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I was going to post thoughts and snippets about Star Wars today. There was a marathon on TV last night. I didn't watch all six movies, but it was the first time I'd watched the original trilogy in the same night as the prequels. Stuff jumped out at me. And Darth Vader had a few comments. I realized that C-3PO invented the bare midriff look, that "Ewok" is a shortened anagram of "Wookie," and that Chewie's reactions in Episode IV make no sense in light of the revelation that he knew Yoda in Episode III. Bunch of other random stuff.
But it's Memorial Day, and we're supposed to stop and think about the people throughout our history who died for our country, our freedom, our protection, the aid of other countries, and the stupid and reckless decisions made by our leaders.
Instead, though, I woke up to the news about that thing in Gaza.
Now I'm not sure what to think. On the surface, the story is simple: Israeli troops boarded a vessel carrying aid and journalists, violence ensued, and a few dozen people were killed.
The Israeli government says that the vessel was warned (more than plausible, given that the blockade has been in place for three years) and that it was basically there as a stunt to provoke exactly this sort of easily propagandized situation - either they let it through and essentially allow it to break the blockade or they they try to stop it when it tries to force its way through, and... this happens.
But they also say that the humanitarian need in Gaza is a propagandized fabrication - nowhere near as bad as it's claimed. Which I just can't believe. Conditions in Gaza weren't great before the borders were locked down. They can't have improved after three years of nothing being allowed in or out except minimal humanitarian supplies. And it doesn't help that the lockdown includes not allowing reporters to even get close to the area.
The Israeli government has become very aggressive in recent years. Recklessly so, I think.
But that's because the Israelis voted in the militant factions. Because they got tired of the "give peace a chance" crowd making deals and giving concessions only to have things break down and get nothing in return.
It's also because the people of Gaza elected Hamas as their government - an organization internationally recognized as terrorists, responsible for bombings and killings and shellings and kidnappings and more.
But that's because... well, probably a whole bunch of factors including intimidation, propaganda, and genuine mistreatment and discrimination.
But much of the mistreatment came from their own government, which had a habit of embezzling international aid, using it to give themselves lavish mansions, and then turning around to tell the impoverished populace that no one was helping them.
As for the discrimination - a cousin of mine owns a farm in Israel. He felt terrible about how he saw Palestinians being treated by the Israeli populace and government. So he made repeated efforts to reach out and hire them as farmhands. Fair work at fair wages. And, year after year, they would abuse his trust, run away at the worst possible time, and steal as much as they could on the way out. Because that's what they'd been taught was the just thing to do.
The whole thing reminds me, too, of how things were in the 80s. Because of the critical need for defense, Israel has a mandatory draft - when you come of age, you must put in a few years of military service. The streets of Jerusalem are patrolled by peacekeeping soldiers who also act as police. In reality, they're kids in their late teens who have just come out of basic training and been sent out with machine guns loaded with rubber bullets (and packs of live ammo in case of crisis - more than once, Israel has been invaded without warning by armies looking to wipe it off the map and "drive them into the sea").
On the other side of things, Palestinian children were raised to believe that Israelis were invaders and oppressors and worse and that it was their patriotic duty to fight them off. Little kids would pick up loose stones and throw them at soldiers in the streets, just because. Sometimes, they'd set up ambushes, several of them raining stones down from the roofs.
Soldiers would be severely injured, sometimes hospitalized. A decent sized stone can do a surprising amount of damage. Sometimes, it can even kill. So the soldiers (freshly trained teenagers, remember) defended themselves. Fired rubber bullets, starting with a few warning shots and escalating if need be.
What resulted was an outcry, backed with pictures: Little kids* being threatened and shot at by soldiers armed with machine guns!
*Sometimes it was mentioned that they were maybe throwing small rocks, sometimes that was glossed over.
In Gaza, terrorists launch explosive shells at any targets (civilian or otherwise) within range. They use hospitals and schools and mosques and crowded apartment buildings as bases. Deliberately. Sometimes with consent, sometimes with active help, sometimes just because the terrorists have big guns, sometimes all of the above. In order to protect its citizens, the Israeli government is forced to root them out... and the stories are released of how they attacked and blew up hospitals and schools and... You get the idea.
Things aren't always as simple as they seem.
But both sides are in the wrong. Each side hating the other for as far back as recorded history goes. Attempts at peace disrupted again and again by violent extremists. Resentments and prejudices building and becoming more entrenched.
The blockade is there because the area is under the control of terrorists. An organization whose founding principle, right there in the written charter, is the destruction of Israel by any means necessary. Egypt has also closed its borders to the people of Gaza and has been keeping up part of the blockade. The Palestinian government on the other side of Israel doesn't even support Hamas.
But the people are suffering. There are civilians there, and they've been cut off from the world. Beaten down by everyone in power.
There are no easy answers. And it's all so senseless. All over a scrap of arid desert with limited resources which just happens to be considered "The Holy Land" by three different religions. All because two races of people can't stand each other but refuse to leave. All because some people (even in the times when the majority says otherwise) just can't learn to share.
