Conflict between Palestine and Israel escalates

Agema

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I thought race was more or less tied to the continent? Like we have India and Japan, both ethnic groups and countries sure, but both are Asian. That's the race. Mexico, Canada, US, we're all North Americans.
When someone moves and has a family in another continent, say an Indian moving to the US, their country of origin is still India, but now their children are Asian American, they're not British Asian or African Asian, the race changes based on the continent.
Race is a mostly an arbitrary social construct, so it means whatever someone wants it to mean. But normally it would represent a sufficiently distinct group by "blood" or genetics. Traditionally, of course, determined by simple gross appearance: hence the typical concept of white, black, Oriental, Indian, etc.

People might also use a much smaller scale and define Scandinavian separately from German or Hutu from Tutsi at the level of race: your typical nationalist would probably do things like talk about the "British race", but the concept is laughable with any awareness of the mixed nature of the people in any geographical area. Race generally is quite hard to really defend, although the above idea generally relating to skin/hair colour and some facial features is by now well embedded in our culture.
 

Avnger

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Race is a mostly an arbitrary social construct, so it means whatever someone wants it to mean.
I think the clearest example of this is how the definition of "white people" in the US expanded over time. Initially it only really referred to WASPs with groups such as Irish people, Italian people, and Polish people only becoming included later on. The question of whether Jewish people are considered "white" is also a great example as white supremacists will change their answer depending on what's most beneficial to their current argument.
 

Seanchaidh

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I'm quite impressed by how comfortable someone can be saying these things.
 

Seanchaidh

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Eh, I doubt it. People don't need to have been (or their ancestors to have been) persecuted in order for them to persecute others.
I do wonder how much is a vast overreaction to insecurity about seeming stereotypically weak and victimized, though. Not that it's of any particular moral relevance.
 
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Thaluikhain

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I do wonder how much is a vast overreaction to insecurity about seeming stereotypically weak and victimized, though.
Well, it's not an uncommon viewpoint, people are always claiming to being oppressed by the "lesser races" they want to oppress, who are at once their inferiors but able to dominate them. Don't know if it's more the case here than usual, though.
 

Seanchaidh

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Seems like something that maybe the United States should have an opinion about.
 
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Cheetodust

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What the fuck did the Irish ever do to them?
Said what they were doing is bad and then proceeded to do nothing about it because FG and FF love to pay lip service to decency but just like they fought tooth and nail to stop same sex couples marrying or repealing the 8th amendment they don't actually give a shit. They voted for saying "No, bad Israel." but voted against actually doing anything.
 

Seanchaidh

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Said what they were doing is bad and then proceeded to do nothing about it because FG and FF love to pay lip service to decency but just like they fought tooth and nail to stop same sex couples marrying or repealing the 8th amendment they don't actually give a shit. They voted for saying "No, bad Israel." but voted against actually doing anything.
What is Ireland actually in a position to do?
 

Cheetodust

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What is Ireland actually in a position to do?
Boycott. There was also pressure to expel the Israeli ambassador. Which honestly isn't as simple as all that but the issue I have is we all know what Russia, China, Saudi Arabia and other countries are like but the government usually keeps pretty quiet about actually calling them out. But if you're actively going to make the effort to call out a country fucking do something about it. Ireland is a small country, unlikely to change the world but we could at least stand by the principals we claim to.
 
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