I'm not sure I like it here any more.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

51. It's the accusation based on inference and extrapolation that bugs me

So many comments do not respond to what's said, but instead respond to a worst-case reading between the lines -- the zero benefit of the doubt you mention.

If I express horror at the death and destruction that innocent Palestinians are suffering, it does not mean or even imply that I think Israel has no right to defend itself from terrorists like Hamas.

If I am of the opinion that Netanyahu's policies concerning Gaza and the West Bank have been cruel, it does not mean that I blame the victim, Israel, for the terrorist attack Israel suffered.

It is a strange time, indeed, when I agree with Moscow Mitch that Hamas needs to be wiped from the face of the Earth, but that's the way it is.

There are still people in the world who want to finish Hitler's Final Solution. Hamas is organized for such a purpose and funded by such people. Nobody has tried to exterminate me and my people, so I don't know what it's like to live under that threat. It's a reason to grant leeway in discourse, at the very least.

People who are angry about the deaths of innocent Palestinians are not necessarily victims of Hamas propaganda and antisemitic. People who want Hamas eliminated are not necessarily insensitive to the suffering of the innocent or advocating carte blanche to Netanyahu.

Hope some of that is at least coherent. Hope DUers can be more tolerant of each other during horrific and heated times.