Thank you for this post. I just want to clarify that the founding mission of the Conntrarian, as I understand it, is to provide a forum for respectful debate and discussion, which is why it welcomes all perspectives and encourages thoughtful consideration, especially of opinions with which you disagree. I respect Madeleine for choosing to post here and I’m thrilled you have a platform to rebut her. The founders of this publication and the students who continue its stewardship should be very proud.
Yes, In Gaza, the governing authority which is Hamas is armed, organised, and sovereign in practice. That authority initiated the war, retains the capacity to end it, and explicitly rejects doing so. Israel’s stated aim is not the destruction of Palestinians, while Hamas’s stated aim is the destruction of Jews. Taken together, this structure does not resemble genocide, even while the civilian suffering remains
This seems to me blatantly obvious, and it alone reveals the "genocide" allegation to be basically ludicrous. Not just "stated aims" but consistent with essentially all the actual behaviors of both parties.
It really does. This erasure of agency, lifting responsibility from the actor who initiates and sustains the violence, forces moral language to do analytic work it cannot do, and “genocide” becomes a substitute for explanation rather than a description of reality.
Thank you for this post. I just want to clarify that the founding mission of the Conntrarian, as I understand it, is to provide a forum for respectful debate and discussion, which is why it welcomes all perspectives and encourages thoughtful consideration, especially of opinions with which you disagree. I respect Madeleine for choosing to post here and I’m thrilled you have a platform to rebut her. The founders of this publication and the students who continue its stewardship should be very proud.
Madeleine*
Yes, In Gaza, the governing authority which is Hamas is armed, organised, and sovereign in practice. That authority initiated the war, retains the capacity to end it, and explicitly rejects doing so. Israel’s stated aim is not the destruction of Palestinians, while Hamas’s stated aim is the destruction of Jews. Taken together, this structure does not resemble genocide, even while the civilian suffering remains
This seems to me blatantly obvious, and it alone reveals the "genocide" allegation to be basically ludicrous. Not just "stated aims" but consistent with essentially all the actual behaviors of both parties.
It really does. This erasure of agency, lifting responsibility from the actor who initiates and sustains the violence, forces moral language to do analytic work it cannot do, and “genocide” becomes a substitute for explanation rather than a description of reality.
yes cause your sources are so much better!
(In fact I believe they are outright lies perpetrated by the various sources Madeleine relies on.)
They are also lies that Madeliene believes and repeats.