those working for a _joint_ Jewish and Palestinian state.
Accusations of violations of UN sanctions/resolutions, breaking of
international law, etc., weigh at least equally on both sides, even in
the Iraq/US conflict. 14 major cities rebelled against Hussein after
the 1991 Gulf War, and after the US pulled out Hussein put 200,000 to
300,000 of his own people to death. He used chemical weapons in his
conflict against Iran and against the Kurds on more than one occasion.
None of this is said to justify the current invasion or the absolute
failure of the Bush Administration to pursue his goals diplomatically.
It's simply to point out that rhetoric about "legality" or "victimhood"
is irrelevant. All that's left are the individual self interests of
nations, and naturally the ones with the most power pursue their
interests using whatever means at their disposal, if for no reason other
than no one's going to stop them.
Jim R
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Matt P. said:
<blockquote TYPE=CITE>
<pre>I fear the pro-Israel lobby in Washington not only controls the U.S's foreign
policy, but is contaminating the social psychology of the U.S with the almost paradoxical elitist victimhood which has
characterized the social psychology of the Jewish race since biblical times.</pre>
</blockquote>
<p><br>I'm not sure it's safe to make large assertions about the nature
of the "Jewish race since Biblical times," but I think the psychology you
describe is actually being exhibited by rival groups -- Muslim and Jewish
-- competing for victim status. Much anti-Israel rhetoric consists
of attempts to establish the victim status of Palestinians at the
expense of Israel.
<p>Fact is no one -- and I'm just talking about this century -- has clean
hands. Gershom Scholem's journals record anti-Jewish rioting in the
20s and 30s in Palestine and terrorist bombings by Arabs leveled against
those working for a _joint_ Jewish and Palestinian state.
<p>Accusations of violations of UN sanctions/resolutions, breaking of international
law, etc., weigh at least equally on both sides, even in the Iraq/US conflict.
14 major cities rebelled against Hussein after the 1991 Gulf War, and after
the US pulled out Hussein put 200,000 to 300,000 of his own people to death.
He used chemical weapons in his conflict against Iran and against the Kurds
on more than one occasion.
<br><br>
None of this is said to justify the current invasion or the absolute failure
of the Bush Administration to pursue his goals diplomatically. It's
simply to point out that rhetoric about "legality" or "victimhood" is irrelevant.
All that's left are the individual self interests of nations, and naturally
the ones with the most power pursue their interests using whatever means
at their disposal, if for no reason other than no one's going to stop them.
<p>Jim R</html>
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