STFU
"You want debate, dialogue, and a frank exchange of views? Nope. Not gonna happen. Not anymore. We're done talking... at least when it comes to You People."
In the wake of October 7th, liberal Jews have been slamming into a brick wall.
Suddenly, they/we/I have awoken to the fact that our progressive allies may not be our allies at all.
For example, here’s what recently happened to me…
For almost 30 years, I’ve known a guy — let’s call him Steve — who is a card-carrying progressive and (I assumed) a friend. Steve is a smart, thoughtful, articulate, and gentle soul who supports all the right causes: Black Lives Matter, climate justice, #MeToo, Free Tibet, LGBTQ rights, and more. You name the social justice struggle, and Steve is right beside you, shoulder to shoulder, ready to fight the good fight.
But then, about a week ago, he posted this popular meme:
Not: “I ain’t reading all that. Ceasefire now.”
Not: “I ain’t reading all that. Stop funding Israel’s war machine.”
Not: “I ain’t reading all that. Two states for two people.”
Not: “I ain’t reading all that. Netanyahu must go!”
All those options leave room for the possibility of a sovereign Jewish state existing somewhere within some borders in the region. They’re not calls for Israel’s elimination. But “I ain’t reading all that. Free Palestine” is profoundly different because it effectively says:
We’re not talking about this anymore. There will be no more discussion or debate. All your big words and long-winded arguments and clever counterpoints are a smokescreen you’re throwing at the world to hide Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, and I refuse to be blinded by your deceit.
The Zionist project is corrupt and evil. It’s a mistake of historic proportions. And it must end. In its place, we must have a free Palestine, from the river to the sea. Free from apartheid. Free from racism. Free from colonial-settler subjugation of the land’s indigenous people.
What happens, then, to Israel’s seven million Jews? I dunno. Maybe they’ll live as a minority in New Palestine. Maybe they’ll convert to Islam. Maybe the Jews will go back where they came from. I don’t care. It’s not my problem. And truth be told, I’m sick of hearing about it. So do us all a favor and shut the f*** up.
Is that too harsh? Am I reading too much into a simple meme? To find out, I sent Steve a direct message, asking him for clarification. What exactly are you trying to say? He politely refused to discuss the subject. Then he unsubscribed from this Substack. I haven’t heard from him since.
Drowning in a tsunami of words
“I ain’t reading all that…” has a certain anti-intellectual vibe that reminds me of book burnings in Germany in the 1930s. (Yeah, I know. Sorry I had to go there.)
What compels a nation to burn its books?
A deep, disturbing weariness with words and ideas and rational discourse.
A frustration with political arguments that seem to go on forever, and ultimately resolve nothing.
A loss of faith in liberal democracy.
A longing to wipe the slate clean and start over.
A desire to think less and feel more.
A hunger for answers, for a (final) solution to our most intractable problems, and for a strong leader who will absolve us of our civic responsibilities by telling us: “Only I can fix it.”
“I ain’t reading all that. Free Palestine” isn’t just a meme. It’s a warning that our deliberative democracy would prefer to deliberate no longer, especially when it’s about The Jewish Question(s).
“I ain’t reading all that, Am Yisrael Chai” is the only response to the meme.
Sorry about your friend. With friends like these…
Steve the putz has a profile picture of Keanu Reeves
Steve was a putz long ago, you tolerated him for reasons
He clarified that he is susceptible to supernatural forces, which I'm concluding are at Force at this time
Going forward in life and business alliances will be chosen carefully, to filter out the friends from the fools from the foes going forward will be challenging.