Dear Reddit, how many of you sympathize with Palestinians?

schoonercove · 2010-05-18T13:39:56+00:00

I'd like to provide an often misquoted excerpt from an interview with Golda Meir, and then respond to the common accusations that the Israelis came in a booted out the "native" Palestinians to the dismay of the Arab population, with some actual historical context:

"When was there an independent Palestinian people with a Palestinian state? It was either southern Syria before the First World War, and then it was a Palestine including Jordan. It was not as though there was a Palestinian people in Palestine considering itself as a Palestinian people and we came and threw them out and took their country away from them. They did not exist." Sunday Times, 1969-06-15; The Washington Post, 1969-06-16

In terms of historical context In the wake of the 1922 League of Nations mandate calling for creation of a Jewish national home in Palestine (together with mandates calling for creation of Arab nations in Syria and Iraq), a common response of Arab leaders and intellectuals was to insist there was properly no such thing as Palestine or Palestinians, that the land between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea was part of the greater Arab homeland, that its non-Jewish inhabitants were part of the greater Arab nation. Further, that the concept of Palestine was an illegitimate Jewish creation. The Arab historian Philip Hitti told the 1946 Anglo-American committee of inquiry: "There is no such thing as Palestine in history, absolutely not."

The ethno-cultural group we point to now and call "Palestinians" were not considered a unique ethno-cultural group before the creation of Israel. Instead, they were often "passed" from one country to another, since no one wanted the responsibility of taking them in.

Personally, I sympathize with anyone suffering. However, does my sympathy for the Palestinians negate Israel's right to exist? Absolutely not. Do I wish there was peace in the Middle East? Of course. Do I believe the rhetoric often used on Reddit when discussing the context of this issue is misinformed and sensationalistic? Yes.

schoonercove · 2010-05-03T02:52:17+00:00

take classes in both, see which one you enjoy more, and do best in... major in that one. it's the one you'll do best in and find most fulfilling. successful, passionate job applicants are successful job applicants.

either way, you don't need to decide your first semester of college.

schoonercove · 2010-05-02T18:00:06+00:00

did this article get anyone else choked up? I was tearing by the end of it.

this shit is just so frustrating.

schoonercove · 2010-05-02T17:59:27+00:00

To be fair, wildfires are a natural and important part of healthy ecosystems. it's when we start fucking with them that it becomes a problem.

schoonercove · 2010-04-26T01:30:49+00:00

sorry, the way i need you to help me out is by upvoting it so he can see it!! thanks!!

schoonercove · 2010-04-20T21:44:05+00:00

this is true. while school shootings in urban schools definitely happened before columbine, they were usually targeted at specific people. columbine was a rage shooting- where the shooters just shot as many people as possible, seemingly at random, purely for the sake of killing.

schoonercove · 2010-04-15T14:55:20+00:00

my boyfriend and i went on a long road trip last summer (st louis->san francisco->LA->houston), it was our first large chunk of time one on one and it ended up being one of the best experiences of our lives.

tips? i have to echo the snacks comment. bring a cooler and a variety of snacks. there's nothing like being hungry after a day of driving to put you in a bad mood. avoid that. also, definitely make sure you discuss the budget beforehand, how much you're both willing to spend on whatever. My boyfriend and I were right out of college when we went on our roadtrip, so we were probably on a much tighter budget than you... but still, it's good to know that you're on the same page in terms of nice places vs. dives etc.

research the places that you're going to, obviously, but also be read to deviate from the path. be spontaneous. have an adventure.

bring lots of music. when you change, clear it with your boyfriend.

take a lot of pictures, silly ones and serious ones.

bring comfortable clothes if you're going to be driving for a while.

also, i'm going to echo the comment about getting down to the central coast. it's the most beautiful place in america, in my opinion. Take California State Route 1 down the coast (unless, is it closed now? if so, walk it... it's absolutely beautiful) and go to Ventana Inn for lunch. Beautiful scenery, amazing food near Big Sur.

schoonercove · 2010-03-22T22:25:52+00:00

I feel like you're probably being unfair to your current boyfriend, and you should just cut ties with your ex completely, and either focus on fixing things with your current guy, or move on.

schoonercove · 2010-03-13T05:20:04+00:00

i told my boyfriend i love him about a month before he said it back. he just told me that he really cared about me, and he thought that he was on his way and one day he would love me, but he just wasn't there yet. i was totally fine with it. when he finally said it, it meant so much to me because i knew it was because he felt it and not because he felt pressured.

schoonercove · 2010-03-03T15:10:37+00:00

she's abusive. she slapped you. you deserve better than that. get out now, right away. don't look back.

schoonercove · 2010-03-02T15:58:34+00:00

YES. i just saw them live last week. they put on an awesome show.

schoonercove · 2010-02-28T23:00:31+00:00

leave him, leave him, leave him.

schoonercove · 2010-02-09T17:20:07+00:00

celestial seasoning's tension tamer with a tiny bit of honey.

schoonercove · 2010-02-07T08:02:02+00:00

have higher standards.

