Total War as a word works for this, it is the word I prefer, feel free to disagree and contest those two words or use your own.
It's all part of trying to downplay the history of what has happened to the Jewish people. I've seen them try to stretch the meaning of "holocaust" too in an effort to deny the unique history of Jews. No, they're not victims of the unimaginable. They're just colonizing oppressors.
But, yes, it is indeed also to try in the short term to besmirch Israel's current actions because genocide, rightfully, has historically been a scary word.
I'm not a fan at all of Netanyahu and his policies. But it was Hamas that attacked Israel, not the other way around. Israel is a nation of 9.7 million people. In one day, they had 1,500 people killed and another 250 taken hostage. That works out to roughly 1 in every 6,000 people. Our current population is about 336,000,000. A surprise terrorist attack across our border would need to result in 56,000 killed and taken hostage to have the same proportionate impact.
Can you imagine the response if that happened? I'm guessing overwhelming force.
Also, why is it that non-POC don't get to define racism and men don't get to define misogyny but anyone can say, that's not antisemitism?
And I avoid the word Genocide for people do not know it’s history (it was alway contested even if people agree on 90% of its meaning, but details matter),
and saying that you do not know the history of the word Genocide is an INSTANT way to piss off people for we want a word we do not have to debate. But we do not realize we have different words and meanings in our heads and that causes psychic pain / dissonance and discomfort.
Thus I avoid that word like a plague for it is useless as a word, it triggers people too much.
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So people in Israel (not going to use singular here for there are many people in Israel, and not even the generals or the Knesset are of literal identical minds, even if they are unified enough to operate a government and fight a war.)
People in Israel this as a Total War situation, this logic being similar to Sherman’s March to the Sea in our civil war. Or I can invoke other examples such as some Napoleonic War examples and how various generals wrote books on the concept of industrial war since that time. Total War I am underlining.
The UN thinks 1.5 million people are being moved / displaced due to the fighting and the destructions of homes. I have heard reports Israel Cabinet thinks it is closer to 1.7 million. WHATEVER the precise number is not knowable in a direct fashion, or in a useful fashion, much like arguing about words are kind of useless.
We are going to have thousands die to water born diseases and poor sanitary, starvation, etc.
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A fucking waste, much like it is a waste , a dehumanizing act to tie a mother and child together and then burn them alive. This is madness, but war has always been that.
Words can not capture the essence of madness, for it is beyond words, there is a disconnect with our brain and the direct experience which we hope words can transmit enough useful content but not the direct sensory experience.
