By Manila Ryce
Published Thursday, January 8th, 2009, 1:04 am
Filed under: Genocide, Human Rights, Videos: Political, World: Asia, War, Terrorism, Videos, Society/Culture, World Issues, US Politics

7 Responses to “Kucinich on Gaza and Israel - “Massacres are Being Rationalized””

1. 

   I disagree in the strongest possible terms with your refusal to criticize Hamas’s mortaring of civilian areas. Yes, Israel is by far the greater criminal, but that should not shield Hamas from criticism. You yourself know that the lesser of two evils is still evil, for you used this sort of rhetoric when you campaigned for Nader. Honest criticism based on principles of truth and justice shouldn’t be pigeon-holed into “pro-this” or “anti-that” labels.

   Bernie
   01/8/09 at 1:41 am
   

2. @Bernie

   I have criticized organizations and political leaders I support when I’ve disagreed with them. I fully support Hamas’ resistance against an illegal aggressor, which I am indirectly aiding as an American citizen, and see no need to apologize for that. Is terrorizing civilians wrong? Yes, but how much of that rocket fire is truly from Hamas, how much is from non-affiliated Palestinians, and how much is false flag propaganda? To condemn someone you should actually be sure that they’re guilty of what you’re condemning them for. Of course, I’m sure Hamas is worthy of criticism for a fair percentage of rocket attacks, and while I’m not ready to accept everything the Israeli government reports about these attacks as fuel for my condemnation, I’ve never stated that terrorism against civilians was a justifiable form of the armed resistance I do support. Quite the opposite. I just don’t feel the urge to preface every article about Gaza with a statement distancing myself from Hamas. The paraphrased Chomsky quote I placed in this article does imply that Hamas has done wrong. My argument is that we need not shake our finger at the victim every time before we turn our attention towards the criminal.

   Additionally, your comparison about the less of two evils is flawed. I actually find fault with the over-simplicity of that phrase since it could be argued that everyone is a lesser evil if nobody is perfect. The spirit of my argument against Obama wasn’t simply that he’s evil, but that he represents the same interests and establishments as McCain. He was essentially the same capitalist, imperialist, zionist candidate. You can not say the same of Hamas and Israel. They do not stand for the same thing. One represents resistance while the other represents Western military domination in the Middle East.

   Manila Ryce
   01/8/09 at 3:40 am
   
3. 

   I’m not requiring you to make such a preface all the time. But Dennis Kucinich gave the speech, not you. You made a criticism of his choice to briefly condemn Hamas. But if nothing he said was inaccurate or irrelevant, then why even have such a contention in the first place?

   Bernie
   01/8/09 at 4:08 am
   
4. 

   Oh, and you don’t need to lecture me on the dynamics of the issue, I am quite aware of them (but I don’t appreciate being assumed for an ignoramus).

   Bernie
   01/8/09 at 4:11 am
   
5. 

   Seriously Bernie, I don’t know what crawled up your butt, but you’re being overly-sensitive. I provide context because there’s more than just you and I reading this blog (hopefully), not because I assume you’re an ignoramus. I could very well assume you assumed the same about me given your first comment. Nonetheless, most Americans are ignorant about this issue and much of my traffic comes from new visitors. Calm down.

   As for Kucinich, I will briefly explain my contention. Dennis, while his heart and mind are in the right place, is entirely ineffective as a congressman because he must bow and retreat at the request of the Democratic leadership. I know you know that. I’m giving context. My contention was not simply born out of this video, but with my experience working for him. There is ALWAYS a preface, a pleasantry, a hesitance, lest he piss off his superiors by going too far. His “brief choice to condemn Hamas” was hardly his choice at all. It is the rule, and not something he could have done without. In my opinion, even though Nader and Kucinich had nearly the same platform, Ralph was far more radical. There was nothing we couldn’t say or do. We were encouraged to push the envelope. With Kucinich, we were always aware of the ceiling. That is my contention.

   Manila Ryce
   01/8/09 at 5:01 am
   
6. 

   “Is terrorizing civilians wrong? Yes, but how much of that rocket fire is truly from Hamas, how much is from non-affiliated Palestinians, and how much is false flag propaganda?”

   Probe the inevitable questions MR, and please write on. Your query has been swirling about my mind for ages. For those visitors possibly less aware of collusion between the US and ‘them’ …

   Missing Links Worthy of a download and to pay it forward.

   vidaloon
   01/8/09 at 10:40 am
   
7. 

   By this then, your contention is not at all with his words, but rather with the context and systemic restrictions around them. Of course I, too, share the same contention, but you’ll have to forgive me for being sensitive to what often appear to be apologetics for terrorist actions. It arises from some discomfort caused by marching alongside Hamas flags.

   Bernie
   01/9/09 at 4:43 am
   

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