Some few of us have watched a livestreamed pogrom. But most have maybe glanced at a headline or two. We live in different information universes. That can't work.
I am going to leave comments open, honestly somewhat against my better judgment, but I'm going to ask for you all to use some judgment and restraint. You won't all agree with each other. But you aren't going to save a single life by arguing about it under my column. Save your venom for Reddit.
I broke down this morning and went against my urge to not look for any of the aforementioned graphic scenes. I probably didn't go as far as you did Matt, but what I saw (which was still somewhat mild), painted enough of a picture of horror in my mind to begin to grasp the indescribable terror those who witnessed those things directly have gone, because those few terrifying pictures were enough for me to imagine me and my family being in their shoes.
This is one of your best pieces ever, Matt. I think it dovetails nicely with your "expectations" thesis. Most Canadians have never directly or indirectly witnessed the horrors of terrorism or war and I think these horror are so removed from the culture at large, that Canadians have become (to their detriment) a bit numb and naive about the realities of the 21st century world.
Even I never witnessed anything like that, but seeing my French grandmother stockpiling sugar cubes 40+ years after WWII because she was terrified of food shortages (and sugar was currency during the war), left enough of a vague impression on me to be attuned to those things. Hearing my family recounting stories of the occupation and the Vichy regime, visiting the monument to the French resistance with my cousin from Quebec (originally France) who fought the Nazis as a member of the resistance, while not traumatizing, definitely left a mark. Canadians (and Americans) don't have that and I think it's to their detriment.
We have it so good here, in spite of all our (first world?) problems. We should be humbled by and open to the horrors of the real world that still occur to this day, it would do us some good.
Totally agree with you. This on the day after my visit to Verdun and the Ossuary where the bones of 130,000 or more men lat beneath stacked in piles because they could not be identified. It ranks up there with a visit many years ago to Bergen-Belsen with speechless indignation at man’s inhumanity hidden behind a thin veneer of civilization. Yesterday’s visit was shared by bus loads of French high school age children. The Germans likewise do not let their children go ignorant. In Canada most school aged children know nothing about WWII let alone WW I even though those events shaped our world today and the events unfolding. We hide from reality trying the believe the world is nice and everyone is just like a Canadian. News programs even have warnings about car crashes even though nothing is shocking. We need some shocking to wake up to a world that is not as nice as we would like it to be; otherwise, how do we deal with it?
It's biblical. We're not privy to atrocities in our modern bubble to the likes of what human nature was in the past. The rebuttal must be the same despite the collateral damage. If being used as a human shield to be cannon fodder for propaganda doesn't seem right then the Palestinians will turn on hamas. My personal opinion: scorched earth, no survivors and send a message that Israel will not be a victim any longer. It worked in Hiroshima, Nagasaki and I'll go as far as to say nuke Iran. Rampant crime in this country is a plague as there's no consequences. It's time to get biblical, no strategic strikes, no intelligence, a mere swath of destruction that leaves a million dead and sends out the message where the line got drawn. Honestly that's how to stop this bs.
Absolutely. Calls to avoid sharing "torture porn" may come from a good place but are misplaced. By removing the visceral, they inadvertently sanitize and thereby downplay the horror.
They also facilitate misinformation (i.e that the main targets were military) and they allow intersectional "oppressor/oppressed" apologists/ ideologues to more effectively regurgitate their party line (see CUPE locals and certain academics and illiberal, woke Twitterati).
The photos/videos also clarify why Israel must root out Hamas, the terrorist dictatorship that never intended to be a partner for peace, and expose the Hamas cheerleaders in Canada and other Western countries for who and what they are.
Thank you for saying this. I've been thinking today - wondering, if I should reach out to my local Jewish friends, express sympathy and condolences (many have family or friends in Israel, one moved to Israel herself a few years ago - I find myself wondering how she is...)
Meanwhile, I saw another article on the weekend that CBC has asked their reporters to not describe Hamas as terrorists? I fear that not only is this conflict being sanitized, but the weight of this - the seriousness of it, the wrongness. It is being lightened and softened so that it's ok to sympathize with Hamas (no - it's not ok to sympathize with terrorists and we need to say this loud and clear!)
Thank you, I appreciate your advice and have reached out and am definitely glad I did. If anyone else is wondering the same thing, I'd likewise encourage reaching out.
Hi Matt, Anne and I are now on our way back from Israel. We had gone for a family wedding. The wedding was postponed because the young people were being called up. Even more harrowing, my cousin’s son is one of the call ups and given his training he will be on the pointy end of the stick. Hearing the iron dome boom and then heading to the shelters on several occasions was unsettling. I had never thought I would experience seeing a young man go off to war or seeking protection in a bomb shelter (by the way, I served albeit without distinction in the reserves) were not things that I thought that I would ever experience. AS unsettling was the silence of the streets. Israel is normally such a frenetic, energetic place. The silence was eerie. Seeing the lefty tweets (by the way I am a card carrying lefty) juxtaposed with the Israeli media reports and my twitter feed was dismaying. The embassy not being open due to the Thanksgiving weekend added to the unreality. GAC talking points noting that the embassy was not closed under the international law definition of “closed” really brought home the concept of elevating form over substance. Anne and I through the grace of American Express travel coupled with the fact that we have resources allowed us to leave with relative ease. Dark days lie ahead, but Canadians need to wake up to the reality of the world today. We are, thank god, a fat and happy country. We need to start thinking seriously about how Canada fits in the new world order. Sorry for the long comment.
