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[–] 170 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (9 children)

When you choose not to decide you still have made a choice.

-Geddy Lee, Neil Peart, and Alex Lifeson

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  • [–] 5 points 1 month ago

    Yes! It's so clear with issues like this one, too.

    1. There is a genocide
    2. Should you help in any way?

    Those who answer "not sure" are absolutely the same as those who say "no". History doesn't remember future intentions, only actions that take place.

    People who can't even VOICE that genocide is wrong are fucking monsters.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 month ago (4 children)

    It's not a matter of choice, either you have morals or you don't. He doesn't.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 month ago (3 children)

    You have morals or you have money. It's a binary thing really.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 month ago (2 children)

    Does that make Keanu Reeves nonbinary?

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago

    I'd say so, but even he is fallible - i remember him supporting some medical con-man (out of conviction, not out of greed) a few years back? Can't remember details, but he caught online flak for it - deservedly

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  • [–] 90 points 1 month ago (2 children)

    Keep digging that hole, Ed.

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  • [–] 60 points 1 month ago (6 children)

    Is is maintain the status quo which is Israelis exterminating Palestinians

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  • [–] 59 points 1 month ago (5 children)

    Listen, this genocide has a lot of nuances and moving parts and history, which means maybe it's not a situation where you can just stick your neck in and say "Killing children is wrong".

    I mean, consider a corollary - the British extermination of the Irish. Yeah, it looked bad at the time. But a bunch of Irish people survived. And as a consequence, we have to put up with Ed Sheeran.

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  • [–] 16 points 1 month ago (4 children)
  • [–] 30 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 child)

    My perception of this dude went from:

    Okay maybe he likes sticking his head in the sand cause of money.

    To:

    He fully knows what he is doing and is complicit.

    What a royal fuck up.

    Also, my own two cents.

    This never started as complex, and imo it’s not complex now. It is to Israel’s benefit for it to be seen as complex so they can do false equivalency.

    A bully would love for observers to believe that both sides are equally in the wrong.

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  • [–] 30 points 1 month ago

    It's no less complicated than the US using 9/11 as an excuse to intensify it's militaristic nature into a 25 year reign of terror in the middle east.

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  • [–] 27 points 1 month ago

    Sounds pretty simple to me

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  • [–] 52 points 1 month ago*

    "yes, I know that snipers shoot children in the head for fun, but have you considered the complex history of the region?"

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  • [–] 86 points 1 month ago* (11 children)

    Isn't Netanyahu wanted for genocide?

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  • [–] 20 points 1 month ago (4 children)
  • [–] 10 points 1 month ago* (4 children)

    No, he's wanted for accusation of "the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare and of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024."

    https://www.icc-cpi.int/defendant/netanyahu

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  • [–] 3 points 1 month ago (3 children)

    OK so genocide with extra steps?

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago (1 child)
  • [–] 0 points 1 month ago*

    Genocide: The systematic and widespread extermination or attempted extermination of a national, racial, religious, or ethnic group. You said they willfully targeted civilians. That fits the definition of genocide. Targeting the civilian population to kill on a large scale. Thats what they’re doing in Gaza. They even made israeli encampments and new settlements. Wiping them off slowly and replacing them with Israelis: Genocide. I know you’re a zionist. Dont pretend hitler didnt go jew for the fourth reich.

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  • [–] 23 points 1 month ago (2 children)

    The most complex political issue on the planet remains how to handle climate change.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    IMHO that's not really so complicated, we just do the same things we did for lead and CFCs.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago

    Lead and CFCs were much smaller problems by amount used and necessity for use. Convincing rich countries and primary historic polluters to pay not only for their own decarbonization and sequestration, but also for that of poor countries is a hard sell, especially since many are democracies and agreeing to that would be political suicide. Add in petrostates like Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the US.

    And that's before we get into the mass migration as more parts of the world become uninhabitable due to temperature and/or lack of water.

    Phasing out CFCs was a hit to efficiency and a research problem, but it cost no jobs. Phasing out lead was also a research problem and it had some controversy. Phasing out fossil fuels is a major shift in the global economy

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  • [–] 41 points 1 month ago* (7 children)

    It's not that complicated Ed. I got a pretty clear picture from an hour of research. Maybe if you get out of your algorithm for 20 minutes you might find something more tangible on the situation than a few chapters from a dusty religious text and the word of a bunch of rich assholes with vested interests in the region.

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  • [–] 29 points 1 month ago (6 children)

    A couple years ago it was complex. The complexity just stopped mattering once Israel turned the conflict into a war of annihilation.

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  • [–] 29 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

    It was always this simple at its core. What made it complex was that most people believed Israeli lies.

