I keep seeing people here try to play down the firing of rockets by Hamas into the civilian population of Israel. Usually, they are not trying to dismiss them as completely harmless. But in their desire to draw contrast between the might of Israel's forces to those of Hamas, and the disproportionality of horror inflicted by each side, a narrative has emerged by some that characterizes those rockets as petty and insignificant.
This is not accurate or necessary to find fault with the Israeli offensive. You won't find anyone more critical of Israel than me. I am opposed to the Gaza offensive, which I believe has been a massacre, and I am opposed to their continuous espionage against the United States, a country that is giving them financial aid. And I am especially opposed to the almost impenetrable power the Israel Lobby has over our elected representatives.
But this argument, however subtlety made, that the rockets fired into Israeli neighborhoods are no big deal has to stop.
Imagine for a moment that you are sitting in your home (since it's Sunday night, most of you are), in your neighborhood, and you know that, at any minute, an explosive rocket may be fired into your living room. Sure, the probability is low that you will get hit. But it's always there. Always lingering. When you are washing your clothes, watching television, surfing the net. It's always there.
Now imagine your children. I have a two year old daughter. And I have to tell you, I can't even bear to think of my baby, who is sleeping safely in her bed right now, being subjected to even the remotest possibility that a bomb may blow up in her room.
If you can bring yourself to imagine, for only a moment, what it would be like, to never live in peace or feel secure in your home, I assure you, you would not dismiss those rockets in any way.
Do not take this in any way as a defense of Israel. Their actions have been nothing less than atrocious - not to mention idiotic. I can't even comprehend such stupidity.
But I have always been dubious of the "proportionality" argument. It is a distraction and weakens the real argument - that bombing people is immoral. Behold the childlike simplicity of that. Just don't freakin bomb people. Find another way. Gandhi defeated the British Empire without a single bullet.
I have kept out of the I/P fray for the most part. And while I've been appalled by the bloodshed and agreed with most of the condemnation of Israel posted here, I am far more concerned with domestic issues right now.
But I really hate to see people attempt to dismiss being randomly attacked with rockets as anything less than horrific. If one of those rockets landed on a family home, killing the people inside, men, women and children, it would be more horrifying than probably anything you've ever witnessed.