As a father of a soon-to-be-4-year-old, that picture tears me up inside. I can’t fathom losing my son, especially not in this way. That goes for both sides of this fucking terrible thing.
Remove all context from that photo. That’s what I see. Whether staged or not, children on both sides are experiencing these things. Once you become a parent, providing you wanted to be one intentionally, you see all children, not just your own, as innocence and any perception of grief for the loss of that child as personally identifiable and deeply felt. We, as a species and society, have lost our humanity if we look at a picture like that, no matter the context, and don’t immediately feel sadness for the known innocence lost.
That’s where we differ. It’s our cold indifference, or our insufferable need to justify or define our world, that drives us to conclude that, “sure, the picture is sad, but what if this photo is staged to garner sympathy for terrorists.” To me, I don’t have to believe anything about the context to know how distraught I’d be as a parent in that situation. I don’t need to know if it is or isn’t doctored to gain support, be it for the state of Israel or Hamas.
I see a man, could be a father, could be a stock photo (it matters not), holding a child (or large sweet potato for all I know) wrapped in cloth, and I’m moved to tears because I can put myself in that place, in that moment, in that grief. I can acknowledge that the photo I’m seeing may not be legitimate, but that doesn’t make it less likely to represent real fathers mourning the loss of their child and how I would feel in that moment; how absolutely devastated I would be; how I wish for all of it to end.
That’s empathy, my friend. It doesn’t see sides. It doesn’t push agendas. I can feel that empathy strongly, mourn with that man intensely, and grieve with the very real fathers who have had to bury their innocence, whether this photo is real or not.
I want you to know, I did not down-vote your comment(s). I understand that this whole conflict, situation, and world sucks. All I can do is hope for a peaceful resolution while I hold my child for all the fathers who no longer can.
Would you really like to exchange videos like that? I can drop you stuff with Palestinians being happy firing rockets, staging scenes for false victim reports etc.
In the end, it’s all about doing what’s better for your people or not, being terrorists or not. Hamas are very much below what anyone would call “adequate”. Israel is nothing like that.
Would you really like to exchange videos like that?
Do you have any videos showing a massively-funded, western-backed military machine bombing Israeli hospitals and refugee camps filled with Israeli people?
This attack by Hamas has done a lot to widen the cracks appearing in the west’s pro-Israel propaganda effort - the fact that you are here trying (and failing) to patch the gigantic holes in that sinking propganda ship is proof.
These are victims of hamas and its actions in the first place. Israel’s attacks are not unprovoked. Even though it sucks to know people are dying, context is important to understand better why it happened and how similar stuff could be solved.
Yeah the context is Israel as an apartheid state. Forgot that part I guess…
What’s really funny is the rethoric of Israel as the soirce of security for all Jews - only has been for decadea the biggest reason why Jews are attacked all around world.
The irony.
Fuck it. Assume I agree Israel are bloody monsters who want to enslave everyone around. This doesn’t change my message to hamas: “stop building rockets, you idiots, whenever you use them you only get more Palestinians killed”.
As a father of a soon-to-be-4-year-old, that picture tears me up inside. I can’t fathom losing my son, especially not in this way. That goes for both sides of this fucking terrible thing.
Children. Are. Not. Acceptable. Collateral. Damage.
This is the exact intention of this picture though. Hamas is notorious for staging photos and videos like this. You shouldn’t trust terrorists.
Remove all context from that photo. That’s what I see. Whether staged or not, children on both sides are experiencing these things. Once you become a parent, providing you wanted to be one intentionally, you see all children, not just your own, as innocence and any perception of grief for the loss of that child as personally identifiable and deeply felt. We, as a species and society, have lost our humanity if we look at a picture like that, no matter the context, and don’t immediately feel sadness for the known innocence lost.
I say this unironically, but I pity you.
No need to lose humanity. But its better to not allow terrorist play with or use it to their advantage.
@rdri @mjhelto right
That’s where we differ. It’s our cold indifference, or our insufferable need to justify or define our world, that drives us to conclude that, “sure, the picture is sad, but what if this photo is staged to garner sympathy for terrorists.” To me, I don’t have to believe anything about the context to know how distraught I’d be as a parent in that situation. I don’t need to know if it is or isn’t doctored to gain support, be it for the state of Israel or Hamas.
I see a man, could be a father, could be a stock photo (it matters not), holding a child (or large sweet potato for all I know) wrapped in cloth, and I’m moved to tears because I can put myself in that place, in that moment, in that grief. I can acknowledge that the photo I’m seeing may not be legitimate, but that doesn’t make it less likely to represent real fathers mourning the loss of their child and how I would feel in that moment; how absolutely devastated I would be; how I wish for all of it to end.
That’s empathy, my friend. It doesn’t see sides. It doesn’t push agendas. I can feel that empathy strongly, mourn with that man intensely, and grieve with the very real fathers who have had to bury their innocence, whether this photo is real or not.
I want you to know, I did not down-vote your comment(s). I understand that this whole conflict, situation, and world sucks. All I can do is hope for a peaceful resolution while I hold my child for all the fathers who no longer can.
Maybe you mean it for yourself, but it doesn’t apply to everyone, see various protests after hamas dropped information about hospital bombing.
Yeah… let’s trust these people instead.
Would you really like to exchange videos like that? I can drop you stuff with Palestinians being happy firing rockets, staging scenes for false victim reports etc.
In the end, it’s all about doing what’s better for your people or not, being terrorists or not. Hamas are very much below what anyone would call “adequate”. Israel is nothing like that.
Do you have any videos showing a massively-funded, western-backed military machine bombing Israeli hospitals and refugee camps filled with Israeli people?
Sure… go ahead!
And do you have videos showing how firing rockets at Israel actually helped Palestinians achieve anything good?
This attack by Hamas has done a lot to widen the cracks appearing in the west’s pro-Israel propaganda effort - the fact that you are here trying (and failing) to patch the gigantic holes in that sinking propganda ship is proof.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
these
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
Like if there’s any doubt that children are among the victims of Israel im this very momemt. Some people have no shame.
These are victims of hamas and its actions in the first place. Israel’s attacks are not unprovoked. Even though it sucks to know people are dying, context is important to understand better why it happened and how similar stuff could be solved.
Yeah the context is Israel as an apartheid state. Forgot that part I guess… What’s really funny is the rethoric of Israel as the soirce of security for all Jews - only has been for decadea the biggest reason why Jews are attacked all around world.
The irony.
So it’s apartheid state vs terrorist state?
Fuck it. Assume I agree Israel are bloody monsters who want to enslave everyone around. This doesn’t change my message to hamas: “stop building rockets, you idiots, whenever you use them you only get more Palestinians killed”.
I’m afraid you are greatly underestimating that assumption my dear.