Caitlin, here's some info on helping people understand some of the 'logic' of Israeli actions. Israel pretends to be David when it is actually Goliath. Israel likes playing BOTH the 'victim' AND the 'victimizer'. This is similar to what a lot of BIG-TECH corporations do (as detailed in Shoshana Zuboff's excellent book 'The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power'.
The reason they (big-tech) like playing the victim (eg. China is the big-bad bully) is for special pleading for protectionist measures and govt. subsidies so they can compete against China. The reason they like playing the victimizer is so that they can form monopolies and increase profits.
Similarly, Israel plays the victim (false narrative) so that it gets special pleading privileges from the rest of the world (eg. everyone hates Jews, Jews are always under attack, we are surrounded by Arab countries, etc.) and support from Western countries. The reason they (Israel) like playing the victimizer is so that they can CONTROL resources in the MENA region (land, water, oil, gas, etc.).
It's the classic switcheroo. Play 'the victim' AND play 'the victimizer' both at the same time. The U.S. Govt. also uses the same logic for issues like Tariffs, regulation on AI, etc.
I find it rather hilarious that Israel bribes to Americans-as well as others-uses US taxpayers money that also gets Israelis free healthcare care yet Americans, whose taxes pay for all that, do not get free healthcare or even subsidised healthcare -- and that's also where the money comes from for the bombs etc that the US sends to Israel. On top of that, these billionaires pay littkd if any taxes so, who are the fools?
Davina, the U.S. does not use 'tax-payer' money for funding any of its expenses (at the federal level). That is a very common myth/narrative for people that do not know/understand MMT (modern monetary theory) and where the Govt. actually gets money from for spending purposes. Taxes are important, but not in the context of Govt. expenditures. (Ref: "The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People's Economy" by Stephanie Kelton - I highly recommend reading this to understand the money system).
Even though the 'U.S. Fed Govt. uses tax-payer money to fund Govt. activities' narrative is false, many people (including on both the left AND right) continue using this 'false narrative' whenever it suits them and is convenient to bolster their arguments.
Great so everyone can stop paying taxes in the US and their government can send money to Israel for healthcare and bombs plus whatever else???? Hope that satisfies the small US state that just found out their taxes were going to help Israel but not them.
NO! Taxes are used for MANY purposes (but not for spending by the federal govt.). I understand that can be a difficult reality for people to understand - especially because of the 'false narratives' around how 'money is created and destroyed by the Fed Govt.'.
ALSO, state and local taxes work VERY DIFFERENTLY from federal taxes. State and Local Govts. DO NEED taxes for spending, but the Federal Govt. DOES NOT.
As stated above in my comment, please do yourself a favor (you will thank me later) and read the book I recommended - it explains a lot - and in much detail - exactly how the Govt. creates and destroys money, why it does what it does, and how taxes work and the purposes taxes serve at the different levels of Govt.
If you understand the above, you will understand that US Taxpayers for NOT paying Israel for anything. They never have. But you have to take the effort to read the book (or read the comment referenced that has links to videos on youtube and more).
To my mind, the way the story is pitched is backwards. Goliath, however large a person he was, was defending his homeland. David was on the side of the invader, using advanced weaponry. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s possible to reframe the story because it’s too ingrained in too many people. Which further shows how difficult it is to get people to shift their worldview.
The Israelis and the Philistines were at war, so of course each was defending their group. Biblical fictional narratives and embellishments aside, I could not find any references to your version of events (though I'm open to such evidence if present) that David was the invader and Goliath was the defender.
Do you have any references to your version of events? I would be interested in looking at such and possibly falsifying 'established narratives' based on the veracity of the evidence.
Historically, at least according to the bible, the Israelites came from a city called UR in Mesopotamia to Palestine, which, although it was already inhabited, was "given" to them, by their god. Among those indigenous were the Philistines, "Felastin", in modern Arabic. Goliath was a Philistine, 1 Samuel 17. These were, and some might claim still are, the indigenous people of Palestine, from whence the word derives. Therefore, the Philistine, Goliath, was defending his homeland of Palestine from the Israelites.
