I didn’t want to divert the Israel-Hamas War thread with these philosophical musings and thoughts.
There has been a lot of discussion about Hamas apologists, on campus, and other places. There are rebuttals that mention IDF strikes on population centers. I’d like to make a few observations and see where it leads.
Hamas killed children, toddlers, infants, unarmed civilians. They shot them, stabbed them, burnt them. It is difficult to put yourself in their shoes and imagine doing that, while in a right mind. How can anyone defend that?
Russia has killed civilians in Ukraine and raped women, as a matter of policy. The war gets support in Russia. I bet a lot of us know or have known Russians, and struggle to reconcile that.
Dropping bombs on military targets that kill nearby civilians. Our armed forces do it, as do opposing armed forces. How do we feel about that?
1 Samuel 15: the prophet Samuel tells Saul that it is God’s will that the Israelites kill every Amalekite, every man, woman and child. This was over 1000 BCE- each of those killings required an Israelite to put a brass blade into every Amalekite’s body. (Saul disobeyed God and merely killed the men, and sold the others into slavery. Not wanting to go into a theological discussion, but my personal belief is that Samuel’s instruction was more Samuel’s will than God’s will).
The Texan-Comanche war. When you read that Rangers wiped out an Indian village, it means that Rangers killed women and children. You can argue that the Comanches were worse, or not (they were more likely to not kill the children that they could absorb into the tribe, and would enslave the adult women, working them until they died. The babies and infants were thrown aside and the men were tortured to death).
I’ve skipped a whole lot of similar history, but my central point is- people are awful. These atrocities that seem senseless and unexplainable are actually things that we (or our people) are a lot closer to doing than anyone would like to admit.
How can anyone defend them? I think we have a tendency to always empathize with “our side”, whether it’s our nation, our religion, our culture, our party/school. My Lai really happened, it would have been worse if Hugh Thompson didn’t stop it (may have even been suppressed) and let me tell you-Lt. Calley absolutely had defenders in the early’70s (not really anymore and I think most people will nod their heads in approval that day they read that he died).
There always will be people willing to be apologists for horrible actions, arguing that they were necessary actions in a larger just cause.
What can be done? I am coming around to thinking ideas are more effective at resolving serious conflicts than actions, once you rule out the possibility of genocide, which I hope you do). Our nation has been blessed that our most oppressed people had leaders like Frederick Douglass (if you have not read any of his July 4 speeches, you should google them. Know how some of Lincoln’s remarks don’t hold up and sound cringey? Douglass’ really holds up well, even to modern ears) and MLK. They argued ideas and challenged the nation to live up to its avowed principles. The nation didn’t deserve them; we deserved a Haiti-style uprising.
I don’t know how (or if) the Israeli-Palestinian issue will be resolved, but I think it will be a positive sign if we see leaders arguing ideas and challenging their own people to be and do better.