If You Didn't Like It Then You Should Have Just Ignored It

To be sung to the tune of Single Ladies

When bloggers and news outlets run stories about people such as Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, etc. there will inevitably be letters and comments along the lines of, "Stop running stories about these people! We're sick of reading about them! If you stop writing stories about them, they'll go away!" That last line is the kicker. Yes, they will go away if they no longer get press. However, writing to say that is not actually ignoring them. And I can't comment to say that, because it's just adding to the page views/comment counts. Not that it matters to me, honestly, because I have honed my ignoring skills. You can do the same thing on Facebook, too! Don't like the fact that your friend posts a million status updates on his or her bowels? Ignore! If you don't want to read something, you can just ignore it. You can even block all posts from a certain person. Amazing how that works.

I bring this up because I've noticed a upswing in people commenting on posts saying, "Stop posting this. I don't want to see it." Specifically, I'm referring to Joe's posts on Israel. And honestly, I feel both passive-aggressive and hypocritical writing this, but it is my blog and I needed to get it out. I feel passive-aggressive because I'm not sure if I would willingly tell this to someone's face, and hypocritical for the reasons outlined in the preceding paragraph. Although part of the reason I'm writing this in my personal blog is so that I don't have to jump into arguments I don't really want to get involved in. I also wanted to write something because I ended up feeling hurt by the things people I consider my friends were saying.

Last week the UCI Muslim Student Union had their annual week devoted to "Israel Apartheid." I think that's the official name. Unfortunately, however, it is basically a week where the group has a booth and spews hate against the Jews. Last year when I walked by, their was a group of students standing in front of a bloody and bullet-hole ridden Israeli flag, laughing and taking pictures. I found it repugnant. This year one of the speakers called for a Jihad against all Jewish students on campus. While I am no longer a student at UCI, I do consider myself Jewish. How can I not take this personally? How can I be ok with student fees being used to promote this language? I would also condemn any hate speech that the Jewish student unions were spewing about Muslims, but I haven't really heard any.

I don't know enough about what exactly is going on in the Middle East to make a definitive statement about which side in the Jewish/Palestinian conflict is correct. The truth is, probably neither. [ETA: I also feel like I'm a traitor to my liberal beliefs for not automatically supporting Palestine.] Both sides are behaving poorly, although I tend to feel more connected to Israel, mainly because of my heritage and the fact that throughout history many different groups have called for the extermination of the Jews. I don't feel like the MSU's booth really addresses the complex issues in the Middle East, however. It just seems like UCI-sponsored hate speech, which has the potential to escalate into hate crimes.

I'm also surprised by how vitriolic some of the comments that my friends are leaving get. They've also become personal, rather than just being critical of the argument put forth. Yes, of course Joe's a little biased! He's Jewish! As I mentioned above, comments about how all Jews should die become personal. It's not an abstract concept at that point. It's you and your family. Your friends. And I feel like my friends don't recognize how it hurts me. Arguing about the Middle East conflict and what each side is doing is one thing, but arguing that hate-filled rhetoric should be allowed is another.

Anyway, this is getting kind of rambling, and I don't feel like I'm getting my point across very well. I would ask, though, that if you're tired of reading stuff on Facebook, just ignore it. If you feel you absolutely must comment, please be respectful. And if you've never been discriminated against or harassed or had the extermination of your culture called for because of something you can't change, please remember how privileged you are.