VIrtual War at Ipeace

Good Day.

No it is not a good day..Not in Gaza, not in Israel and not in Ipeace..

But the words "Good Day" are used here as a blessing, a desire. It is an attitude.

Forums which are meant to allow people to express their grief, the sorrows, their hopes and positive aspirations have turned into a battleground.

Differences in perspective and opinion exist and totally effect the way we judge ourselves and others. These differances can not be smeared over.

The question is: "Are we looking for a better day?". for mutual repsect, some empathy..more understanding. Are we interested in seeing human beings opposite us, rather than cardboard stereotypes created to dull our humanity?

Wagging tongues and fingers at each other, questioning the other's right to exist..not trying to see the humanity behind the other's flaw..are all ways we are creating our own battlefield here.

I believe complaints to the other side can have a place here. We have read Noa's post and posts of Gazans each finding fault in the "other side". These were honestly expressed from the heart, mixing grief and anger..with the desire for a better day and the feeling of frustration they have being so far from our goal.

So stop the arguing and the battle to win points in the debate. Stop the War on Ipeace!

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Corey Gil-Shuster on January 2, 2009 at 4:02am

My opinion on this is that each side argues because it has an interest in winning. When we can’t win on the battlefield, we turn to a war of words. Sometimes these wars do result in one side winning over the other- Palestinians love to see South Africa as a model of world pressure to meet their needs. The problem with this tactic is by definition for one side to win the war, the other side must lose in some way. It may not mean annihilation but it may mean changing your group identity which to some is just as frightening.

I keep suggesting that the best path is one of striving for objective empathetic understanding. This is first created by dialogue where each and every concept is defined. How do you define peace, justice, violence, terror, land, religion, indigenous, culture, identity, nation, etc.? Because we all seem to use these words but each person/group has a very different definition. This aspect of the conflict somehow keeps slipping past everyone who engages in these debates.

I think the reason it escapes most people is that very few have a true interest in understanding or seeing the benefits of understanding. It benefits each group (Israelis and Palestinians, Jews and Arabs) to believe we are right, righteous and the other side is at fault. It helps us hold on to who we are as a group, as individuals, our belief systems, our sense of belonging, our sense of community, our sense of hope.

In the meantime, you are right Myron, we are just wasting time needlessly as more and more people suffer.

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