People keep asking me (online, for the most part) why I’m on this side or that. I tell them I’m not, and do my best to explain, and they remain confused. It goes like this:
“Why are you defending Israel? They’re committing genocide!”
“I’m not talking about genocide. I’m talking about [insert abstract topic].”
“That doesn’t matter! Israel is evil!”
…and I always figure that’s the end of the conversation, because they’ve just told me what I’m saying doesn’t matter to them. That’s fine; I’m honestly not here because of Israel, or Ukraine, or Trump, or Biden, or whatever unpopular cause happens to benefit from what I’m saying at the moment. I’ll admit, however, that I find it a bit irksome that so many people keep mis-assigning me to this team or that.
“You seem like a really nice guy. I just can’t understand why you’re defending Trump.”
“I’m not.”
“But you are! Trump did thus-and-such, and you wrote he didn’t, and it’s obvious he did! So why are you defending him?”
“I’m not. But he didn’t actually do that. He’s done some bad things, but not that specific bad thing.”
Sometimes, on rare occasions, that last statement penetrates, and I can almost hear the gears turning. But then they inevitably ask,
“I still don’t understand, though. So what if he didn’t do it? What would make you want to defend him?”
“I don’t defend Trump. I defend the truth when everyone else seems to be shouting a lie. On rare occasions, that actually benefits Trump, but that doesn’t matter to me.”
“Well, why doesn’t it? Trump is a transcendental threat to democracy. We have to…”
After that, I confess, I often stop listening. It’s evident nothing I’m saying is going to get through, and nothing they’re saying is of any real interest to me. The truth of the matter is that Trump is quite evidently not a transcendental threat to democracy. We survived one term; if needs must, we’ll survive another. You’re welcome to disagree, of course; that’s on you.
But even if he were, that wouldn’t be enough to make me say the whites of my eyes are black. Truth is truth. It doesn’t care about the context; it doesn’t change based on position. It merely is, and I try to place myself on its side.
“But only last week you were telling us about how NATO provoked Russia with their attempt at a treaty with Ukraine! I thought you were on Ukraine’s side!”
Whether I support Ukraine or not has nothing whatsoever to do with the issue. NATO did in fact offer provocations to Russia. Should Russia have conquered Crimea in response? Absolutely not — but I’ll get to that in another article. The important thing for me to get across here and now is simply this: Whatever the truth happens to be, that’s where I want to stand. When my understanding changes, my stance adapts.
That’s not disloyalty. I have no loyalty to Ukraine, to either Trump or Biden, to Israel or Palestine or anyone involved. I stand with the truth whenever I can. Simple.
And the truth is, whatever you think you know about any complex issue is probably wrong.
That’s fine. Nobody expects you to get everything right, and really there’s no need. You’ve got a job, a family, Real Life to deal with. Why would you need to be perfectly clear on the precise manner in which Biden’s policies are undercutting those of the Fed and driving up inflation? Why would it matter to you that the only reason unemployment numbers are so low is that the government thinks driving for Uber, Lyft, InstaCart, and DoorDash all at the same time is the same as holding four jobs? It’s enough that you’re aware times are tough, people can’t afford houses, and groceries are cheaper at Aldi’s.
Now me, you can expect to take the time to learn some of this detail stuff. That’s because I have the time. I’m a writer; what I do with my day is, I read, and then I write. So if you ever want to know why healthcare is cheaper under Republicans but the government pays for more under Democrats, just ask, and maybe I’ll write an article on the subject. (Ask and donate and your odds improve.)
Not that I’m perfect, or always correct. Sometimes I make mistakes. That’s normal; who doesn’t? But, unlike you, I at least have the time needed to find out all the details without having to trust RT, Al Jazeera, the BBC, or Fox News to rewrite the story first.
…So, about that:
Question: Why is Israel conducting airstrikes against civilian homes in Lebanon?
Honestly, that’s the wrong question, but it’s small wonder someone would ask, because that’s what the news is reporting. Actually, today it’s about Israel bombing a school in Gaza (but not bothering to mention that the upper floor was a rocket factory), but you get the idea. Still, here’s the closest I can come to an answer for both your question and why it’s the wrong one.
Let’s look at coverage of the attacks in early February, focusing solely on the Blue Line in Lebanon.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/14/whats-behind-israels-escalation-on-south-lebanon
Read through that article and you’ll notice it doesn’t mention that Hezbollah had been continuously firing rockets, artillery, mortar shells, and anti-tank weapons into Israel during the period in question. Nothing on the subject, this despite Nasrallah’s statement on the 13th that confirms it.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/02/14/israel-lebanon-strikes-hezbollah/
This one from the Post says that civilian deaths are rare and that rockets fly across the border, but never out-and-out states that Hezbollah is attacking Israel.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68292471
Here, the BBC tells us that Hezbollah fires rockets at Israeli civilian targets almost every day from southern Lebanon, and that Israel returns fire every time. It describes the civilian devastation on both sides of the border.
Four months later, we have Haaretz explaining that Israel might very well invade Lebanon in order to stop the incessant attacks from Hezbollah. Some day soon, you’ll be shocked to discover on the front page that the war has expanded, whereas in reality what this means is that the war is in its final phase and that local civilians will soon not need to worry about having mortar rounds land on them.
[brief pause while the information digests]
“Why are you defending Israel?”
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NOTE: The main image at the top of this article is not in Israel or Ukraine. It’s a fire in Minneapolis that was started during the George Floyd protests, likely by domestic Accelerationist terrorists. If you don’t know what an Accelerationist is or that American terror cells are actually burning things down and/or blowing them up, there’s a reason you don’t know.
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