Dimona Attack

[eumelia]

Well, Hamas claims responsibility for this mornings suicide bombing in Dimona, even though the Al-Aqsa Martyr Brigade and the PFLP also claimed that they did it.

Three dead people (Israeli woman, the two Palestinian Bombers).
Thirty (at least) wounded.

It's not a fun place to be, let me tell you.
The terrible humanity of it all, I know it sounds trite, but it really is.
It's so easy not to care and to shut out the whole thing, saying "Those Arabs only understand violence", it would be a tempting view to hold, but it would be dismissing the motivation behind why the extremists do what they do. I don't think anybody could justify the methods the Palestinians use, but you can't ignore the place they are coming from. To just see them as pure killers is to ignore the injustice done by Israel and to ignore the situation which brought them to this despair.
No matter how much Israelis suffer because of the conflict, we are stronger and we have better weapons and we don't die as much as Palestinians do.
That's a fact.
Does that give them the right to put on a bomb belt, walk into a mall and intend to kill innocent civilians? No.
But when all Israelis mean to them is a big block of Occupation force... are we even human to that kind of mindset?
Just like the view of "Violent Arabs", in that mindset, are they human?

I just noticed I'm using the dichotomous separation of "we, they"... I find that so incredibly sad and... kinda weird.

This is a difficult view to hold, I think. It requires a hell of a lot of self examination and criticism and the knowledge that what you believe is different from the status quo.

Despite it all, I still feel hopeful that one day, hopefully during my life time, this place won't be this hell-hole that it is and that people can be people together, even if we aren't the same people.

Comments

[kalaam.livejournal.com]

Interesting that you noticed the separations you were using (us v them). I've been lurking for a bit but I think this is an interesting observation to make.

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

The "us, them" thing?
Yeah, it's an almost automatic categorisation in the brain, unfortunately.
But yeah, even though it still happens one has to be aware and acknowledge what that kind of mindset can do.

I'm glad you find my LJ interesting, the more readers the better :)

[hemlock-sholes.livejournal.com]

What kind of separation would you recommend?

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

In this context, none, seeing as I was talking about Humans of which there is one species.

What do you recommend, since I think you're asking in a more generalised and not just contextual way?

[hemlock-sholes.livejournal.com]

Well, in the first place I don't have much trouble with we/they.

I find barriers and edges are what define things :)

Second, in the context you used, Human (or Humane) may refer to that which is, or should be, characteristic of human beings. In thus describing characteristics, human may refer to good and bad traits of a person.
(dictionary.com)

This is actually the context I thought you were using.
i.e. You were asking "Is the the way people should be acting", rather than "Are they homo sapiens?"

Two comments on my comments
1. They are rather obviously human because the use of fire is a strictly human ability.
2. The groups which object to Evolution and the categorization of humans as a species of animals are probably very similar to the groups which object to the use of "homo" to describe said animals :)