Bram Dov Abramson on Sat, 20 Apr 2002 20:06:46 +0200 (CEST) |
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<nettime> Re: Weak analysis |
Well, not much point in getting into the points about Canada not being in the U.S. mediascape; about why use of word "anti-semitism" follows historical usage not someone's racial theories defining "Semite" race; about whether or not the Italian journalist was arguing that Israeli government actions are fine if the rest of the world can be shown to really hate them; on unclear use of passive voice re who thinks what about settlers. Nor any point at all into getting into the "strong"/"weak analysis" business (is that what this is about? epic struggles between arguments? or are we trying to figure something out here?) But this part is ascribing to my suggestions a position they weren't adopting: > >Bottom line, I guess, is that any assertion of "the way things really >>are" is likely to be conjectural unless you've actually measured >>something and folks agree on the premises of measurement. Corollary >>being that generalities are probably not useful terms in which to >>talk, unless one is interested in epic struggles between Good and >>Evil or, more prosaically, one is interested in viewing the situation >>as a fight between two opposing sports clubs, in which case it's > >relatively easy to don the right coloured sweater, wave the right >>flag, sing the right songs, line up on the right side of things, etc. >>For what purpose, I'm not sure. > >> >In this battle, the Israelis are not the underdogs; they are the >>>overlords. And though we drown in a sea of moral contradictions, that >>>situation should not be lost sight of. From where I write, it is far >>>easier to lose sight of the crimes of State Terror than the retail >> >crimes of terror. > > >This vague attempt at moral relativism is so absurd it lessens the >credibility of everything you write. Now, speaking of generalities and hyperbole ... but "moral relativism"? I'm suggesting that the attempt to flatten a conflict into a sports match (Palestinians vs Israelis) is quite counterproductive and won't advance a thing, though certainly is the tactic practiced by various. I think it's possible to stand for a Palestinian state and to stand against the Hamas platform in all countries. I think it's possible to oppose the Israeli occupation while recognizing that a viable solution must be figured out which involves dealing with all factions and governments who have deployed forces in the military conflict. Talking in grand terms about the underdogs, the overlords, etc. is exciting, but maybe not a good way to approach resolution. cheers Bram -- # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: majordomo@bbs.thing.net and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@bbs.thing.net