Day: May 23, 2021

Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week

I’ve been trying to avoid writing about this, but since the Left can’t stop talking about it for 2 microseconds, I suppose I’ll have to weigh in. After moments of tepid unrest (as opposed to the usual white hot variety), tensions between Israel and Palestine flared up, resulting in rockets being exchanged, and not in the white elephant kind of way. To put it mildly, they were putting some heat on those things.

As they typically do in situations like this, the Left has already taken sides with Palestine, with members of “The Squad” openly calling Israel an “apartheid state.” I’m sure that’s going to go over well with the white nationalists there, but that’s not important right now. What is important is the Left’s political gamble taking sides with Palestine, a gamble they’ve made before and won handily. In the grand scheme of things, does this matter?

Why, yes. Yes it does.

Palestine

What the Left thinks it means – a nation being oppressed by Israel merely for trying to get its land back

What it really means – a nation that no longer exists, due in no small part to its leaders

The biggest problem when discussing Palestine is agreeing on the basic facts that are not in play, mainly because there are so many people who disagree on them. However, there is one fact not even the staunchest of pro-Palestinian propagandists can spin away.

Palestine doesn’t exist today.

Oh, sure, they did at one time and the United Nations even recognize Palestine as a state, but that means nothing in 2021. Especially that second part. If your ace in the hole is a UN proclamation, you’re better off in admitting you got nothing. At least then you won’t have to worry about explaining away the UN’s noted anti-Israel bent. If anything, they should get bent.

The country that was once Palestine was comprised of a lot of land in the Middle East in what is now Jordan. Not Israel. Not the West Bank. Not even the Gaza Strip. Jordan. The fact Israel and Jordan are neighbors doesn’t help the situation any because they have easy access to each other and their respective populations and property. In short, this is a property line dispute with heavy artillery.

But as a former homeowner myself, I can tell you it’s hard to have a property line dispute when you don’t actually own the property. If the Palestinians had a valid claim to Israel, I would be one of the first to say so. As it stands, all they have are a UN proclamation and apparently nobody who knows how to read an ancient map. But what they do have is Leftists willing to carry their water for them. As it turns out, this is their default position on Palestine because a) they like to at least appear to support the underdog against the powerful, and b) they have a major anti-Semitism problem.

Let’s start with the first one since it’s first and all. The Left loves a good David vs. Goliath story, not because they necessarily want David to win, but because they love making Goliath look like a jerk in the process. Instead of fighting for the little guy, the Left tends to fight against the big guy because it’s easier to paint the big guy as the villain just like they did with the big banks. Of course, when it’s a big guy who agrees with them (I’m looking right at you, Jack Dorsey), the Left turns a blind eye…until it becomes convenient to throw you under the bus. Just ask Amazon.

Or we can just ask Israel. With the two terms of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and the first year of Joe Biden’s term, Israel knows full well what the Left thinks of them and how they will make nice to your face while helping the opposition. The Left has even sent political advisors to Israel to try to defeat Benjamin Netanyahu, all because he has this crazy idea that Israel should exist. That MONSTER! Out of Clinton, Obama, and Biden, only Clinton had Israel and Palestine try to work out some sort of agreement. Even when Israel was willing to give in to Palestine’s conditions, their leader at the time, Yasser Arafat walked away. Since then, the possibility of peace between the sides is more remote than a hermit at Ice Station Zero.

This is where the anti-Semitism comes into play. Yes, there are Leftist Jews who are on the “Free Palestine” bandwagon and will criticize Israel in the same breath they order brunch, but they are being used for votes and money, just like every other group the Left associates with. The Left loves the money and power the Leftist Jews give them, but nothing else beyond that. As long as the Israel-Palestine conflict continues, the Left will use it for their own ends without doing anything to help the situation.

Oh, and it should be pointed out, as the Left loves to do, the Palestinians are also Semites. So, what would you call a group of people who use the death of people they allegedly support to enhance their own political and fiscal power? Some could say they were…anti-Semites…

Amazing, but not unexpected from the Left.

Beyond that, some of the Left’s favorite hustlers…I mean figures have a history of out-and-out disdain for Israel and its people: Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Hillary Clinton, Louis Farrakhan, just to name a few. More recently, “The Squad” has shown it can flex with the best of them when it comes to attacking Israel. No matter how many times they get caught, however, the song never changes. Israel will always be bad, and Palestine will always be good. And as long as there’s money and votes to be had, the Left won’t care.

The larger question is whether Palestinians want peace. I can’t point to anything specific, but I get the feeling the majority of them do. Constant fighting without a reason to fight erodes your soul pretty fast, and the way many Palestinians have found a way to live without fighting is…by moving to Israel. Contrary to popular belief, Palestinians in Israel enjoy a modicum of power and respect so long as they don’t wreck anything. They even have a place at the table in Israel’s version of Congress, the Knesset. Hard to argue Israel is an apartheid state when they give more freedom to Palestinians than Palestine does.

