Steve QJ
2 min readApr 2, 2024

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Haha, you haven't paid very close attention to some of the rhetoric coming from black communities during segregation if you think this is the case. And again, even if this had been the majority view amongst black people, which it obviously wasn't, it would have been totally justified given the way white America had treated them.

You don't get to cruelly oppress people for decades, or even centuries, and then complain about the fact that they hate you or that you're scared they might seek revenge. That hatred is your fault. So it's your job to make amends. Most people, thankfully, are more interested in living their lives than seeking revenge once they have their freedom. That was true of the slaves. I see no reason to believe it's not true of the Palestinians. The hate will be there for a long time. On both sides. But that's quite different to the will to commit massacres.

I don't mean to sidestep your point, I'm just not sure I'm understanding it. I don't think we're disagreeing about homophobia or FGM or misogyny or anything else. I too consider them to be universally wrong. I think we should do everything in our power to stop societies from oppressing people. Or, at the very least, give those oppressed people the option to leave those oppressive societies. But that's still totally separate from the question of whether those societies should be allowed to live free of a military occupation, for example.

I guess I could maybe see your point if the Israeli occupation was making Gaza a less homophobic or transphobic society. Then, sure, there might be some limited moral dilemma about whether to liberate the Palestinians and let them start killing gay people. But they already kill gay people. The Israeli occupation doesn't change this (or try to change it) at all. And, indeed, parts of Israeli society are also homophobic. All the occupation does is make everybody's situation, gay or not, more desperate.

And if the question behind your question is, should we sit on our hands while societies we deem unjust are wiped from the face of the earth, the answer is no.

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Steve QJ
Steve QJ

Written by Steve QJ

Race. Politics. Culture. Sometimes other things. Almost always polite. Find more at https://steveqj.substack.com

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