It is indefensible for anyone anywhere to support the deplorable actions of Hamas. It is naked terrorism and mass murder. Anyone who does support such atrocity in the name of something else has no moral foundation on which to do so. Anyone who celebrates this action has no place in any civilization.
Tildeb, you say, "It is indefensible for anyone anywhere to support the deplorable actions of Hamas. It is naked terrorism and mass murder."
And yet, and yet. CUPE is supporting Hamas; many university types are supporting Hamas. Too many individuals are supporting Hamas. I absolutely understand that there is an argument to be made about Palestinians having suffered; whether I or anyone does or does not agree with the argument is not relevant. What is relevant is that anyone who supports Hamas, anyone who argues that Israel "deserved" this - anyone who even hints at these positions - should be shunned and should be denounced in the strongest terms.
I am not Jewish; I am simply someone who recognizes barbarism, not simply terrorism but barbarism, and I cannot stomach anyone who supports that barbarism.
I completely agree with you Ken. 110%. Ultimately, it's the concept of two wrongs don't make a right. I don't know what life was like in the Gaza strip prior to this event - but what I do know, is that people went through it without fearing for their life, or being murdered, or kidnapped by Israeli forces. Hamas went into the homes of families - they invaded their safe haven, and killed them. For what? How does killing a civilian who has nothing to do with the government, accomplish anything? They have been labeled a terrorist group for over a decade - since when does ANYONE think it's ok to give even a cursory approval to terrorist tactics?
I understand that the average person has trouble with cognitive dissonance and that people like simplified stories. I understand that there are people who sympathize with palestine. HOWEVER - that does not give a terrorist group the right to invade the homes of citizens who are living their own lives and rape, murder, and/or kidnap them. THAT is a criminal act of war. It needs to be labeled as such, and no empathy given.
It greatly disturbs me to consider that in Canada, there likely are people who support the Hamas action. While I'm normally not a fan of cancel culture, I do think anyone who is supporting needless violence against civilians deserves to be called out hardcore for it. I also don't for a minute buy that Hamas is trying to look out for Palestineans - all the aid that the world has sent to Palestine wouldn't be needed if Hamas didn't rule the way they did. (Or that's my understanding anyways.)
I know I'm preaching to the choir here - but I'm just as worried about the media and academics who want to take a middle ground as I am about the conflict overseas. If we offer empathy to terrorists, they will only be empowered and there is nothing guaranteeing Canadians that we couldn't see something like this occur on our own soil. Softness for terrorism must NEVER occur. The fact that this even needs to be said is incredibly disturbing.
Ken, when we teach children at every level of education to view the people of the world as members of identity groups first subject to various power hierarchies, we are really teaching children to create 'others'. Not a collective 'we' - people who share our humanity regardless of other identities and affiliations - but as members of different groups - people with inherited power to victimize or be victimized. This framing imposes a world of 'us' and 'them'. This is the core of tribalism and a necessary framework to think well of ourselves and 'allies' who, by group membership of some blessed 'us' or demonized 'them', are now justified carrying out atrocities against other real people in real life.
I have heard this justification over and over again by those who think well of themselves supporting various privileges in law and throughout society based on power grievances. In the case of demonstrations of support for Palestine and the excusing or even celebrating of the barbarism carried out in Israel, we see the inevitable result: people who champion the 'us' against some terrible 'them' who somehow 'deserved' it or brought it on 'themselves'.
Canadians - and many throughout the West - have allowed their institutions to move away from respecting the fundamental liberal value of equality rights based on shared individual autonomy to its polar opposite: the endorsing of the fundamental illiberal supreme value of respecting and privileging in law group identities to which individuals 'belong'. That's why framing the events of this barbarism to such victimized and victimizing groups creates a false equivalency of one 'victimized group' somehow justified to then victimize a 'victimizer group'.
But it is not 'groups' that carried out these brutal and heinous acts; these were the actions of deplorable mass murderers intent on doing just that. These actions are not defensible in any civilized community. But the confusion between reality and ideology is obvious in Canadians so befuddled with their group framing of the real world that they cannot see just how anti-human and immoral is their deplorable support for their preferred 'group' over and above the intentional suffering of real people in real life. That's why it's important for more of us to realize, to break through the group based indoctrination, that there simply is no moral basis to excuse immoral behaviour. There is something fundamentally wrong with our moral compass when we support immorality and then rationalize a framework to justify it.
I thought your work on Ottawa during the convoy was superb journalism. This is, by far, the best thing I've ever read. It's also agonising, so I can only guess what it was like for you to write it. Thank you.
I, like many, have been away for the weekend at the Lakehouse and not watching TV or paying attention to my phone. I heard minimal reports. Last night I lay awake for hours “ praying for the peace of Jerusalem.” Never again has indeed happened but you are right, there are strong political motivations to sweep it under the rug. Keep rejecting bull shit, Matt. It’s the right thing to do. We must raise our voices of protest together.
One of the things that Canadians have a hard time comprehending is the depth of ethnic hatreds and persistence of blood feuds in older cultures. We got a glance of it during the wars in the former Yugoslavia in the '90s, with ethnic groups trying to avenge centuries-old quarrels as though they'd happened the day before. Hamas is driven by it too, in an even more raw, brutal form. Jonah Goldberg observed this weekend that the Hamas actions resembled nothing so much as ancient tribal warfare, where one tribe swoops into another tribe's village, massacres as many people as they can, and carry off prisoners as slaves or hostages. It's horrifying, people can't comprehend the raw ugliness, and they either try to dismiss it or rationalize it somehow. The challenge is to recognize that you *can't* rationalize it because it's fundamentally irrational and emotional - you can only say "No - we will not stand for this."
