My father was Jewish—he died in 1984. I am not Jewish—I was raised by a Black man and an Italian Catholic mother.
As for me, I am a humanitarian and an atheist. I would remind everyone: if you were born into the lives of those you oppose, you would feel exactly the same way the opposing side does. Remember that. In reality, your beliefs are an accident. You only believe what you believe because your parents had sex in a certain part of the world and you were conceived. I will repeat this paragraph at the end. Stay with me, please:
I remember my biological Jewish father used to say to me in the late 1970s and early ’80s, “Scott, if the shit ever hits the fan in the world, run to Israel for safety.” While it was a well-intentioned comment from my late father, it was a dead wrong (pun intended) assessment. Israel is the last place on earth I would run to for safety. Quite the opposite, if I wanted to bring extreme danger into my life, sure, then I would run to Israel. And I have said the same many times in my life, way before October 7th, 2023.
If I were a young man coming up in the world in Israel, whether an Israeli or Palestinian, I would NEVER bring new life into that region. It’s not fair to bring them into a region with such violence, hostility, and volatility. If you are born a Palestinian, you will live in destitution and despair with no hope. And if Hamas commits atrocities like they did on October 7th and will do again, you will be slaughtered by the tens of thousands. No point in that life.
If you are born an Israeli, there’s a good chance you will get blown up by a suicide bomber or violently killed with the many more October 7th type attacks that will happen over and over again. It’s not a question of “if” this will happen again. It is a question of “when” this will happen again. No point in that risk.
That is where Scott Smith gets off the train. Because I know the truth, when it comes to Israel/Palestine, “The only winning move is not to play.” Translation: don’t have kids. It’s not fair to them. If you must have a family, move to another country. If you can’t afford to move to another country, adopt a child and/or rescue an animal. There are plenty of them in need in Israel/Palestine/Gaza.
Retribution City—A Cirle of Hate
This conflict will never end in this life or the next 10,000 lives. October 7th was Israel’s 9/11. No question about it. But, October 7th is going to happen again and again. And Gaza will be turned to dust again and again. And the beat goes on and on and on. Again, I can only speak for myself, I would NEVER EVER bring new life into that region whether I was an Israeli or a Palestinian.
My late biological Jewish father is turning over in his grave right now. We have campuses all over the United States where Jewish students don’t even feel safe anymore. Life will be much harder for young Jewish people coming up in the United States for a long time to come. I wish it was not the case, but it is until otherwise noted.
As for me, I am a humanitarian and an atheist. I would remind everyone: if you were born into the lives of those you oppose, you would feel exactly the same way the opposing side does. Remember that. In reality, your beliefs are actually an accident. You only believe what you believe because your parents had sex in a certain part of the world and you were conceived.
What’s the point in me saying this? – The point is to say that we are really all the same. But somewhere along the line, ideals became more important than actual lives. And now, blood, death, and violence are running rampant.
Thank you for hearing me out.