On 9/11, we saw horrors we couldn't imagine. It made us feel like there was only one solution: war. As we witness the horrors of Israel, it is easy to feel the same. We would be wrong.
In particular, I was never *angry* as you and many others (disproportionately men) describe. As I wrote:
"Anger, to me, is for people who disappoint me, who are worse than I expected -- and since Al-Qaeda had bombed the WTC *before*, I expected them to be pretty bad. I feel horror, yes, but the idea of being angry at them feels like being angry at the tsunami, or at a serial killer. I'm not going to stop such people from being evil, or from trying to do evil, because that's what they *are*."
You might want to think about why you were angry after 9/11, and why you're angry now, and in what way either Al-Qaeda or Hamas could possibly *disappoint* you--or if your anger comes from something else.
Your reaction to 9/11 was *not* "natural" or universal, it was a function of, among other things, the extremely patriarchal Orthodox culture you were part of. The kind that made a Strong Father figure as Bush pretended to be reassuring, while I (for one) found it suspect..
As more evidence comes out of how monstrously negligent Netanyahu's government was to allow this to happen, I have a little hope that a critical mass of Israelis won't fall for the urge to cling to the nearest Authoritarian Daddy. A little hope, but not a really inspiring amount. Patriarchy is a very pervasive drug.
Your memories of the time after 9/11 do not track with mine, I wrote up a bit about mine here in 2011: https://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/2011/09/september-11-iraq-and-the-nature-of-courage.html
In particular, I was never *angry* as you and many others (disproportionately men) describe. As I wrote:
"Anger, to me, is for people who disappoint me, who are worse than I expected -- and since Al-Qaeda had bombed the WTC *before*, I expected them to be pretty bad. I feel horror, yes, but the idea of being angry at them feels like being angry at the tsunami, or at a serial killer. I'm not going to stop such people from being evil, or from trying to do evil, because that's what they *are*."
You might want to think about why you were angry after 9/11, and why you're angry now, and in what way either Al-Qaeda or Hamas could possibly *disappoint* you--or if your anger comes from something else.
Your reaction to 9/11 was *not* "natural" or universal, it was a function of, among other things, the extremely patriarchal Orthodox culture you were part of. The kind that made a Strong Father figure as Bush pretended to be reassuring, while I (for one) found it suspect..
As more evidence comes out of how monstrously negligent Netanyahu's government was to allow this to happen, I have a little hope that a critical mass of Israelis won't fall for the urge to cling to the nearest Authoritarian Daddy. A little hope, but not a really inspiring amount. Patriarchy is a very pervasive drug.