>
>
> Um...maybe we need to ask permission from the
> Pawnee, Oto, Omaha, Sioux,
> Apache, etc. before we do anything drastic.
>
> Or did the expiration date go out on the legitimacy
> of their claim?...
>
> Bryan
US out of North America!
In the real world, sorry, yes, the sell-by date is passed. That doesn't mean that the Indians don't have legitimate claims, but it does mean that it's not on the table to discuss restoring the prairies (etc.) and having the whote (and Black! and Hispanic! and Asian!) people move "back" where they came from. Me, I "came from" Columbus, Ohio.
This is related to the Palestine issue, actually. If there is any conceivably possible not-too-unjust politically feasible solution, it will have to acknowledge the legitimate claims of Israeli Jews to live in Israel. The sell-by date for the total restoration of Palestine to the Palestinians is also gone. Israeli Jews are in the main from Haifa, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, not Kiev or Brooklyn.
Several people here (Max?) have remarked that abstract moralism of rights is not helpful in these circumstances. That doesn't mean that rights talk isn't appropriate, but it has to be deployed in a nuanced way that respects everyone's legitimate expectations. All or nothing positions (eradicate the Zionist entity! remove the Jews to Nebraska! or eradicate the PA! remove the Palestinians to Jordan!) will not promote a political process that we would want to see.
In the context of the antiwar movement here and now, while Yoshie is right that we have to look beyond the specific short term goal of trying to stop the war, the issue is complicated by the short term goal, which is necessary even if unlikely. In this context, denunciations of Zionism as racism and insistance on maximalist button-pushing positions is not helpful. Probabvly in the circumstances, we have enouigh on out platesw ith the politically palatable positions: End the Occupation! Withdraw the Settlements! No Collective Punishments! Justice for Palestineans!
jks
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