The word ‘genocide’ is bandied about rather carelessly in the context of the Gaza war. However, the word ‘genocide’ has a definition “the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group.” Is Israel trying to destroy the Palestinians? Of course, not. The death toll is far too low. What ‘genocide’ really means (these days) is “something I don’t like”. Given that the population of Gaza and the W. Bank have risen massively in recent decades, Israel is entirely innocent (of genocide). Of course, Hamas would carry out a real genocide if they could.
Hamas may be anti-women, anti-gay, anti-trans, and anti-abortion (it is). However, the elite love them (Hamas) and hate Israel. The fact that a ceasefire in 1944 would have left Hitler and Tojo in power and that a ceasefire now would leave Hamas in power seems to have gone unnoticed.
It could be that behind many of these "failures of nerve" lies a refocus of the purpose of institutions. If my practice of medicine is focused on, say, "wellness", I will prioritize triage patients by criteria such as urgency, severity and my ability to help. If it, like everything else, must be focused on antiracism or anticolonialism, I may treat a black man before a white one (as a reminder, this was a decision actually made and then rescinded by a certain group during the COVID emergency). It doesn't have to be fear or avarice that motivates these cave-ins; it could be a different understanding of what the institution is there for.
If PEN thinks it's there to help the world by celebrating and protecting writers and writing, it won't involve itself in any of these other controversies. If it thinks that everyone, including PEN, is there to help the world in any way possible -- and has accepted that being antiracist and anticolonial is helping -- then it can't help but involve itself.
The word ‘genocide’ is bandied about rather carelessly in the context of the Gaza war. However, the word ‘genocide’ has a definition “the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group.” Is Israel trying to destroy the Palestinians? Of course, not. The death toll is far too low. What ‘genocide’ really means (these days) is “something I don’t like”. Given that the population of Gaza and the W. Bank have risen massively in recent decades, Israel is entirely innocent (of genocide). Of course, Hamas would carry out a real genocide if they could.
Hamas may be anti-women, anti-gay, anti-trans, and anti-abortion (it is). However, the elite love them (Hamas) and hate Israel. The fact that a ceasefire in 1944 would have left Hitler and Tojo in power and that a ceasefire now would leave Hamas in power seems to have gone unnoticed.
These people that misuse the word "genocide" are also the ones that can't define a woman, peaceful protest or racism.
It could be that behind many of these "failures of nerve" lies a refocus of the purpose of institutions. If my practice of medicine is focused on, say, "wellness", I will prioritize triage patients by criteria such as urgency, severity and my ability to help. If it, like everything else, must be focused on antiracism or anticolonialism, I may treat a black man before a white one (as a reminder, this was a decision actually made and then rescinded by a certain group during the COVID emergency). It doesn't have to be fear or avarice that motivates these cave-ins; it could be a different understanding of what the institution is there for.
If PEN thinks it's there to help the world by celebrating and protecting writers and writing, it won't involve itself in any of these other controversies. If it thinks that everyone, including PEN, is there to help the world in any way possible -- and has accepted that being antiracist and anticolonial is helping -- then it can't help but involve itself.