How does morality work?

It’s time again. Victor Davis Hanson wrote another column. To be fair, he writes columns faster than I can compose my criticism of them, but I never said he was lazy. His most recent column “Moral Equivalence in the Middle East” Moral Equivalence in the Middle East should start ringing warning bells at the first word. If VDH has shown any understanding of morals more sophisticated than “winners write the histories” I haven’t seen it. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that’s his only understanding of morals, and he thinks it’s a statement of how reality is defined rather than a sad commentary on the veracity of the histories we read and a reminder that the so called ‘bad guys’ of history rarely get a chance to put their version of events in front of the serious student of history. So anyways, VDH is very concerned that when Palestinians assault Jews in Israel, and are machine gunned down in response, that it makes Israeli security and police look like bloodthirsty butchers in the eyes of the newsreading public. Here is a representative paragraph from the column, it will provide us more than enough to go on.

In short, the present U.S. government — which is subsidizing the Palestinians to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars a year [1]— is incapable of distinguishing those who employ terrorist violence from the victims against whom the terrorism is directed. [2] But why is the Obama administration — which can apparently distinguish those who send out drones from those who are blown up by them on the suspicion of employing terrorist violence — morally incapable of calling out Palestinian violence?[3] After all, in the American case, we blow away suspects whom we think are likely terrorists; in the Israeli instance, they shoot or arrest those who have clearly just committed a terrorist act.[4]

So [1] since when does the US government send a dime to Palestine? OK, fine 20 seconds with google tells me that in recent years we send about $400 million in foreign aid annually to Palestine. But to be fair, we have to look at the other side too, because right now we are in the middle of a ten year aid package to Israel with a total value of $30 billion, much of which is allowed or even encouraged to be spent on weapons.

[2] Now we go to his claim that the US can’t tell the difference between terrorism and victims of terrorism. Has he seen what Gaza looks like these days? Do a Google image search for Gaza. you’ll see piles of rubble, you’ll see explosions, you’ll see corpses, and you see victims. How are they terrorists and the Israelis that are determined to level the place terrorists? Is he letting the victors write the histories again? does he think that the Israelis can magically turn the corpses of families into dead terrorists with a single disingenuous press release? Dead civilians are dead civilians and no amount of Palestinians attacking Israelis with knives is going to turn them into the Wehrmacht part II. But what about the rocket attacks? don’t those count as terrorism? Well they sure are scary. But when hastily erected launchers manage to do more than wreck someone’s garage give me a call. The Gaza strip is tiny. If Israel spent a tiny fraction of the money they spend on “Iron Dome” and air raids on a few hundred guys with binoculars and maybe night vision goggles, they could stop each and every rocket attack in the setup phase.

[3] He’s got the Obama administration dead to rights here. Drones are even less discriminate that some goon with a machine gun. Killing the occasional wedding party or family gathering is too high a price to pay for maybe killing a some guy unreliable allies tell us is a terrorist once in a while. Even VDH isn’t wrong all the time.

[4] Way to hand wave away the difference between assault and attempted murder and terrorism. Or better yet, show that there isn’t a difference. The press are highlighting a pointless murder circle jerk where radical Palestinians react to violent oppression with violence and inspire even more violent reaction from their oppressors. This is the kind of violence that would have made Al Pacino’s Scarface call for a time out followed by a nap and some level headed discussion.

VDH is trying to explain that genocide is a perfectly acceptable response to terrorism. VDH is not using any kind of moral code that I would recognize as such. According to him, the only answer to violence is more violence. And to him I say “Way to go, jackass.” Now it’s Palestine Delenda Est. What’s next, Lebanon, North Korea, Russia? Way to excuse conquest and oppression, and way to call for the peace of “no one left alive.” That isn’t peace, that’s a call for the war to end all wars, and human life on earth.