And yet we invite the world, including these savages, to settle in Canada and we do not try to get those "new Canadians" to buy in to our existing culture but we allow, nay, we encourage them, to retain their old culture which contains all those hatreds.
I'm not sure who the "we" you refer to are but I disagree. While I recognise that new adult immigrants often cling to their cultural habits and resist change, it's their children who attend school along with all our children who will be different. Those children will grow up in our society, participate in our society and become Canadian in every way. The people I don't understand are the Canadians who rail against our governments, engage with conspiracy theories and spew hate and generally display their utter ignorance of science. These same people are also selfish and couldn't be bothered to behave with love and respect toward their fellow Canadians who, for example, get vaccinated against Covid because they KNOW it will not only protect them but everyone around them.
And, yes, adults often and understandably are familiar with the ways of their former land and are comfortable in those ways. Nevertheless, I contend that they do need to try to understand and become comfortable with their new homeland and leave their old animosities in their former homeland. In particular, they should leave those animosities in "the old country."
Now, as to the children "who will be different" here in Calgary just last month many of those same "children" now in their late teens and some adults staged a riot in which members of two sides of the Eritrean community fought one another over charges that the one side supported or did not support the current government of Eritrea. So, not all the children are buying in to "Canadian" values but are retaining their parent's values.
I am not interested in hate and my whole point - to which you seem to object - is that it seems that too many of our newcomers bring their hatreds with them. For that I refer you to the riot which I mentioned above; I further refer you to the support for and idolization of the Hamas barbarians who raped, murdered, kidnapped and just generally committed crimes against humanity this past weekend and, of course, that old standby of hatred of Jews and of Israel something that we see a lot of from some of our newcomers.
Even worse, at least to me, is that many folks who have been in Canada for generations have taken up this glorification and attempted justification of the barbarism that occurred this past weekend. [See CUPE statements; see various academics who have been quoted, etc., etc.]
I am one who feels quite alienated from my federal government so, yes, I do rail against my federal government as I believe that they consistently attack my province. I don't charge them as being conspiratorial but I do believe them to be incompetent. In fact, they only thing at which they are is incompetence. Put differently, I don’t think my federal government could competently organize a punch-up in a bar; they would talk about their plan, they would proclaim and offer incentives to brawl, they would pay people who would not show up, they would, they would, they would …. But at the end of the day I am very sure that you would have two old geezers (that’s me, an old geezer) sitting and talking quietly and that would be the punch-up.
As for an ignorance of science I agree that science can be quite informative and quite useful but I also fully understand that scientific standards keep changing [e.g. "Don't use masks, they give a false sense of security." - Theresa Tam; "You must wear masks to stay safe." - Theresa Tam]. See? Change of message due to changing science – or so we were told.
I also know that the scientific method requires vigorous debate to try to test hypotheses so I am quite mystified as to why folks who try to ask questions, sometimes to explore and understand the ideas put forth by the mainstream, sometimes to test those ideas, are shouted down and labelled as "deniers of science" when the scientific method requires debate. [e.g. Covid and climate; I don't deny those things but many people who simply want to ask honest questions are fearful of being silenced, losing their jobs, etc.]
As for Covid, I definitely had many questions but our of an abundance of caution my wife and I got shot absolutely as soon as we could and we are currently arranging seasonal shots (Covid booster, flu and RSV) as soon as we can get an appointment. Please do not argue that I am against vaccinations; please do not accuse me of conspiratorial behavior; but please do accuse me of asking questions and being politely (politely!!) argumentative for a) that is my right as a Canadian; and b) that is an integral part of the scientific method.
This is a long answer to what I respectfully perceive is a not terribly well thought out response to my original comment.
Thanks for clarifying. Regarding those Eritreans, I agree, they have brought their internecine disagreements with them but they are relatively new newcomers. Then there's the Punjabis. I think part of what's happening is these people have come from places where their lives were constantly in danger from hunger and violence and when they come here, they quickly discover how open and free things are and that they are "free" to protest, etc. They eventually learn. I am an English as a second language Canadian on both sides - father Ukrainian, mother German. I grew up hearing stories. I, too, have ties, albeit weak ones, to Ukraine. The conflict in Ukraine feels very personal to me - mostly because the Russian invasion is unwarranted. But I am Canadian first and foremost and am very proud of my country. I am also very proud that I live in a democracy and sincerely wish all people had that privilege. Like you, I abhor hate. There's no need for it. Not in this country. And I don't feel alienated from my federal government - no matter the political stripe. I also support unions very strongly. It is they who built the middle class historically. I'm not accusing you of being a climate denier or a conspiracy theorist. I am just pointing out that some personal opinions people hold seem to come in types. I find extreme opinions often come from ignorance. Extreme opinions also come from cynicism. I hope I am neither of those.
When the Department of the Interior flooded western Canada with immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th century, blocks of townships were set aside for ethnic (and religious) groups that could form a sense of community and get along.
Your comment touches on the fact that some of these ethnic groups, particularly from Eastern Europe couldn’t stand each other and harboured a resentment that was fomented by hundreds of years of fighting.
Even at that the distrust reached a zenith in WW1. In my community middle aged men from Eastern Europe were rounded up and interned in 1916. Time, reflection and a generosity of spirit is a great healer as Canadians of Chinese, Ukrainian, Polish and Japanese descent have taken their rightful place as community leaders. We can only hope that the Middle East can find a peaceful solution too.
Excellent commentary Mr. Gurney. I have read extensively on wars, terrorism and the holocaust. I have seen the pictures and films done by the military to document the atrocities of the holocaust.
