timidgoat

I can think of one immediately that may fight the US for that title..

Fuck do I ever relate to this. I probably have over 200 titles in my Steam library that I redeemed from Humble Bundles and have never installed. Insane.

Without a doubt.

I don't disagree with you at all, the PA is a puppet of the Israeli state. Hamas was absolutely democratically elected, but it doesn't mean they aren't corrupt! To be completely fair I can't think of any politician or group vying for political power that isn't corrupt to some degree.

This is a question that I have struggled to answer since October 7. I have been an ally of the Palestinian struggle for a number of years, consider myself to be fairly well read on the issue.

I cannot condone the killing of civilians, whether that be at the hands of the IOF, Hamas, or the PLO in the days of their radical actions, however I also don't feel as though I am in a place to criticize a group of people undergoing armed resistance. I don't know what it is like to live under occupation, under siege, have family members killed for the occupier, ethnically cleansed, etc.

Do I wish October 7 did not happen? Of course.

Do I wish there wasn't a reason for October 7 to happen in the first place? Most definitely.

Hamas is corrupt, and a nasty organization in many ways, but if it wasn't them taking up arms, it'd be another group and I don't feel comfortable condemning a resistance group from my cozy western privileged life.

I don't think they care whether they are legitimate or not to be completely honest. Hamas won the election in '06 fair and square, then defended against an attempted coup..whether that leaves them as a legitimate power or not is beyond my scope of understanding. One could probably also argue that they lack of elections for the last 18 years makes them illegitimate. But regardless, Hamas is an easy excuse whether they were elected fairly today or 18 years ago. I honestly don't think Israel would treat Hamas and Palestinians any differently if they won a fair election again next week.

Exactly. When someone thinks an occupied people living under siege and military occupation can just wake up one day and decide to hold elections I can only shake my head. Israel won't allow it, because they love Hamas being in power in Gaza, it provides a very easy excuse for their actions. Israel loves the status quo, because they can seemingly get away with anything as it is.

Just because a news agency covers topics containing truths that you don't want to admit as true, does not mean that they are not journalists. Al Jazeera is not an enemy of the free world, but Israel certainly is.

Teeling is indeed a good Irish whiskey. I did a tour of the Dublin Liberties Distillery around the corner from Teeling, and brought a bottle home. Irish whiskey is very nice!

I love a good milk stout as well. But I've been hooked on Guinness since my trip to Ireland in January. Can't get enough of the stuff!

I didn't intend to say being pro-Israel means you're okay with everything they do. What I'm trying to say is that in my experience, people interpret "pro-Israel" as being in support of the way in which Israel exists, namely an apartheid an ethnostate.

I'm envious of your trips to Palestine. One day I'll get there. I have friends who said they will take me one day.

I think it's important to remember that for most people, anti-Israel does not mean Israel cannot exist at all. It is that the Israel we know, cannot continue to exist in the way that it is. Similarly to being anti-South African apartheid did not mean all the settlers had to be leave, it meant the country had to fundamentally change the way it operates and treated the its citizens.

To add, if you are calling yourself pro-Israel, I think you should be aware that for most people that means you are a-okay with how Israel has been oppressing and murdering Palestinians for decades.