And why is it that we appear to hold the Israelis to a higher standard than we do the Arabs? Is it something inherently racist on our part? Do we say to ourselves, in some secret compartment of our mind, that, well, after all Israel is a child of the Renaissance and the Reformation and the Enlightenment and is therefore civilized, but the Arabs are just a bunch of bloody wogs at heart and we cannot expect any better of them?
I think this condition is quite prevalent among advocates (especially 'white' advocates) of group victimhood. And I think that many of them know it, and that is why they go to such lengths to over-compensate for it and atone for their feelings of guilt (they transfer the guilt to those who do not agree with their angst). So, to these folks who secretly believe themselves to be racially or culturally superior, members of a 'victim' group are never to be held responsible for their own actions. The 'victim' group's circumstances are always the fault of the power structure (as long as it is 'white' or has embraced the "white social construct"). The bad things members of a 'victim' group may do is beyond their control because they are simply reacting to a life of oppression and "acting out" that anger. They are not capable of truely functioning like a fully realized human because they have been denied the opportunity by the prevalent power structure to explore higher avenues. etc.
Pace, I am not absolving Israel, nor am I declaring the Arabs anathema; I believe there is enough injustice to go around. Nor do I excuse our own meddling and opportunism.
True dat -- if it is a balanced approach to the issue that you are looking for.
Yours,
Issodhos
