This is a rather lengthy conversation between Jessica Tonge (clueless Brit leftie who keeps saying she can "understand" why the Palestinians become suicide bombers), and an Israeli pediatrician, who takes her apart:
bbc.co.uk
Of course, Ms. Tonge is too secure in her world view to register that she has been taken apart. She keeps saying, "when I said I understand why somebody becomes a suicide bomber and I might consider it in their position, it wasn't for myself, Jessica Tonge, in my own skin, but for them, in their position" - the Palestinians. So why does she understand it for them, if not for herself? Doesn't she think they are human too? Don't the same rules apply? Her underlying assumption is that their reactions (which the Israeli explains have been carefully inculcated) are immutable, as if they were members of a different species.
When the Israeli tells her "Look, my father was a Holocaust survivor. Not a single member of his family survived. They were all gassed. Yet he did not raise me to suicide myself [sic] in a Frankfurt supermarket", it just doesn't register with Ms. Tonge. You really get the feeling that the unspoken response is, 'of course, that holds true for you and me, western people. But the Palestinians, they're not like us, we have to "understand" their reactions. We are not allowed to disapprove, just because they have chosen to spend all their energy on hate instead of anything positive. We can't hold them responsible for anything. They're completely helpless'
Pure compassionate racism. |
