It seems to me that the public space is only interested in causality in the sense of blame. When earlier in the day, after a horrific murder/rape, the police would issue advice for women to avoid certain areas for their safety, they were criticises for shifting the blame onto the victims, when they were doing no such thing. When US-critical commentators following 9/11 said that if the US played a more positive role in the Middle East and was not seen as an agent of opression, suffering and death, the terrorists would've had no grievances against it, they were likewise vilified. And the same here. Of course, tribalism is the elephant in the room, conflating Israelis, Jews and Zionists is just a crude by-product of tribalism, IMO. Lumping people together. As if those Jews on Bondi Beach were implicated in the atrocities by virtue of being Jews. Another element is plentiful media showing carnage and heart-rendering scenes, agents of radicalisation and as distasteful as it may be to say it, it is no surprise that Bondi Beach massacre happened. Sadly, it is surely one of many to come, as much as the security services will probably prevent most of them.
Given the crises we are faced with, it is encumbrant on us all to start seeing ourselves as Earthlings, first and foremost, and members of whatever ethnic and religious identity, second. But again, the current developments appears to be pointing in the opposite direction.
(A footnote: Jews can be as tribal as anyone else, and internalise praise and blame for acts by other Jews and indeed, the State of Israel. Our history and tradition/religion indeed make this tendency quite likely. The Judaic myth of being chosen by God, the Exodus from Egypt at the expense of innocents of other peoples, etc. Sure, Jews process these stories in a variety of ways, ranging from humourous dismissal to a sense of heightened responibility, but they do leave a mark, like a stigma against intermarriage. A history of persecution makes people stick together for survival. Even genetically most Jews (Ashkenazim) descend from roughly 1000 individuals in Europe of about 1000 years ago, a roughly 50-50 Levantine and South European mix, so Jews are remarkably genetically similar.)
What is the meaning of anti-Semitism, anyway? Why are the killings on Bondi Beach "anti-Semitic"? Who says they are? Is it because the crimes were committed against members of the Jewish communuity? Does that mean that any crime against any Jew is anti-Semitic? Does that make any sense at all? The fact is the term anti-Semitism has been so weaponized and generalized that it is impossible to say who is and who is not anti-Semitic, as Jeremy Corbyn found out the hard way. People who cleverly manage to define anti-Semitism as being any person who disagrees with them are in possession of a magic weapon. The worst response to the accusation of anti-Semitism is to deny it. Denial leads to grovelling which leads to being crushed. If the Gaza genocide has accomplished one thing it is to expose the maliciousnees of the term anti-Semitism. Like Nicki Haley, Americans are increasingly supportive of efforts to "finish the job", only they will have a different interpreation than what she apparently intended.
I may be beating a dead horse, but American mistrust of AI seems rooted in a broader skepticism toward change. In many places, that skepticism is tied to decades of stagnant or declining economic conditions, which have understandably fueled distrust in institutions and new technologies. By contrast, China has seen sustained growth in median wages, which helps explain a more receptive public attitude toward technological change.
Many good points.
It seems to me that the public space is only interested in causality in the sense of blame. When earlier in the day, after a horrific murder/rape, the police would issue advice for women to avoid certain areas for their safety, they were criticises for shifting the blame onto the victims, when they were doing no such thing. When US-critical commentators following 9/11 said that if the US played a more positive role in the Middle East and was not seen as an agent of opression, suffering and death, the terrorists would've had no grievances against it, they were likewise vilified. And the same here. Of course, tribalism is the elephant in the room, conflating Israelis, Jews and Zionists is just a crude by-product of tribalism, IMO. Lumping people together. As if those Jews on Bondi Beach were implicated in the atrocities by virtue of being Jews. Another element is plentiful media showing carnage and heart-rendering scenes, agents of radicalisation and as distasteful as it may be to say it, it is no surprise that Bondi Beach massacre happened. Sadly, it is surely one of many to come, as much as the security services will probably prevent most of them.
Given the crises we are faced with, it is encumbrant on us all to start seeing ourselves as Earthlings, first and foremost, and members of whatever ethnic and religious identity, second. But again, the current developments appears to be pointing in the opposite direction.
(A footnote: Jews can be as tribal as anyone else, and internalise praise and blame for acts by other Jews and indeed, the State of Israel. Our history and tradition/religion indeed make this tendency quite likely. The Judaic myth of being chosen by God, the Exodus from Egypt at the expense of innocents of other peoples, etc. Sure, Jews process these stories in a variety of ways, ranging from humourous dismissal to a sense of heightened responibility, but they do leave a mark, like a stigma against intermarriage. A history of persecution makes people stick together for survival. Even genetically most Jews (Ashkenazim) descend from roughly 1000 individuals in Europe of about 1000 years ago, a roughly 50-50 Levantine and South European mix, so Jews are remarkably genetically similar.)
What is the meaning of anti-Semitism, anyway? Why are the killings on Bondi Beach "anti-Semitic"? Who says they are? Is it because the crimes were committed against members of the Jewish communuity? Does that mean that any crime against any Jew is anti-Semitic? Does that make any sense at all? The fact is the term anti-Semitism has been so weaponized and generalized that it is impossible to say who is and who is not anti-Semitic, as Jeremy Corbyn found out the hard way. People who cleverly manage to define anti-Semitism as being any person who disagrees with them are in possession of a magic weapon. The worst response to the accusation of anti-Semitism is to deny it. Denial leads to grovelling which leads to being crushed. If the Gaza genocide has accomplished one thing it is to expose the maliciousnees of the term anti-Semitism. Like Nicki Haley, Americans are increasingly supportive of efforts to "finish the job", only they will have a different interpreation than what she apparently intended.
I may be beating a dead horse, but American mistrust of AI seems rooted in a broader skepticism toward change. In many places, that skepticism is tied to decades of stagnant or declining economic conditions, which have understandably fueled distrust in institutions and new technologies. By contrast, China has seen sustained growth in median wages, which helps explain a more receptive public attitude toward technological change.
Perhaps Eric—our aspiring tech overlord—might make a stronger case for investing in those left-behind communities, if only the government had the resources and he didn’t undermine his credibility by engaging in tax dodging himself (https://observer.com/2019/05/ex-google-ceo-eric-schmidt-defends-tax-dodging-monopoly-bbc-interview/
).