Caitlin, here's some info on helping people understand some of the 'logic' of Israeli actions. Israel pretends to be David when it is actually Goliath. Israel likes playing BOTH the 'victim' AND the 'victimizer'. This is similar to what a lot of BIG-TECH corporations do (as detailed in Shoshana Zuboff's excellent book 'The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power'.
The reason they (big-tech) like playing the victim (eg. China is the big-bad bully) is for special pleading for protectionist measures and govt. subsidies so they can compete against China. The reason they like playing the victimizer is so that they can form monopolies and increase profits.
Similarly, Israel plays the victim (false narrative) so that it gets special pleading privileges from the rest of the world (eg. everyone hates Jews, Jews are always under attack, we are surrounded by Arab countries, etc.) and support from Western countries. The reason they (Israel) like playing the victimizer is so that they can CONTROL resources in the MENA region (land, water, oil, gas, etc.).
It's the classic switcheroo. Play 'the victim' AND play 'the victimizer' both at the same time. The U.S. Govt. also uses the same logic for issues like Tariffs, regulation on AI, etc.
I find it rather hilarious that Israel bribes to Americans-as well as others-uses US taxpayers money that also gets Israelis free healthcare care yet Americans, whose taxes pay for all that, do not get free healthcare or even subsidised healthcare -- and that's also where the money comes from for the bombs etc that the US sends to Israel. On top of that, these billionaires pay littkd if any taxes so, who are the fools?
Davina, the U.S. does not use 'tax-payer' money for funding any of its expenses (at the federal level). That is a very common myth/narrative for people that do not know/understand MMT (modern monetary theory) and where the Govt. actually gets money from for spending purposes. Taxes are important, but not in the context of Govt. expenditures. (Ref: "The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People's Economy" by Stephanie Kelton - I highly recommend reading this to understand the money system).
Even though the 'U.S. Fed Govt. uses tax-payer money to fund Govt. activities' narrative is false, many people (including on both the left AND right) continue using this 'false narrative' whenever it suits them and is convenient to bolster their arguments.
Read this comment for more information and follow-through -> https://changchokaski.substack.com/p/the-us-is-a-global-corporation-masquerading/comment/103109043
Great so everyone can stop paying taxes in the US and their government can send money to Israel for healthcare and bombs plus whatever else???? Hope that satisfies the small US state that just found out their taxes were going to help Israel but not them.
NO! Taxes are used for MANY purposes (but not for spending by the federal govt.). I understand that can be a difficult reality for people to understand - especially because of the 'false narratives' around how 'money is created and destroyed by the Fed Govt.'.
ALSO, state and local taxes work VERY DIFFERENTLY from federal taxes. State and Local Govts. DO NEED taxes for spending, but the Federal Govt. DOES NOT.
As stated above in my comment, please do yourself a favor (you will thank me later) and read the book I recommended - it explains a lot - and in much detail - exactly how the Govt. creates and destroys money, why it does what it does, and how taxes work and the purposes taxes serve at the different levels of Govt.
If you understand the above, you will understand that US Taxpayers for NOT paying Israel for anything. They never have. But you have to take the effort to read the book (or read the comment referenced that has links to videos on youtube and more).
To my mind, the way the story is pitched is backwards. Goliath, however large a person he was, was defending his homeland. David was on the side of the invader, using advanced weaponry. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s possible to reframe the story because it’s too ingrained in too many people. Which further shows how difficult it is to get people to shift their worldview.
The Israelis and the Philistines were at war, so of course each was defending their group. Biblical fictional narratives and embellishments aside, I could not find any references to your version of events (though I'm open to such evidence if present) that David was the invader and Goliath was the defender.
Do you have any references to your version of events? I would be interested in looking at such and possibly falsifying 'established narratives' based on the veracity of the evidence.
Historically, at least according to the bible, the Israelites came from a city called UR in Mesopotamia to Palestine, which, although it was already inhabited, was "given" to them, by their god. Among those indigenous were the Philistines, "Felastin", in modern Arabic. Goliath was a Philistine, 1 Samuel 17. These were, and some might claim still are, the indigenous people of Palestine, from whence the word derives. Therefore, the Philistine, Goliath, was defending his homeland of Palestine from the Israelites.