And now this boat. Flotilla of six boats. Full of aid and supplies and propaganda and agendas. Turned away by people who are defending their homes from terrorists and helping to oppress a population of civilians. Violence because a peaceful ship was boarded by a hostile military. Violence because a ship refused to turn away when peacefully warned and attacked the soldiers who came over to enforce the law.
And it's all just so tragically stupid.
But it's Memorial Day, and we're supposed to stop and think about the people throughout our history who died for our country, our freedom, our protection, the aid of other countries, and the stupid and reckless decisions made by our leaders.
Instead, though, I woke up to the news about that thing in Gaza.
Now I'm not sure what to think. On the surface, the story is simple: Israeli troops boarded a vessel carrying aid and journalists, violence ensued, and a few dozen people were killed.
The Israeli government says that the vessel was warned (more than plausible, given that the blockade has been in place for three years) and that it was basically there as a stunt to provoke exactly this sort of easily propagandized situation - either they let it through and essentially allow it to break the blockade or they they try to stop it when it tries to force its way through, and... this happens.
But they also say that the humanitarian need in Gaza is a propagandized fabrication - nowhere near as bad as it's claimed. Which I just can't believe. Conditions in Gaza weren't great before the borders were locked down. They can't have improved after three years of nothing being allowed in or out except minimal humanitarian supplies. And it doesn't help that the lockdown includes not allowing reporters to even get close to the area.
The Israeli government has become very aggressive in recent years. Recklessly so, I think.
But that's because the Israelis voted in the militant factions. Because they got tired of the "give peace a chance" crowd making deals and giving concessions only to have things break down and get nothing in return.
It's also because the people of Gaza elected Hamas as their government - an organization internationally recognized as terrorists, responsible for bombings and killings and shellings and kidnappings and more.
But that's because... well, probably a whole bunch of factors including intimidation, propaganda, and genuine mistreatment and discrimination.
But much of the mistreatment came from their own government, which had a habit of embezzling international aid, using it to give themselves lavish mansions, and then turning around to tell the impoverished populace that no one was helping them.
As for the discrimination - a cousin of mine owns a farm in Israel. He felt terrible about how he saw Palestinians being treated by the Israeli populace and government. So he made repeated efforts to reach out and hire them as farmhands. Fair work at fair wages. And, year after year, they would abuse his trust, run away at the worst possible time, and steal as much as they could on the way out. Because that's what they'd been taught was the just thing to do.
The whole thing reminds me, too, of how things were in the 80s. Because of the critical need for defense, Israel has a mandatory draft - when you come of age, you must put in a few years of military service. The streets of Jerusalem are patrolled by peacekeeping soldiers who also act as police. In reality, they're kids in their late teens who have just come out of basic training and been sent out with machine guns loaded with rubber bullets (and packs of live ammo in case of crisis - more than once, Israel has been invaded without warning by armies looking to wipe it off the map and "drive them into the sea").
On the other side of things, Palestinian children were raised to believe that Israelis were invaders and oppressors and worse and that it was their patriotic duty to fight them off. Little kids would pick up loose stones and throw them at soldiers in the streets, just because. Sometimes, they'd set up ambushes, several of them raining stones down from the roofs.
Soldiers would be severely injured, sometimes hospitalized. A decent sized stone can do a surprising amount of damage. Sometimes, it can even kill. So the soldiers (freshly trained teenagers, remember) defended themselves. Fired rubber bullets, starting with a few warning shots and escalating if need be.
What resulted was an outcry, backed with pictures: Little kids* being threatened and shot at by soldiers armed with machine guns!
*Sometimes it was mentioned that they were maybe throwing small rocks, sometimes that was glossed over.
In Gaza, terrorists launch explosive shells at any targets (civilian or otherwise) within range. They use hospitals and schools and mosques and crowded apartment buildings as bases. Deliberately. Sometimes with consent, sometimes with active help, sometimes just because the terrorists have big guns, sometimes all of the above. In order to protect its citizens, the Israeli government is forced to root them out... and the stories are released of how they attacked and blew up hospitals and schools and... You get the idea.
Things aren't always as simple as they seem.
But both sides are in the wrong. Each side hating the other for as far back as recorded history goes. Attempts at peace disrupted again and again by violent extremists. Resentments and prejudices building and becoming more entrenched.
The blockade is there because the area is under the control of terrorists. An organization whose founding principle, right there in the written charter, is the destruction of Israel by any means necessary. Egypt has also closed its borders to the people of Gaza and has been keeping up part of the blockade. The Palestinian government on the other side of Israel doesn't even support Hamas.
But the people are suffering. There are civilians there, and they've been cut off from the world. Beaten down by everyone in power.
There are no easy answers. And it's all so senseless. All over a scrap of arid desert with limited resources which just happens to be considered "The Holy Land" by three different religions. All because two races of people can't stand each other but refuse to leave. All because some people (even in the times when the majority says otherwise) just can't learn to share.
And now this boat. Flotilla of six boats. Full of aid and supplies and propaganda and agendas. Turned away by people who are defending their homes from terrorists and helping to oppress a population of civilians. Violence because a peaceful ship was boarded by a hostile military. Violence because a ship refused to turn away when peacefully warned and attacked the soldiers who came over to enforce the law.
And it's all just so tragically stupid.
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