And therein lies the real tragedy of it all. Palestinians really don’t have an ally on the Left, but Hamas does. That’s not an insignificant distinction to make, either. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the US and others, and currently holds all the power in Palestine. Oh, and they’re much more militant than Arafat was, and he was militant enough as it was for a guy who could pass for Ringo Starr in an off-Baghdad production of “Lawrence of Arabia.” The other option is to seek sanctuary with the ”enemy” or try to stay enough under the radar as to not attract attention. With fanatics like Hamas, though, neither option is good enough. You’re either in all the way or you’re a traitor.

Hmmm…I wonder if that attitude has anything to do with the religion Hamas members follow…naaaaaaah!

In the end, there will be more fighting, more death, and more heartache until both sides of the Palestine/Israel conflict decide enough is enough. Even then, the Left will find a way to paint Palestine as a victim instead of a participant, if only to secure more money and power for themselves. If only to try to stem the tide of eternal war (and, admittedly, make Leftists even madder than they are now), I will defend Israel’s right to exist.

And I will continue to act as an Israeli Chamber of Commerce for Palestinians looking to get out from the conflict.

Who Is That Masked Man?

By the time you read this, I will have gotten my second COVID-19 shot, mainly because of the screaming and crying I’ll be doing afterwards. As a result, I may not need to wear a mask all the time, provided the CDC doesn’t flip flop like John Kerry in cheap sandals working a VFW pancake breakfast. However, I’ve made up my mind to continue wearing a mask indoors.

This isn’t a decision I’ve taken lightly. On the one hand, I’ve spent a good chunk of change on cool-looking masks that show my appreciation for different fandoms. On the other, my glasses keep fogging up, so I have to readjust my masks on a regular basis. But there was one factor that tipped the scales for me.

Other people.

Now, I’m not just talking about making others feel more secure or giving them one less thing to worry about. I’m not even talking about being accused of being an anti-vaxer/conservative/Republican/Trump supporter/science denier/whatever new name the Left wants to call me today. I am, however, talking the people who have taken it upon themselves to be the Mask Police.

Even before COVID-19 was a thing, there were people who constantly wanted to get in other peoples’ business for one reason or another. Usually, it’s because they don’t have lives of their own and want to create drama so there is some excitement to talk about. Plus, it feeds a need in them to be righteous (even if it’s the self variety) and to virtue signal.

And neither one is worthy enough to warrant such people to act.

Good luck trying to tell them that, though. Judging from my thankfully few interactions with them, they don’t seem to be the most open-minded of folks. And as a male in a family where stubbornness is a feature instead of a bug, that’s saying something if I’m the one pointing it out. What sets these folks apart from a Gladys Kravitz type is the fact they feel justified in causing harm to others in the pursuit of their goals. If one of them sees you infringing upon what they think the rules should be, it isn’t that much of a stretch for him or her to figure out who you are, contact your employer, and advising them of the kind of scumbag you are (to them). If not that, they’ll publicly shame you, often with high pitched screaming that would make dogs turn their heads to the noise.

And that’s why I’ll keep wearing a mask, if only to save my hearing. The larger point, however, is why we’re allowing the self-professed Mask Police to dictate how we act, whether it be indirect action like me wearing a mask to avoid confrontation or direct action like punching them in the nose. They are nothing short of bullies, and I’ll bet more than a few of them talk at length about online bullying because, well, zero self-awareness.

But it’s all about personal responsibility, right? To a point, yes, but not to the point the Mask Police take it. With the Internet, we have access to tons of information we might not otherwise have, and a good chunk of that is personal. A post on Facebook here, a mildly controversial statement there, and before you know it, you’re worse than Hitler. And if you think I’m exaggerating to make a point, I only wish I were. There are news reports by the thousands of people being harassed offline for actions and sentiments taken online, and it’s not just the Trump fans, either. We have reached a point where we run right for the nukes when all we need is a fly-swatter all because we think we’re right to do it.

But here’s where I part ways. In some cases, it’s necessary to expose a scumbag so others know about it and can take or demand action be taken to rectify it. But not everyone is a scumbag. Yes, not your BLM-loving sister-in-law or your Trump-loving cousin, and certainly not a complete stranger you ran into at the Shop-N-Save. You have to know your boundaries, and I’m afraid the Karens and Kevins of the world don’t.

That’s where we come in. As much as I don’t like to start conflict, it’s come to the point where I feel I have to step in to deescalate these situations or at least take the heat off the person being targeted. Because even though I wear a mask, it doesn’t mean I’m excused from duty when a situation gets heated. If I want to live my life without harming others, I have to allow others to do the same and stand up when someone is harming someone else.

That includes you, Mask Police. Nobody appointed you to this task, so you have no authority unless I give it to you. I’m masking up so you won’t have to find out what happens when I dig in for a fight, but don’t think I’ll knuckle under if you overstep your authority. Let me put it this way, in the words of a great philosopher.

Don’t start none, won’t be none.