Poetic in a way. Israel is a tarnished blister on the "Rules-based international order" in the sense that the horrific violence that the global neoliberal system enables (if not outright commits itself) is witnessed so closely and personally in/near a "first world" imperial core country, as opposed to being simply far away in some shithole desert in the popular westoid imagination. Yeah, war and famine still happen but it's mostly in those places, as opposed to the civilized regions.
Other "disturbances" to the bubble have always been there (US-Mexico Border, Labor struggles, police brutality, Mediterranean refugees, leaks of American atrocities in warzones, etc) but, save for those closer to home personally, few are as blatant as the 500 pound, nuclear-armed, trigger-happy gorilla in the room. The US and its Circus troupe of "Allies" can try to point to the barbaric practices, real or imagined, of designated enemy countries as much as they want but, just like "And you lynch negroes" in the Cold War, one can merely point out the hypocrisy when it's this obvious. It's why "Whataboutism" is still a Liberal's favorite word.
Poetic in a way. Israel is a tarnished blister on the "Rules-based international order" in the sense that the horrific violence that the global neoliberal system enables (if not outright commits itself) is witnessed so closely and personally in/near a "first world" imperial core country, as opposed to being simply far away in some shithole desert in the popular westoid imagination. Yeah, war and famine still happen but it's mostly in those places, as opposed to the civilized regions.
Other "disturbances" to the bubble have always been there (US-Mexico Border, Labor struggles, police brutality, Mediterranean refugees, leaks of American atrocities in warzones, etc) but, save for those closer to home personally, few are as blatant as the 500 pound, nuclear-armed, trigger-happy gorilla in the room. The US and its Circus troupe of "Allies" can try to point to the barbaric practices, real or imagined, of designated enemy countries as much as they want but, just like "And you lynch negroes" in the Cold War, one can merely point out the hypocrisy when it's this obvious. It's why "Whataboutism" is still a Liberal's favorite word.