A big concern of mine is people’s feelings towards the Russo-Ukrainian War coloring their feelings towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Russo-Ukrainian has two clear sides in it, Russo, and Ukrainian. It’s a pretty simple war.
The situation in Gaza has, for starters, four sides in it. The IDF/current Israeli government, HAMAS army, the Palestinian people, and the Israeli people. None of these four sides is really on the same side as any of the other three.
There’s actually dozens more if we really start digging… It’s just … welcome to the Middle East. The Israeli people aren’t a single faction for starters, that’s fucking racist as fuck. They’re a democracy with different parties that have different platforms. We elected Trump, they elected Netanyahu. Shit happens. Palestinian civilians aren’t a monolith either, also racist as fuck. Saudis, Egyptians, Qatari, Turkish, Iranian governments, there’s just so many interests, all out for themselves, mostly all on their own side, nobody else’s. Sunnis, Shias, Christians, Jews, and that’s just major categories. Each has its own sub-factions. Terrorist factions are active in the region. Humanitarian agencies are active in the region. Russia is active in the region. China is active in the region. USA? Of fucking course we’re active in the region, these aircraft carriers aren’t just for show. Who’s side are we on again, I don’t remember. I know who’s sides Biden is on, but what about us? Have we figured it out yet?
Russo-Ukrainian, though? Two. Russia + allies. Ukraine + allies. Or you don’t care, hope you’re enjoying the cheap oil India. Simple. Easy.
Not the grandaddy of all clusterfucks on Earth for the past 50 years though. Worse clusterfuck than the most imaginative horror writer has ever conjured. The most extreme fiction does not get even half this bad. If it did, everyone who read it would fucking hate it and it’d vanish into obscurity.