9/11 was witnessed in real-time. No one will forget watching the planes fly into the twin towers and knowing that it will be impossible for people to escape. The images are forever remembered.
At 60 years old, I had long ago learned that MSM only gives a sanitized version of.events so I have changed the way that I gather and analyze the information. I also watched many of the clips that you have described. I do not have your access and contacts but agree that this should not be sanitized.
Reality is important and yes it will change people and it should.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for CBC to be upfront about the Holocaust that just happened and the sun-humans who perpetrated it - the morons at CBC cannot even bring themselves to use the word terrorist - instead, the term “militant” is to be used. It is high time to defund and disband the CBC.
As far as I can tell ALL the CBC journalists are disobeying that fake memo. I have two recommendation. First, it would be a good idea to actually watch CBC tv before you comment on the content. Second, you can’t believe everything you read in the National Post.
Remember, far too many people have the view that inside everyone there is good, so they project that thought to convince themselves these acts are done for a good reason. It’s hard to face the fact many of us are simply a few words removed from animals.
I think it's also become far too common to confuse the fact that it is useful to consider the reasons that lead people to do horrible things, in order to prevent similar things, with those reasons being any kind of excuse for the horrible things.
Good is not in everyone, that’s for certain. The ‘good in everyone’ liberal mantra only applies if you’re not a trucker parked in Ottawa - then god help you. The vapid cluelessness that we see / read in msm every day is proof.
I have sympathy for what I believe to be the "average" Palestinian. I am sure there are many who just want a life, job and family. I have none for the Hamas terrorist and their apologists. Slaughtering innocents at a music festival is not a military action. The perpetrators are disgusting.
Bruce, I respectfully - and absolutely and violently - disagree with your opening.
Any sympathy that I might have had for the "average" Palestinian went out the window when we saw images of said "average" Palestinians cheering on the Hamas butchers and participating in the degradation of prisoners, spitting on prisoners and bodies of prisoners, etc. So, stop with the differentiating between Hamas and the "average" Palestinians when said "average" Palestinians are explicitly complicit in these atrocities.
For me, the "average" Palestinians have proven themselves to be part of this war and, as participants, fully eligible for any measures that Israel may take in their neighborhoods where Hamas is hiding.
Is that unfair of me to accept that Palestinian "civilians" will be killed? Nope. Those same "civilians" have proven themselves to be combatants.
Just because you've seen images of some Palestinians cheering on Hamas, does not mean that all are celebrating this. Killing of any civilians is problematic whatever 'side' they are on.
Kaycee, you write, "Killing of any civilians in problematic ...."
Yup, I agree. Normally.
However, however, the idea that civilians are killed is more complicated when the terrorist barbarians of Hamas hide among civilians. If they wish to be treated like an army they would have army bases separate from the Gaza population. Oh, right, then they might be attacked with minimal civilian casualties. Nope, cannot have that! Hamas kills the civilians on both sides of the border.
Oh, and by the way, did Hamas avoid civilians in Israel? Nope. They explicitly targeted civilians. Which what they do, of course. That is pretty much what they have always done.
That does not mean that Israel should target civilians but at the same time it does not give Palestinian civilians a pass. The concept of "collateral damage" is pretty much irrelevant in this case for me.
As a non violent person, who in my 75years has never had a physical confrontation with another person, I can say unequivocally that if you stood one of these terrorists in front of me and put a gun in my hand, I would shoot him in the face without thought.
It’s really depressing to learn of the atrocities against civilians and history repeating itself of people loaded up like cattle and hauled away.
With that backdrop, it’s even more depressing to see people who are confused over who are the aggressors on the crime spree and who are the victims. This speaks to a general ignorance about the Holocaust amongst younger generations and a refusal to acknowledge that countries have a right to defend themselves.
Watch closely as TV coverage of the Israeli pummelling of Gaza will be denounced as “excessive” or “disproportionate” to the circumstances. Meanwhile the terrorists hide behind civilians and wield hostages as bargaining chips.
Israel is already being accused of 'war crimes' by the usual suspects. Queue the long line of progressive commentators on CBC who will ramp up this message in the weeks to come.
People's perception of people who are fully aware of the facts, but still feel comfortable celebrating slaughter as resistance, will also be changed if they are made to confront such uncomfortable scenes. And help them to realize it is not progressive to support people who would support such brutality, and that nothing justifies it.
People have every right to believe whatever they believe, and to talk about whatever they believe - but there should also be a social cost to that, and it can only be incurred if we fully comprehend what people consider acceptable. If you are loud and proud about your support for such things, then you should be a pariah, not permitted to wear the virtue of resistance.
When it comes to less extreme circumstances, I usually oppose social shaming or treating people with differing opinions as outcasts, but in the context of such brutality and endorsement of brutality, I fully support it.
I am going to leave comments open, honestly somewhat against my better judgment, but I'm going to ask for you all to use some judgment and restraint. You won't all agree with each other. But you aren't going to save a single life by arguing about it under my column. Save your venom for Reddit.
I broke down this morning and went against my urge to not look for any of the aforementioned graphic scenes. I probably didn't go as far as you did Matt, but what I saw (which was still somewhat mild), painted enough of a picture of horror in my mind to begin to grasp the indescribable terror those who witnessed those things directly have gone, because those few terrifying pictures were enough for me to imagine me and my family being in their shoes.
This is one of your best pieces ever, Matt. I think it dovetails nicely with your "expectations" thesis. Most Canadians have never directly or indirectly witnessed the horrors of terrorism or war and I think these horror are so removed from the culture at large, that Canadians have become (to their detriment) a bit numb and naive about the realities of the 21st century world.
