I think that about sums up their position. People like that don't think in terms of human life and the value of it. They think in terms of optics and philosophical moral quandaries. It is pointless arguing with them on that level because they are not arguing about real lives and consequences of actions, even if they claim that's what it's about. Their arguments make as much effort as possible to move away from reality and embrace hypotheticals and truisms, where they can make you look foolish for being on the wrong side of a dichotomy.
These sort of people who go for truisms want to be able to ally with the "perfect victim." It is not so much about keeping people safe, but about protecting their own sense of moral purity by association.
So I recommend to people, rather than arguing with such people on the hypotheticals and the truisms, go back to the facts. The Nakba, the decades of settler-colonialism hurting people on a systematic and systemic level. How that is not some thing in the distant past, but is very much ongoing. People act like history there began on October 7th when it was a blip of resistance in an ongoing struggle, with the majority of violence being israel hurting Palestine and its people. The majority of power: israel. The disinterest in any kind of peace: israel. The devaluing of hostages: israel. The majority of hostages: Palestinian people that israel holds. The months and months of bombing that has followed October 7th: israel bombing civilians and civilian infrastructure.
I think that about sums up their position. People like that don't think in terms of human life and the value of it. They think in terms of optics and philosophical moral quandaries. It is pointless arguing with them on that level because they are not arguing about real lives and consequences of actions, even if they claim that's what it's about. Their arguments make as much effort as possible to move away from reality and embrace hypotheticals and truisms, where they can make you look foolish for being on the wrong side of a dichotomy.
These sort of people who go for truisms want to be able to ally with the "perfect victim." It is not so much about keeping people safe, but about protecting their own sense of moral purity by association.
So I recommend to people, rather than arguing with such people on the hypotheticals and the truisms, go back to the facts. The Nakba, the decades of settler-colonialism hurting people on a systematic and systemic level. How that is not some thing in the distant past, but is very much ongoing. People act like history there began on October 7th when it was a blip of resistance in an ongoing struggle, with the majority of violence being israel hurting Palestine and its people. The majority of power: israel. The disinterest in any kind of peace: israel. The devaluing of hostages: israel. The majority of hostages: Palestinian people that israel holds. The months and months of bombing that has followed October 7th: israel bombing civilians and civilian infrastructure.