 

Comments: 13

 
 
 

Between this and Bibi’s declarations today, it’s a good week for people who want to reenact the Shoah with Palestinians instead of Jews.

since when does the US government send a dime to Palestine? OK, fine 20 seconds with google tells me that in recent years we send about $400 million in foreign aid annually to Palestine. But to be fair, we have to look at the other side too, because right now we are in the middle of a ten year aid package to Israel with a total value of $30 billion, much of which is allowed or even encouraged to be spent on weapons.

Actually, my question there is

1) How much of that foreign aid is actually foreign aid, as opposed to military aid or straight up payoffs to Fatah members to continue doing the local Vichy thing?

2) How much of that foreign aid actually flows to Palestinians of any kind? As opposed to being sent through Israel, allowing Israel to then decide which of it can actually be let through and which is a “threat” to their “security?”

I mean, we blew a lot of money on “reconstruction” in Iraq, but actual Iraqis didn’t necessarily see a hell of a lot of it.

 
 

I’m sure that VDH would go to the “terrorists/Palestinians/Arabs/Muslims/any-person-who-scares-me only understand force/violence/total-annihilation” argument, perhaps to be called the Shamir/Netanyahu Gambit.
My rebut is always to point out that after over 60 years, there is no evidence that the “terrorists, etc.” understand force. It’s not like they haven’t been well-schooled in those arts.

 
 

For most of the 20th century, most of the conservative business class were Republicans (think Calvin Coolidge and Robert Taft),

 
 

Sometimes that gaffe is a slip of the tongue that briefly pulls aside the mask affixed in place by handlers and political consultants to reveal a candidate’s true feelings about an issue or group of people – think Mitt Romney in 2012 telling Soledad O’Brien he was “not concerned about the very poor,”

 
 

“What’s next, Lebanon, North Korea, Russia?”

Best not give them any ideas.

 
 

well, hello! best wishes for continuing healing for mrs. kong…that had to be a frightening ordeal. also, rumor has it that a certain saucy s. a. has strawberries. me wishes i had superfluous funds for an adventure, but I will instead wish for her much enjoyment of one of her favorite treats

 
 

Sad news, folks. We’re out of the World Cup.
Semi-final : NZ 20 – SA 18. So, bloody NZ goes to the final against either Australia or Argentina (probably Aus).
As a proud SAfrican, I am naturally devastated but there is some ice cream in the freezer, so all is not quite lost. And I have tuna pasta for supper, so I’m recovering remarkably quickly.

 
 

It’s still all south o’ the equator nations, if you want to grasp at straws.

 
 

Yeah, M, the Deep South rules !
Them Northerners with their blasted snow and such (it poured in England for the whole game – so not our thing) can’t play a Real Man’s Game (TM).

 
 

If VDH has shown any understanding of morals more sophisticated than “winners write the histories” I haven’t seen it.

His understanding of morals is “It’s a DAMN GOOD THING winners write the histories.” Which is less sophisticated.

 
 

“VDH is trying to explain that genocide is a perfectly acceptable response to terrorism.”

YES. And he’s not alone. For a people that suffered a genocide, the Israelis do not seem to recognize the symptoms when they are the ones on the death’s head side of the machine gun.

What is everyone so afraid of? Why not allow the Palestinians full representation within the government, like we have here with our two parties?

Hmm…”I want my country back” / “No two-state solution”

Ah. I think I see their issue. Yeah, they’re never going to allow the Palestinians full citizenship. They have the Political Prion disease.

 
 

Gaza was hailed as the great land for peace deal. Instead, a jihadist militant party committed in word and deed to war on Israeli was elected. It is a tragedy. A tragedy that shows that Palestine good/Israel bad dichotomy just does not lead to a solution. It is not a trivial problem with angels happy to live in peace beset by those evil Jewish people.

If the Palestinians laid down their arms there would be peace.

If the Israelis laid down their arms there would be slaughter.

There is no easy solution. Dehumanizing one side is not a terrible help. And that you have written so much of this and did not know of American commitments to Palestine is woeful ignorance, suggesting ideological blinders.

 
 

a charismatic politician who people can’t wait to vote for—think Obama in 2008—

 
 

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