Even I never witnessed anything like that, but seeing my French grandmother stockpiling sugar cubes 40+ years after WWII because she was terrified of food shortages (and sugar was currency during the war), left enough of a vague impression on me to be attuned to those things. Hearing my family recounting stories of the occupation and the Vichy regime, visiting the monument to the French resistance with my cousin from Quebec (originally France) who fought the Nazis as a member of the resistance, while not traumatizing, definitely left a mark. Canadians (and Americans) don't have that and I think it's to their detriment.
We have it so good here, in spite of all our (first world?) problems. We should be humbled by and open to the horrors of the real world that still occur to this day, it would do us some good.
Truly, one of your best pieces ever Matt.
Totally agree with you. This on the day after my visit to Verdun and the Ossuary where the bones of 130,000 or more men lat beneath stacked in piles because they could not be identified. It ranks up there with a visit many years ago to Bergen-Belsen with speechless indignation at man’s inhumanity hidden behind a thin veneer of civilization. Yesterday’s visit was shared by bus loads of French high school age children. The Germans likewise do not let their children go ignorant. In Canada most school aged children know nothing about WWII let alone WW I even though those events shaped our world today and the events unfolding. We hide from reality trying the believe the world is nice and everyone is just like a Canadian. News programs even have warnings about car crashes even though nothing is shocking. We need some shocking to wake up to a world that is not as nice as we would like it to be; otherwise, how do we deal with it?
It's biblical. We're not privy to atrocities in our modern bubble to the likes of what human nature was in the past. The rebuttal must be the same despite the collateral damage. If being used as a human shield to be cannon fodder for propaganda doesn't seem right then the Palestinians will turn on hamas. My personal opinion: scorched earth, no survivors and send a message that Israel will not be a victim any longer. It worked in Hiroshima, Nagasaki and I'll go as far as to say nuke Iran. Rampant crime in this country is a plague as there's no consequences. It's time to get biblical, no strategic strikes, no intelligence, a mere swath of destruction that leaves a million dead and sends out the message where the line got drawn. Honestly that's how to stop this bs.
Absolutely. Calls to avoid sharing "torture porn" may come from a good place but are misplaced. By removing the visceral, they inadvertently sanitize and thereby downplay the horror.
They also facilitate misinformation (i.e that the main targets were military) and they allow intersectional "oppressor/oppressed" apologists/ ideologues to more effectively regurgitate their party line (see CUPE locals and certain academics and illiberal, woke Twitterati).
The photos/videos also clarify why Israel must root out Hamas, the terrorist dictatorship that never intended to be a partner for peace, and expose the Hamas cheerleaders in Canada and other Western countries for who and what they are.
Thank you for saying this. I've been thinking today - wondering, if I should reach out to my local Jewish friends, express sympathy and condolences (many have family or friends in Israel, one moved to Israel herself a few years ago - I find myself wondering how she is...)
Meanwhile, I saw another article on the weekend that CBC has asked their reporters to not describe Hamas as terrorists? I fear that not only is this conflict being sanitized, but the weight of this - the seriousness of it, the wrongness. It is being lightened and softened so that it's ok to sympathize with Hamas (no - it's not ok to sympathize with terrorists and we need to say this loud and clear!)
The friends I've spoken to have appreciated it. Especially given the pro Hamas gatherings we've witnessed here.
Thank you, I appreciate your advice and have reached out and am definitely glad I did. If anyone else is wondering the same thing, I'd likewise encourage reaching out.
Yes, reach out!
Hi Matt, Anne and I are now on our way back from Israel. We had gone for a family wedding. The wedding was postponed because the young people were being called up. Even more harrowing, my cousin’s son is one of the call ups and given his training he will be on the pointy end of the stick. Hearing the iron dome boom and then heading to the shelters on several occasions was unsettling. I had never thought I would experience seeing a young man go off to war or seeking protection in a bomb shelter (by the way, I served albeit without distinction in the reserves) were not things that I thought that I would ever experience. AS unsettling was the silence of the streets. Israel is normally such a frenetic, energetic place. The silence was eerie. Seeing the lefty tweets (by the way I am a card carrying lefty) juxtaposed with the Israeli media reports and my twitter feed was dismaying. The embassy not being open due to the Thanksgiving weekend added to the unreality. GAC talking points noting that the embassy was not closed under the international law definition of “closed” really brought home the concept of elevating form over substance. Anne and I through the grace of American Express travel coupled with the fact that we have resources allowed us to leave with relative ease. Dark days lie ahead, but Canadians need to wake up to the reality of the world today. We are, thank god, a fat and happy country. We need to start thinking seriously about how Canada fits in the new world order. Sorry for the long comment.
It is indefensible for anyone anywhere to support the deplorable actions of Hamas. It is naked terrorism and mass murder. Anyone who does support such atrocity in the name of something else has no moral foundation on which to do so. Anyone who celebrates this action has no place in any civilization.
Tildeb, you say, "It is indefensible for anyone anywhere to support the deplorable actions of Hamas. It is naked terrorism and mass murder."
And yet, and yet. CUPE is supporting Hamas; many university types are supporting Hamas. Too many individuals are supporting Hamas. I absolutely understand that there is an argument to be made about Palestinians having suffered; whether I or anyone does or does not agree with the argument is not relevant. What is relevant is that anyone who supports Hamas, anyone who argues that Israel "deserved" this - anyone who even hints at these positions - should be shunned and should be denounced in the strongest terms.
I am not Jewish; I am simply someone who recognizes barbarism, not simply terrorism but barbarism, and I cannot stomach anyone who supports that barbarism.
