Trust Issues

 

When the explosion (let's call it that, for a minute, over obvious objections) occurred at the Ahli Arab Hospital, it was assumed by many (the media, some elected officials, etc.) that it was caused by Israel targeting the hospital, an horrific war crime, not in the least justified an opinion because there had been a warning to evacuate, and previous targeting. The counter-narrative is that the event was caused by a Hamas or Islamic Jihad rocket misfiring (or maybe an "accidentally on purpose" strike). 

Neither version has been nailed down, but I note that journalists and their various outlets are perfectly capable of not assigning blame in headlines when they want to be: "A Local Teen Was Killed in a Police-Involved Shooting." (How were the police involved? Who knows?) 

I know a lot of people take what version they want to believe in a kind of "I know what I know" kind of way. I can't. I know that I don't know what I actually don't know. Was I there? Did eyewitnesses track what was going on before the rocket hit? Do I have any previous foreknowledge of either sides' capability of creating damage and what it would look like at what range and so on? 

Of course I fucking don't. I technically answer phones for a living and blog because I have chronic insomnia and a "particular set of skills" called being a semi-anonymous pottymouth. My best quality is probably militant agnosticism wed to humane purpose. So, I have a real hard time with people who take Hamas' word for anything right off the jump because--WTF? And FWIW, the Israeli government isn't exactly covering itself in glory with regard to being 100% believable either. Especially when top officials make egregious genocidal pronouncements denying the innocence of Gazan children and a desire to see Palestinians as "the problem" as if they never understood what "problem-solving" can look like. (And they should.)

I don't offer you certitude in these trying times, I just want to recommend getting comfortable sitting with doubt. Absorb that the tragedy is real--regardless of how and who, and that the people who were harmed are real people, not points that just got scored. Again--war isn't a football game and watching it the way we do via social media is a disruption from reality. It's an invitation to "choose your own disinformation adventure". And the problem with accepting false narratives is, if they match your priors, you become less likely to change your mind. Maybe you even feel insulted. "It's a cover-up."  "We're being fucked." What the thinker thinks, the prover proves. 

What I do know is that propaganda and opportunism exist to make people act stupidly by preying on emotions and "striking when the iron is hot" to make crises occur. Like protests that can turn into violence. I see "Benghazi" trend on Twitter, which has become useless as a place for sorting fact from fiction, and realize some people might be invested in a narrative about placing blame on the US. And even seeing something done about that. 

What I 'm saying is, I have major trust issues about what I see in the media and about people willing to believe what they want to because why not? And I think my trust issues are actually pretty healthy as these things go and wish more people had them.  

UPDATE: There's a lot to say for the intelligence that suggests that Israel did not bomb this hospital this time, like the hospital still standing, the small crater in the parking lot, etc. which more or less confirms that that the story many people irresponsibly ran with was not accurate. Have they bombed this hospital previously to encourage evacuation? Sure. (Can you think of any other reason Israel with reasonable intelligence about the direction rockets are coming from might encourage evacuation that does not have to do with them wanting to bomb this hospital, by the way?) Have they hit other hospitals previously? Sure. Admitting this one story was wrong takes nothing away from the denial of water, power, etc. and the ongoing bombing campaign which absolutely are attributable to Israel. These are horrific and deadly experiences for people living in Gaza. One event not being attributable to Israel doesn't take away from the horror they are visiting on the civilian population. 

But I also have to make another thing clear if it isn't already--if supporting the rights of Palestinians to exist is not the same thing as supporting Hamas, then get it straight that supporting the right of Israel to exist isn't the same thing as supporting a pogram on Palestinians. I have my issues with the peacenik Left, but I think their call for a ceasefire by Israel on the civilian, shell-shocked people trapped in Gaza is humane. I want these people to have access to water and food and medical treatment. But?  

It isn't that I endorse ongoing bombings, but who tells Hamas to stop? And who thinks the US foreign policy goal of mitigating harm can be accomplished by directly and publicly "calling out" Israel? I think what we are seeing--with President Biden encouraging aid through the Egyptian border to Gaza and the encouragement to Israel to abide by the laws of war are "tip of the iceberg" appearances of what the administration is trying to accomplish. I get why some folks are more skeptical than I am about that. 

But when I see something like "Genocide Joe" trending on Twitter, I get back into my hippy-punching stance: who the fuck is that supposed to impress? Not me. Biden is the least worst you get in this country. You want Harlan-Crow-funded Cornell West? You get Trump. You just do. That's the fucking math.  And that means Islamphobia is the rule here in the US, Muslim bans, probably Gitmo on steroids. And all the other "phobias" and "antis" and bigotry.