    Right now, Israel is doing exactly what they've done since the very first day. They're just doing it faster now, and in the age of ubiquitous video coverage and information flow.

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  • [–] 12 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    "Complex" doesn't mean "balanced". Israel has always pulled underhanded shit like extending its de facto borders by means of "settlements". The Hamas/PLO fight also didn't happen without its involvement. But there have also been factors like the involvement of foreign powers, German guilt, the similarity between Zionism and early Nazi deportation plans, and so on.

    The conflict between Israel and Palestine has been a mess from the very beginning and it's understandable that people were reluctant to get involved. Of course these days most of that complexity doesn't matter and not taking a stand is a luxury we shouldn't be able to afford.

    (I'm saying "shouldn't be able to" because honestly we routinely ignore genocides; this one just happens to be particularly hard to ignore because Israel is a spotlight hog with huge diplomatic influence.)

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  • [–] 0 points 1 month ago

    "Complex" means "balanced" when people like Sheeran use it to mean there are "bad people on both sides" to justify not taking a stand. Which is the explicit usage we were talking about.

    But yeah, other ways you can use the world "complex", do not imply "balanced". If that's how you were using it, in this instance where it was being used differently, you should have stated such.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 month ago

    Nah, it was always simple. Don't murder civilians. Even the Oct 7th stuff is kinda misleading. Israel has been fucking with Palestinians for so long it's not surprising there are people who want them dead. But, everyone is a terrorist in the eyes of a state when it's convenient for them. And for the record, this isn't a defense of Hamas.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

    Yep. Before, there was still some ambiguity (especially if you grew up in a german speaking country like me, who have their own wounds regarding Israel) - Hamas and Israel both weren't "the good guys", because after decades there was no one left with a clean rep sheet, but they were both not actively working on completely annihilating each other. But what Israel started after Oct 7 has reset all of this. And as long as Israel doesn't get the fuck out of Gaza, the West Bank and the areas they are trying to make unlivable for civilians since the start of the Iran fuckup and starts making amends, i will never cry a single tear for any civilians in Israel getting hurt, because just like the americans, they did not do enough to prevent fascists taking over their country.

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  • [–] 17 points 1 month ago*

    You see, mass murder for imperialistic interests is a very nuanced issue and requires multiple viewpoints. There’s definitely pros and cons to it, depending on which team you’re on.

    STFU and go back to making boring, gutless adult contemporary music for soccer moms.

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  • [–] 54 points 1 month ago

    Israel existing, and being protected from neighbors is, to my mind, a "complex political issue."

    Israel performing genocide on Palestinians and annexing their homes is not.

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  • [–] 14 points 1 month ago

    By conceding that the reaction to October 7 was “disproportionate”, he seemed genuinely upset. Only he didn’t say how many dead kids he would consider proportionate.

    I viscerally hated that word when he said it but didn't know why until I read this article

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  • [–] 12 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    Yah it's not complex at all it's fairly straight forward genocide.

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  • [–] 12 points 1 month ago

    Hey Ed, why don't you just go down and talk to a couple of Palestinians to get make it less complex?

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  • [–] 12 points 1 month ago*

    Person A: You don't love me anymore?

    Person B: It is complicated.

    Person A: really!?

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  • [–] 12 points 1 month ago

    Talk about the Streisand effect

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  • [–] 23 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    What is so complex about one side genociding the other?

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  • [–] 23 points 1 month ago

    Yes, any Middle East issue is complex and unrest has been ongoing for centuries, but at least mass displacement, killing children and other innocent people, destruction and blockading of humanitarian resources, and incursion into sovreign territory should be condemned, don't you think, Ed? And the words "Free Palestine" are not anti-Israel, no one seemed to have a big problem with any of Macklemore's words, until some billionaire ten days later phoned him up about it.

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  • [–] 11 points 1 month ago*

    I always try to give people the benefit of doubt. But now he's said too much for that to apply.

    The entirety of Palestine, Gaza, and Israel is complex. Though, it has to be said, part of that is because Israel has done everything in their power to keep it "complex". When serious progress was being made in the early years of their nation. Their response was to assassinate the mediator. Yes. Really. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folke_Bernadotte (Oh I mean... It was totally these extremists, a rebel group, and in no way was Israel involved, they investigated themselves and found no wrongdoing!)

    The Israeli genocide in Gaza however. Is not very complex. It's quite simple. It's a genocide. And they need to be held accountable. Though I wouldn't hold my breath.

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  • [–] 9 points 1 month ago

    he said it was complex

    HAH

    funny

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  • [–] 8 points 1 month ago

    Also : He tried playing the victim for a bit.

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