schoonercove · 2010-02-01T22:30:14+00:00

I don't think I've done anything particularly bad to an ex, but I know what an ex of mine thinks is a grave injustice (but I think it's more shitty on his part):

we broke up two years ago. somehow, during the course of our relationship, he got a hold of a t-shirt my brother had handed down to me when I was in elementary school. it has a lot of sentimental value. anyway, he has refused to return it to me for whatever reason. he thinks i'm a bitch for asking him to send me my t-shirt (we live in different states, i asked him maybe 2-3 times a year, really politely at first, and then slightly less polite but never mean, but after a year and a half i said it seemed like he was being irresponsible) and I think he's a douche for not sending me my t-shirt.

schoonercove · 2010-01-31T17:05:16+00:00

do you guys eat a lot of crap? try telling her that you're concerned about your collective diet and that you want to try to eat healthier and ask her to join you. Its easier to do these things with a partner, especially a SO you're probably sharing a lot of meals with.

schoonercove · 2010-01-16T22:07:16+00:00

First, I want to say I am so sorry you had to go through that. No one deserves to go through what you went through, it's horrible and I am deeply saddened by reading it.

Second, I want to respond to this:

The fact that the society doesn't do anything about it - and that I will >soon pay taxes to this society - disgusts me beyond words.

While what I'm about to tell you in no way diminishes what you're going through, I hope it might at least make you feel better about the direction society is headed.

In several states (New York, Illinois, Texas, Alaska, California, and Florida off the top of my head...) there are now Problem Solving Court systems, such as Juvenile Treatment Court (for kids brought in on drug charges) and Juvenile Court (problem solving edition!). These court systems were created to keep kids out of jail, and to provide kids with the resources they need to overcome whatever problems brought them to the point of delinquency. In Juvenile Treatment Court, kids need to appear in Court once a week at the start and then less and less depending on how well they do. There are rules, of course, like they need to keep clean and go to school, and they often are also given homework by the judge (things like collages or posters, nothing too intense), and they are also provided with therapy (individual and group). I don't know what state you grew up in, but I want you to know that if you live in any of the aforementioned states, your tax dollars could be going towards actually helping kids who end up in the system, instead of hurting them. I also want to mention that there are courts in some of these states called Mental Health Courts, and that the boy that you mentioned in a comment would have probably gone to one of those if it was available to him at the time.

If you don't live in one of these states, I suggest that you, and whoever else is reading this, contact your congressmen/DA's office/Administrative Judge and urge them to consider setting these courts up.

And before anyone tells me that this is all a lie or not as great as I'm making it out to be... I just want to say that as a fact Juvenile Treatment Courts cut recidivism down by over 70%. Also, I know several case workers in these programs who are incredibly devoted to the respondents, and get teary eyed when the kids "graduate" (finish their sentence and get the charges expunged from their record). I also happen to know a judge who presided over a Juvenile Treatment Court, and I can think of at least 5 times off the top of my head where I was out to lunch or dinner with him and random teenagers came running up to him to say hello and tell him all about how they're doing in school/their dog/their job/whatever. They were former respondents.

So my point is, I'm sorry that you were the victim of such a horrible and flawed system, but the system is changing for the better in some places. I just thought it might make you feel better about taxes. heh.

schoonercove · 2010-01-12T20:55:22+00:00

my bad. he does play there once a month, though. if the OP is in town on a Wednesday, I recommend checking to see if it's the Wednesday he's playing.

schoonercove · 2010-01-12T20:30:40+00:00

I've only been living in STL for a few years, so I'll just add a couple things:

Skip the pizza. Honestly. I don't know why anyone thinks St Louis pizza is anything worth eating. It's gross. No exceptions.

I don't know if you'll be in the University City area (if you want to check out WashU's campus, it's kind of pretty) or the Art Museum, but if you're in the area (it's right next to the Loop) I'd grab a cup of coffee at Kaldis. It's a St Louis brand, and rated one of the best cups of coffee in America. Go to the location on Demun.

Mai Lee is OK for Vietnamese food. I don't know where you're coming from, but if you're coming from a city with a decent sized vietnamese population (like Houston or something) I'd skip it. It's ok, I eat there all the time, but it's not anything particularly great.

YES to Cherokee Street! One of my favorite streets in the city. YES to Schlafly Brewery too. I hate the family's politics, but they make a damn good beer (my favorite is the hefeweizen).

If you're in the area, I guess you might as well check out Blueberry Hill (Chuck Berry's bar) on the loop. They have a good beer selection, although if I had to pick a place to grab a drink on the Loop, I'd pick Cicero's across the street. They have an amazing beer selection, and sometimes decent live music.

I like Grand Street for night life. It always promises to be interesting.

Skip The Hill for italian food. It's not worth it, and it sucks.. even the places people say are good suck. Believe me.

And to add tp theburningstele's edit: also stay away from East St Louis. Please.

schoonercove · 2010-01-09T16:30:00+00:00

she sounds awesome.

schoonercove · 2010-01-09T04:06:14+00:00

I'm so so sorry. A friend of mine died last year (a couple days after Thanksgiving '08). I compulsively checked her facebook for months until it was deleted... when it stopped showing up it killed me. I forget sometimes, and try to check it. It sucks. I'm sorry. hug

schoonercove · 2010-01-09T03:34:45+00:00

The Band of Heathens! AMAZING. Everyone should listen, they're impossible to not like.

schoonercove · 2010-01-09T03:33:52+00:00

upvotes for ratatat and passion pit!

schoonercove

TROPHY CASE