I completely agree with you Ken. 110%. Ultimately, it's the concept of two wrongs don't make a right. I don't know what life was like in the Gaza strip prior to this event - but what I do know, is that people went through it without fearing for their life, or being murdered, or kidnapped by Israeli forces. Hamas went into the homes of families - they invaded their safe haven, and killed them. For what? How does killing a civilian who has nothing to do with the government, accomplish anything? They have been labeled a terrorist group for over a decade - since when does ANYONE think it's ok to give even a cursory approval to terrorist tactics?
I understand that the average person has trouble with cognitive dissonance and that people like simplified stories. I understand that there are people who sympathize with palestine. HOWEVER - that does not give a terrorist group the right to invade the homes of citizens who are living their own lives and rape, murder, and/or kidnap them. THAT is a criminal act of war. It needs to be labeled as such, and no empathy given.
It greatly disturbs me to consider that in Canada, there likely are people who support the Hamas action. While I'm normally not a fan of cancel culture, I do think anyone who is supporting needless violence against civilians deserves to be called out hardcore for it. I also don't for a minute buy that Hamas is trying to look out for Palestineans - all the aid that the world has sent to Palestine wouldn't be needed if Hamas didn't rule the way they did. (Or that's my understanding anyways.)
I know I'm preaching to the choir here - but I'm just as worried about the media and academics who want to take a middle ground as I am about the conflict overseas. If we offer empathy to terrorists, they will only be empowered and there is nothing guaranteeing Canadians that we couldn't see something like this occur on our own soil. Softness for terrorism must NEVER occur. The fact that this even needs to be said is incredibly disturbing.
Ice, you write, "... I'm just as worried about the media and academics who want to take a middle ground ..."
THERE IS NO MIDDLE GROUND. Hamas is composed not simply of terrorists but of barbarians. Period. End of story.
And, yes, "The fact that this even needs to be said is incredibly disturbing."
Ken, when we teach children at every level of education to view the people of the world as members of identity groups first subject to various power hierarchies, we are really teaching children to create 'others'. Not a collective 'we' - people who share our humanity regardless of other identities and affiliations - but as members of different groups - people with inherited power to victimize or be victimized. This framing imposes a world of 'us' and 'them'. This is the core of tribalism and a necessary framework to think well of ourselves and 'allies' who, by group membership of some blessed 'us' or demonized 'them', are now justified carrying out atrocities against other real people in real life.
I have heard this justification over and over again by those who think well of themselves supporting various privileges in law and throughout society based on power grievances. In the case of demonstrations of support for Palestine and the excusing or even celebrating of the barbarism carried out in Israel, we see the inevitable result: people who champion the 'us' against some terrible 'them' who somehow 'deserved' it or brought it on 'themselves'.
Canadians - and many throughout the West - have allowed their institutions to move away from respecting the fundamental liberal value of equality rights based on shared individual autonomy to its polar opposite: the endorsing of the fundamental illiberal supreme value of respecting and privileging in law group identities to which individuals 'belong'. That's why framing the events of this barbarism to such victimized and victimizing groups creates a false equivalency of one 'victimized group' somehow justified to then victimize a 'victimizer group'.
But it is not 'groups' that carried out these brutal and heinous acts; these were the actions of deplorable mass murderers intent on doing just that. These actions are not defensible in any civilized community. But the confusion between reality and ideology is obvious in Canadians so befuddled with their group framing of the real world that they cannot see just how anti-human and immoral is their deplorable support for their preferred 'group' over and above the intentional suffering of real people in real life. That's why it's important for more of us to realize, to break through the group based indoctrination, that there simply is no moral basis to excuse immoral behaviour. There is something fundamentally wrong with our moral compass when we support immorality and then rationalize a framework to justify it.
Further, may I quote you.
Well said. Clearly and distinctly presented. Should be required reading for all those who support identity groups.
I thought your work on Ottawa during the convoy was superb journalism. This is, by far, the best thing I've ever read. It's also agonising, so I can only guess what it was like for you to write it. Thank you.
It was agony but I hope having written it will let me sleep. I haven't in days.
I, like many, have been away for the weekend at the Lakehouse and not watching TV or paying attention to my phone. I heard minimal reports. Last night I lay awake for hours “ praying for the peace of Jerusalem.” Never again has indeed happened but you are right, there are strong political motivations to sweep it under the rug. Keep rejecting bull shit, Matt. It’s the right thing to do. We must raise our voices of protest together.
This was on my mind as I read too - wondering the weight of carrying this. I hope you sleep tonight.
One of the things that Canadians have a hard time comprehending is the depth of ethnic hatreds and persistence of blood feuds in older cultures. We got a glance of it during the wars in the former Yugoslavia in the '90s, with ethnic groups trying to avenge centuries-old quarrels as though they'd happened the day before. Hamas is driven by it too, in an even more raw, brutal form. Jonah Goldberg observed this weekend that the Hamas actions resembled nothing so much as ancient tribal warfare, where one tribe swoops into another tribe's village, massacres as many people as they can, and carry off prisoners as slaves or hostages. It's horrifying, people can't comprehend the raw ugliness, and they either try to dismiss it or rationalize it somehow. The challenge is to recognize that you *can't* rationalize it because it's fundamentally irrational and emotional - you can only say "No - we will not stand for this."
And yet we invite the world, including these savages, to settle in Canada and we do not try to get those "new Canadians" to buy in to our existing culture but we allow, nay, we encourage them, to retain their old culture which contains all those hatreds.
Stupid government; stupid Canadians.
So well said.
