The Dog Trainer & The Art of Projection
Zak George wants to talk about Palestine, but not about himself.
Two weeks ago, dog trainer Zak George (YouTube: 3.4 million followers; Instagram: 412,000; TikTok: 397,000) decided to share his thoughts about Palestine. That video included this:
I want to acknowledge something directly. October 7, 2023: Hamas carried out a brutal attack, and I don’t condone it. But as someone who studies behavior science, I want to put this in terms of predictability, not justification. If you subject a population to systemic displacement, violence, and humiliation for decades, behavior science tells us that explosive retaliation becomes inevitable. In other words, what makes behavior science a science is its predictive ability. That doesn’t make it right, but that does make it understandable…
Evidently, “understandable” was too soft or vague, so earlier today, Zak posted another video to identify the real villain:
Zak’s key point:
… What I should have said is this. On October 7th, a colonized people [the Palestinians] rebelled against an occupying force [the Israelis] that has been unimaginably abusing and oppressing these people for decades. And to be very clear, I do not condemn that action. I absolutely affirm and do condone a people’s right to fight for their own independence.
I don’t want to debate the substance of Zak’s argument (which is historically bonkers). Instead, I want to focus on the fact that Zak insists that Zionism is a “settler colonial project,” which he defines like this:
What do I mean when I say settler colonial? I mean a system that moves a new population into somebody else's homeland, seizes land and resources among the people who are already there and replaces their political power, their language and their culture with institutions that privilege the newcomers. The United States is an example of a settler colonial nation as well. In plain terms, basically that means land theft, uh removal of the people and rule by the newcomers. That rule we’re talking of is enforced by courts, checkpoints, and guns.
Yes, the United States is a settler colonial nation.
But Zak isn’t interested in tugging on that thread. If he did, the world beneath his feet would completely unravel — and so would his very profitable YouTube channel. So he nods ever so briefly to America’s original and ongoing sin1, then quickly shifts gears to condemn the nation of Israel.
Zak lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Q: Who were the indigenous people in Louisiana in 1700?
A: The Caddo, Tunica, Natchez, Atakapa, Muskhogee, and Chitimacha (among others).
Q: Are there any indigenous people living in Louisiana today?
A: Yes, there are 37,468 Native Americans who live in Louisiana (in 2023). More than 8.8 million people in the United States identify as American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) alone or in combination with another race in 2023.
Q: What are the main challenges faced by Native Americans?
A: Poverty and economic hardship; low life expectancy; historical and intergenerational trauma; substance abuse and mental health; lack of educational opportunities; inadequate housing and infrastructure; environmental injustices; high rates of violence; racism and discrimination; and erosion of tribal sovereignty.
Q: On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1 = very bad and 10 = very good), what is the quality of life for the indigenous people of Louisiana?
A (per Gemini): Based on the systemic challenges listed above, a numerical rating for the quality of life for Native American in Louisiana would be extremely low. A rating of 2 or 3 out of 10 would accurately reflect the severe hardships and unequal freedoms many of these communities face due to historical injustice and ongoing marginalization.
Q: Why does an American progressive like Zak George step away from dog training to focus on the plight of the Palestinians instead of focusing on the plight of his Native American neighbors?
A: There’s something about Israel. And because projection is a powerful drug.
“I would like to acknowledge that the land on which we gather is the occupied ancestral territory of the [name of Indigenous People]. I recognize their enduring relationship with this land and honor their past, present, and future stewardship.” » Land acknowledgements are performative nonsense. Unless Zak packs his bags and moves back to Europe… or Olduvai Gorge.
Frankly, he does it for the clicks and to profit off the back of this war and the current spirit of the old hatred of antisemitism (masking as so called antizionism). He can mobilize tree hugging lefties who love dogs (I love them too, trees, not so much) and make beaucoup bucks. Btw, I love trees, too--I just don't want to hug them.
Wasn't there an additional level of suffering inflicted upon the first generation of indigenous Whites by the French or British when they deported the Cajuns all the way up to canada?
I like to think of the British war on the boers in South Africa as an example of Christian unity and ethics in warfare.