The comedian who did the Apu documentary sides with Marc Lamont Hill, criticizes CNN. LINK TO TWEET <https://twitter.com/harikondabolu/status/1069348896986537986>
On Fri, Nov 30, 2018 at 12:12 PM Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote: > Thanks for that. As I said, I’d never heard of the guy, but didn’t see > what he said in an isolated speech as especially inflammatory. Now I know. > > On Fri, Nov 30, 2018 at 8:59 AM PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > >> So, here is what I think you are missing: >> 1. While saying he advocates and promotes non-violence, he rejected a >> definition of this that excluded Palestinians using violence to resist >> Israeli state violence. If all he meant by this was that when the Israeli >> military sends soldiers or bombs to the West Bank or the Gaza Strip the >> Palestinians should be allowed to fight back, it would be relatively >> uncontroversial. But he clearly meant something different - that in his >> view there were times when it was morally acceptable, perhaps imperative, >> for the Palestinians to blow up city buses as a means of resisting Israeli >> state violence. If you do not understand what is controversial about this >> position, simply imagine that instead he was saying that there were times >> when Palestinians would be justified in hijcking commercial airliners and >> flying them into crowded US landmarks. The reaction in Israel is even >> stronger, since they have been dealing with this longer and more frequently. >> >> 2. He used the phrase “from the river to the sea” - when he called for a >> “free Palestine from the river to the sea.” This phrase is a term of art in >> the Middle East, and a dog whistle that has a very specific meaning (I >> guess it is not really a dog whistle, since in the context of the Middle >> East everyone would know what it means, not just dogs. But in the US its >> meaning is less clear). The River is the Jordan, and the Sea is the >> Mediterranean. Right now the land between those two is mostly called the >> state of Israel. WHen people call for a free Palestine to exist between the >> River and the Sea, they are actually saying that the State of Israel has no >> right to exist, and that it should be replaced by the State of Palestine. >> Moreover, this phrase is associated with groups like Hamas, which not only >> refuse to recognize the right of Israel to exist, but are actively devoted >> to using violence to eliminate it. Many, including the US, the EU and >> Israel, regard Hamas as a terrorist organization. In using this phrase, >> Hill is not campaigning for a Palestinian State, he is campaigning against >> the existence of the State of Israel. These are two very different things. >> >> 3. Hill has been photographed socializing with Minister Louis Farrakhan, >> and when criticized for it has pushed back hard, saying he will not allow >> the media to dictate who he gets photographed with or socializes with. >> Farrakhan, by any measure, is an anti-Semite and a racist. Hill’s >> association with Farrakhan does not by itself justify banning him from CNN >> of course, and there is a long list of Democratic figures (including anyone >> who was at Aretha Franklin’s funeral) who are included among the many who >> have been photographed with him. But Hill’s attitude about this provide >> some of the context for making sense of his recent comments. >> >> In all of this Hill is like nothing so much as Donald Trump and his >> enablers, who from one side of their mouth weakly endorse vague cliches >> about not being racist, while from the bigger side of their mouth they >> exuse, endorse and subtly repeat racist leaders, organizations and dog >> whistles. If a Fox News Commentator said he was opposed to racist violence, >> but then said he wa not going to be bullied into condemning people like >> Dylann Roof for shooting all those people at Emanuel AFrican Methodist >> Episcopal Church, because America is a white Christian nation that needs to >> be defended, and then repeared racist code phraes and defended himself for >> hanging out with David Duke, saying that while he disagreed with lynching, >> he agreed with Duke about lots of other things, I think you would find lots >> of reasonable Americans calling on Fox News to fire that Commentator >> (though of course I know I am probably describing an actual Commentator at >> FN who has not been fired). >> >> I agree that it is possible to harshly and criticize Israel and its >> immoral, oppressive polices (like the settlements) especially under its >> current government, without being anti-Semitic. I identify myself as such a >> critic. I also agree that there are those Israelis and supporters who do >> not seem to accept this. But I do think it is more likely that people who >> advocate for the use of violent terrorism, the destruction of the state of >> Israel, and defend Louis Farrakhan, can reasonably be described as >> anti-Semitic. >> >> On Thu, Nov 29, 2018 at 6:25 PM Kevin M. <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >>> I’d never even heard of the guy until this afternoon. Not sure what he >>> does, and not sure why he was speaking at the UN. But once again, because >>> Israel has no separation of church and state, it is assumed that those who >>> speak against the Israeli government’s history of discrimination and abuse >>> are therefore anti-semitic, so when he advocated violence as an option for >>> the Palestinians, CNN sacked him. Let me be clear: I naturally assume he is >>> as big a gasbag as every other CNN pundit, and there’s always a good reason >>> to fire a gasbag pundit regardless of party affiliation. But I listened to >>> his speech at the UN; it was bold, but he said nothing against Jews. >>> Supposedly his words echoed rhetoric by those campaigning for a Palestinian >>> state. OK, I don’t know that, but is that alone something to be fired over? >>> What am I missing here? >>> >>> https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/29/media/marc-lamont-hill-cnn/index.html >>> -- >>> Kevin M. (RPCV) >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "TVorNotTV" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to [email protected]. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> >> >>> -- >> Sent from Gmail Mobile >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "TVorNotTV" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > -- > Kevin M. (RPCV) > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