I'm not sure who the "we" you refer to are but I disagree. While I recognise that new adult immigrants often cling to their cultural habits and resist change, it's their children who attend school along with all our children who will be different. Those children will grow up in our society, participate in our society and become Canadian in every way. The people I don't understand are the Canadians who rail against our governments, engage with conspiracy theories and spew hate and generally display their utter ignorance of science. These same people are also selfish and couldn't be bothered to behave with love and respect toward their fellow Canadians who, for example, get vaccinated against Covid because they KNOW it will not only protect them but everyone around them.
Karen, the "we" is Canadians.
"We" invite the world to come to Canada.
And, yes, adults often and understandably are familiar with the ways of their former land and are comfortable in those ways. Nevertheless, I contend that they do need to try to understand and become comfortable with their new homeland and leave their old animosities in their former homeland. In particular, they should leave those animosities in "the old country."
Now, as to the children "who will be different" here in Calgary just last month many of those same "children" now in their late teens and some adults staged a riot in which members of two sides of the Eritrean community fought one another over charges that the one side supported or did not support the current government of Eritrea. So, not all the children are buying in to "Canadian" values but are retaining their parent's values.
I am not interested in hate and my whole point - to which you seem to object - is that it seems that too many of our newcomers bring their hatreds with them. For that I refer you to the riot which I mentioned above; I further refer you to the support for and idolization of the Hamas barbarians who raped, murdered, kidnapped and just generally committed crimes against humanity this past weekend and, of course, that old standby of hatred of Jews and of Israel something that we see a lot of from some of our newcomers.
Even worse, at least to me, is that many folks who have been in Canada for generations have taken up this glorification and attempted justification of the barbarism that occurred this past weekend. [See CUPE statements; see various academics who have been quoted, etc., etc.]
I am one who feels quite alienated from my federal government so, yes, I do rail against my federal government as I believe that they consistently attack my province. I don't charge them as being conspiratorial but I do believe them to be incompetent. In fact, they only thing at which they are is incompetence. Put differently, I don’t think my federal government could competently organize a punch-up in a bar; they would talk about their plan, they would proclaim and offer incentives to brawl, they would pay people who would not show up, they would, they would, they would …. But at the end of the day I am very sure that you would have two old geezers (that’s me, an old geezer) sitting and talking quietly and that would be the punch-up.
As for an ignorance of science I agree that science can be quite informative and quite useful but I also fully understand that scientific standards keep changing [e.g. "Don't use masks, they give a false sense of security." - Theresa Tam; "You must wear masks to stay safe." - Theresa Tam]. See? Change of message due to changing science – or so we were told.
I also know that the scientific method requires vigorous debate to try to test hypotheses so I am quite mystified as to why folks who try to ask questions, sometimes to explore and understand the ideas put forth by the mainstream, sometimes to test those ideas, are shouted down and labelled as "deniers of science" when the scientific method requires debate. [e.g. Covid and climate; I don't deny those things but many people who simply want to ask honest questions are fearful of being silenced, losing their jobs, etc.]
As for Covid, I definitely had many questions but our of an abundance of caution my wife and I got shot absolutely as soon as we could and we are currently arranging seasonal shots (Covid booster, flu and RSV) as soon as we can get an appointment. Please do not argue that I am against vaccinations; please do not accuse me of conspiratorial behavior; but please do accuse me of asking questions and being politely (politely!!) argumentative for a) that is my right as a Canadian; and b) that is an integral part of the scientific method.
This is a long answer to what I respectfully perceive is a not terribly well thought out response to my original comment.
Thanks for clarifying. Regarding those Eritreans, I agree, they have brought their internecine disagreements with them but they are relatively new newcomers. Then there's the Punjabis. I think part of what's happening is these people have come from places where their lives were constantly in danger from hunger and violence and when they come here, they quickly discover how open and free things are and that they are "free" to protest, etc. They eventually learn. I am an English as a second language Canadian on both sides - father Ukrainian, mother German. I grew up hearing stories. I, too, have ties, albeit weak ones, to Ukraine. The conflict in Ukraine feels very personal to me - mostly because the Russian invasion is unwarranted. But I am Canadian first and foremost and am very proud of my country. I am also very proud that I live in a democracy and sincerely wish all people had that privilege. Like you, I abhor hate. There's no need for it. Not in this country. And I don't feel alienated from my federal government - no matter the political stripe. I also support unions very strongly. It is they who built the middle class historically. I'm not accusing you of being a climate denier or a conspiracy theorist. I am just pointing out that some personal opinions people hold seem to come in types. I find extreme opinions often come from ignorance. Extreme opinions also come from cynicism. I hope I am neither of those.
When the Department of the Interior flooded western Canada with immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th century, blocks of townships were set aside for ethnic (and religious) groups that could form a sense of community and get along.
Your comment touches on the fact that some of these ethnic groups, particularly from Eastern Europe couldn’t stand each other and harboured a resentment that was fomented by hundreds of years of fighting.
Even at that the distrust reached a zenith in WW1. In my community middle aged men from Eastern Europe were rounded up and interned in 1916. Time, reflection and a generosity of spirit is a great healer as Canadians of Chinese, Ukrainian, Polish and Japanese descent have taken their rightful place as community leaders. We can only hope that the Middle East can find a peaceful solution too.
Excellent commentary Mr. Gurney. I have read extensively on wars, terrorism and the holocaust. I have seen the pictures and films done by the military to document the atrocities of the holocaust.
9/11 was witnessed in real-time. No one will forget watching the planes fly into the twin towers and knowing that it will be impossible for people to escape. The images are forever remembered.
