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Comment by myth_drannon | Hacker News Reader

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Many of these statements are not verifiable. Even so, the Palestinians did not invade Israel, Hamas did. Palestinians are an entire people, like Coloradans. Hamas is a terrorist organization, like Al Qaeda.

You wouldn't say the people of Afghanistan committed 9/11, they didn't, Al Qaeda committed 9/11 and took shelter in Afghanistan.

What is the government of the Palestinians in Gaza?

The Palestinian Authority, purportedly, and Hamas, effectively, in some ways. I am not an expert but I think there is strong consensus that Hamas does not represent regular Palestinian interests. Hamas should be condemned for their actions. But I don't see how regular Palestinian people are to blame.

Since the civil war in 2007, it's just Hamas; the PA governs the West Bank.

Do Americans have some amount of individual culpability for the actions our government takes on our behalf? Even when that government is unpopular or not supported by those individual citizens?

> Since the civil war in 2007…

I don’t know why you asked if you know the answer (?)

> Do Americans have some amount of individual culpability…

Placing moral or ethical judgement on an entire group based on the actions of a few is the most violent form of communication, and the basis for perpetual physical violence.

> Placing moral or ethical judgement on an entire group based on the actions of a few is the most violent form of communication

Ethically wrong? Sure, I can go there.

The most violent form of communication? In light of what Hamas just did, that seems like an absurd statement.

I respect what you are saying. I just believe that moral posturing as a pretense for more death of innocents is a compounding effect that is always greater than the initial sin. It would be much more honest just to say “well here comes the boom MFers” (which seems to be the posture of Israeli govt). Now if that same moral posturing was pretense for greater compassion or reconciliation (eg OMG we have come to this, something must change), then that would be ideal. But I think most like OP, especially those affected by the actions of Hamas (I include myself in that camp) would find responding with compassion to be absurd. Yet I believe the long tail of events will reveal these horrible actions to be yet another flashpoint, precisely because the shock of perpetual violence jumps from one tragedy to the next.

Yeah.

As I said in a previous post, if there's ever going to be peace, some of those who have killed in the past are going to have to go unpunished, and some of those who have died in the past are going to have to go unavenged. You're going to have to sell that to at least one side, and probably both. That's the only way out of the cycle of violence.

The unevinced actions of a few at that.

...according to the IDF, surely an impartial source

This is thought-deleting rhetoric.

None of what you said justifies Twilio in filtering out the word "Palestine".

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