By Kevin Tyson
America has actively meddled in the internal affairs of numerous Muslim countries for seventy years. From installing the Shah, which led to the Islamic Republic of Iran, to supporting Osama Bin Laden and his mujahadeen in their war against the USSR in Afghanistan, which led to ISIS and the Taliban, to torturing suspected terrorists in CIA black sites in Syria, which helped destabilize that country where we now have troops on the ground.
Our direct military interventions have resulted in millions of deaths, tens of millions of displaced persons and a horrifying suicide rate among America’s veterans. The American electorate has accepted this state of affairs without a whimper. American taxpayers have willingly forked over trillions of dollars of expenditures and debt to support this, while supporting politicians who promise more of the same.
Recently, the war between Hamas and Israel has generated significant political activity in America. People who were willing to ignore decades of death and destruction are now quite concerned for the well-being of the Hamas government and its Palestinian constituents. How did this come about? We can find the answer in the lyrics of Tom Lehrer’s song National Brotherhood Week.
Oh, the Protestants hate the Catholics.
And the Catholics hate the Protestants.
And the Hindus hate the Muslims.
And everybody hates the Jews.
Israel, the self-described Jewish State that has received tens of billions of American tax dollars, is at war with Hamas, a government that actively seeks to eliminate Israel. Unlike opposition to American military activity, which might require confronting one’s neighbors and colleagues with accusations of participation in war crimes, supporting Hamas can be accomplished by attacking the universally despised other, while appropriating the characteristic dress of the oppressed, thereby providing a unique combination of fascism and fashion that hasn’t been matched since Hugo Boss dressed the SS for success.
How can people who describe themselves as “Progressive,” whose concerns for the transgendered amongst us cause them to police pronouns and gendered speech, whose concern for black people cause them to support scams like Black Lives Matter and anti-racism, support a movement that promotes a medieval view of women in society and whose world view accepts internecine religious war as a desirable goal?
How can Progressives from Massachusettes drive past the Raytheon plant on their way to attack an Israeli-owned firm in New Hampshire?
They can do these things by focusing on their virtuousness and ignoring the reality of the situation. They are making a fashion statement, free of substance and full of virtue. But fashions change with the times.
When white men ran elite universities, they had quotas to limit the number of Jews. Now, with women at the helm, these institutions have quotas to limit Asians and it’s acceptable to call for the genocide of the Jews. I fear that, to stay current with the fashion of the times, it will become necessary for Progressives to strike out at the only local symbol of the universally despised other, our local Jewish cemetery.
— Kevin Tyson is a resident of Claremont
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