At 60 years old, I had long ago learned that MSM only gives a sanitized version of.events so I have changed the way that I gather and analyze the information. I also watched many of the clips that you have described. I do not have your access and contacts but agree that this should not be sanitized.
Reality is important and yes it will change people and it should.
Hmmm yes, and tell the ‘fragile triggered’ to go pound sand.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for CBC to be upfront about the Holocaust that just happened and the sun-humans who perpetrated it - the morons at CBC cannot even bring themselves to use the word terrorist - instead, the term “militant” is to be used. It is high time to defund and disband the CBC.
What I saw on CBC this evening completely refutes your entire comment.
https://nationalpost.com/news/cbc-tells-journalists-to-not-call-hamas-terrorists-in-leaked-memo
Read it and weep. If some on CBC TV are disobeying this memo, that's great.
As far as I can tell ALL the CBC journalists are disobeying that fake memo. I have two recommendation. First, it would be a good idea to actually watch CBC tv before you comment on the content. Second, you can’t believe everything you read in the National Post.
Remember, far too many people have the view that inside everyone there is good, so they project that thought to convince themselves these acts are done for a good reason. It’s hard to face the fact many of us are simply a few words removed from animals.
I think it's also become far too common to confuse the fact that it is useful to consider the reasons that lead people to do horrible things, in order to prevent similar things, with those reasons being any kind of excuse for the horrible things.
Good is not in everyone, that’s for certain. The ‘good in everyone’ liberal mantra only applies if you’re not a trucker parked in Ottawa - then god help you. The vapid cluelessness that we see / read in msm every day is proof.
I have sympathy for what I believe to be the "average" Palestinian. I am sure there are many who just want a life, job and family. I have none for the Hamas terrorist and their apologists. Slaughtering innocents at a music festival is not a military action. The perpetrators are disgusting.
Bruce, I respectfully - and absolutely and violently - disagree with your opening.
Any sympathy that I might have had for the "average" Palestinian went out the window when we saw images of said "average" Palestinians cheering on the Hamas butchers and participating in the degradation of prisoners, spitting on prisoners and bodies of prisoners, etc. So, stop with the differentiating between Hamas and the "average" Palestinians when said "average" Palestinians are explicitly complicit in these atrocities.
For me, the "average" Palestinians have proven themselves to be part of this war and, as participants, fully eligible for any measures that Israel may take in their neighborhoods where Hamas is hiding.
Is that unfair of me to accept that Palestinian "civilians" will be killed? Nope. Those same "civilians" have proven themselves to be combatants.
Just because you've seen images of some Palestinians cheering on Hamas, does not mean that all are celebrating this. Killing of any civilians is problematic whatever 'side' they are on.
Kaycee, you write, "Killing of any civilians in problematic ...."
Yup, I agree. Normally.
However, however, the idea that civilians are killed is more complicated when the terrorist barbarians of Hamas hide among civilians. If they wish to be treated like an army they would have army bases separate from the Gaza population. Oh, right, then they might be attacked with minimal civilian casualties. Nope, cannot have that! Hamas kills the civilians on both sides of the border.
Oh, and by the way, did Hamas avoid civilians in Israel? Nope. They explicitly targeted civilians. Which what they do, of course. That is pretty much what they have always done.
That does not mean that Israel should target civilians but at the same time it does not give Palestinian civilians a pass. The concept of "collateral damage" is pretty much irrelevant in this case for me.
respectfully and violently, hmmmm
Yup, I can be respectful but (emotionally, to be sure) violently opposed simultaneously.
As a non violent person, who in my 75years has never had a physical confrontation with another person, I can say unequivocally that if you stood one of these terrorists in front of me and put a gun in my hand, I would shoot him in the face without thought.
And you, Sir, speak for me. In all aspects of your post.
It’s really depressing to learn of the atrocities against civilians and history repeating itself of people loaded up like cattle and hauled away.
With that backdrop, it’s even more depressing to see people who are confused over who are the aggressors on the crime spree and who are the victims. This speaks to a general ignorance about the Holocaust amongst younger generations and a refusal to acknowledge that countries have a right to defend themselves.
Watch closely as TV coverage of the Israeli pummelling of Gaza will be denounced as “excessive” or “disproportionate” to the circumstances. Meanwhile the terrorists hide behind civilians and wield hostages as bargaining chips.
Israel is already being accused of 'war crimes' by the usual suspects. Queue the long line of progressive commentators on CBC who will ramp up this message in the weeks to come.
Matt, could you provide some of the sites you mentioned as reliable sources of information. It's difficult to sort through all the rubbish.
People's perception of people who are fully aware of the facts, but still feel comfortable celebrating slaughter as resistance, will also be changed if they are made to confront such uncomfortable scenes. And help them to realize it is not progressive to support people who would support such brutality, and that nothing justifies it.
People have every right to believe whatever they believe, and to talk about whatever they believe - but there should also be a social cost to that, and it can only be incurred if we fully comprehend what people consider acceptable. If you are loud and proud about your support for such things, then you should be a pariah, not permitted to wear the virtue of resistance.
When it comes to less extreme circumstances, I usually oppose social shaming or treating people with differing opinions as outcasts, but in the context of such brutality and endorsement of brutality, I fully support it.
It's scary how many won't or can't engage with such real violence, yet watch it gleefully on TV and movies.
"Evil must be opposed"
Tony, you write, "Evil must be opposed"
You are absolutely correct. And it falls to each one of us to oppose it. Wishy washy words and positions are not acceptable.
Yes. I was also goading Matt into recognizing a Star Trek: DS9 quote.