767
submitted 1 year ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/world@lemmy.world

Former President Barack Obama said a way forward for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is only possible if people acknowledge the “complexity” of the situation.

“If there’s any chance of us being able to act constructively to do something, it will require an admission of complexity and maintaining what on the surface may seem contradictory ideas that what Hamas did was horrific, and there’s no justification for it. And … that the occupation and what’s happening to Palestinians is unbearable,” Obama said in an interview on the podcast “Pod Save America.”

The former president’s comments come as the Israeli military focuses its offensive against Hamas in Gaza City and northern parts of the enclave.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] krashmo@lemmy.world 40 points 1 year ago

We certainly are catering to the least intelligent among us in almost every respect. Oddly enough I was thinking about this earlier tonight.

I went to use the bathroom at a restaurant and they had some framed newspapers hanging up in there that were run by the local newspaper in 1918. The whole front page was news about WWI but it looked very different from war coverage in newspapers today. Each article was very detailed and covered distinct parts of the conflict during that week. There were sections on American, Canadian, and English troops detailing whether they had advanced or retreated, how much fighting they had to do, and references to commanding officers, obscure geographic landmarks, and lines from speeches made by foreign leaders. It was clear from the way they were written that the author expected his audience to be familiar with all of this to the point that he could mention them in passing without offering any explanation as to how they were related or what significance they held.

This is in stark contrast to current reporting on the Palestinian conflict and to a lesser degree the war in Ukraine. Journalists rarely mention details in such a way and when they do they offer much more context, assuming the reader is unfamiliar with much of what is being discussed. Of course, they're not wrong in that assessment but I do wonder how much of that has to do with the public being slowly conditioned to expect simplicity in reporting. These articles often read more like a political interpretation than a description of events. Nuance and the expectation of sustained interest in the subject seems almost entirely absent.

[-] jungle@lemmy.world 24 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

During my relatively long life I've witnessed journalism morph from giving information to forming opinion. Sometimes they do it openly, sometimes they try to pass it as the context you mention.

I believe context is necessary now because of how fragmented people's attention is. We used to have 5 tv channels and two main newspapers and that was it. It was easier to keep the focus and remember the context back then.

Or, rather, we were all inside the same information bubble. Now everyone is in their own bubble, and there's no more common understanding of reality.

This conflict makes it super clear, because of its complexity and long history, that people don't have the time or bandwidth to understand the whole thing and end up repeating what they hear inside their bubble.

For example: your opinion is largely influenced by your location and your own history, much more than by the facts of the conflict. I come from Argentina, where most people support Israel, and I live in Ireland, where most people support the Palestinians. There's understandable reasons for that. Argentina suffered two Islamic terrorist attacks against local Jewish institutions, while Irish people identify with Palestinians because of the British oppression.

I personally live in my own bubble of course, we all do. I know my opinion is heavily influenced by my own history.

As a consequence I end up getting involved in online discussions where I argue for nuance and against simplification, but that just puts me on the "wrong side" of both "sides". So for my own mental health I've been trying to stop participating. I only wanted to chime in here because your comment seemed to capture some of what I think.

[-] krashmo@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

I know exactly what you mean about being on the wrong side of both sides. In the US our two political parties are so ingrained in culture that people feel like they can't disagree on any subject without being cast out. I've always thought the idea that you would fall perfectly into one of two categories was asinine. That's led to me taking positions on many subjects that aren't extreme enough for the purists on either side. It's incredibly annoying because you can tell that for many of them the things they're saying aren't deeply held beliefs and yet they're defended as if they are. Really though, they're simply the dominant narrative in that person's bubble.

[-] TokenBoomer@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago

I just posted a video about this in the Breadtube community if you’re interested. It’s about being able to disagree without disrespecting.

[-] jungle@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)
[-] TokenBoomer@lemmy.world -1 points 1 year ago
[-] PipedLinkBot@feddit.rocks 1 points 1 year ago

Here is an alternative Piped link(s):

Sure

Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.

I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.

[-] jungle@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Loved the video. Is that you?

[-] TokenBoomer@lemmy.world -1 points 1 year ago

I posted it. I am not Van Jones. He seems like a good guy though.

[-] jungle@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Yep, I wish everyone thought like that.

[-] TokenBoomer@lemmy.world -1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Please participate. Your perspective is important. You’re referencing consensus reality and it is indeed disintegrating.

[-] TokenBoomer@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

I’m here for comments like yours. Thanks.

[-] krashmo@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Thanks! I'm glad you found it interesting. It's sometimes hard to know if other people enjoy what I write or if I'm just rambling into the void for no reason.

this post was submitted on 04 Nov 2023
767 points (94.7% liked)

World News

38987 readers
1854 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News !news@lemmy.world

Politics !politics@lemmy.world

World Politics !globalpolitics@lemmy.world


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS