The discourse is getting a little rancid on the pro-Israel side. Have you noticed? Here is an anonymous piece in the Washington Post today from an American living in England. It is supposed to be humorous– about the writer’s son getting into Eton– and includes this satirical turn:
if you hang out in the neo-Socialist circles in which I wander, the only thing worse than telling your friends that your kid just got into Eton might be telling them that you don’t outright hate the Israeli government. (I know this because I’ve done that, too.)
The headline for the piece is, “My son got into Eton and I can’t tell my big fat liberal friends.” I think this throwaway line signals the growing alienation of Israel supporters from left/liberal opinion today.
good catch.
ok now i have read the wapo article and if it isn’t complete bs i don’t know what is.
first of all lots of americans know what eton is, i know i do just from…life. but i wasn’t familiar with it when i was a kid unlike millions of america kids today who are familiar with eton because of harry potter.
http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Eton
second, the embedded link in wapo for “neo-socialist” leads to an article from 2008, one that brags about banks! even in the “neo-socialist” class in UK getting into eton is something to brag about, it is not an embarrassment.
third, the second comment on wapo asked the obvious: “And if you could never ever afford the place and they don’t offer financial aid, why apply? ”
by anonymous? sorry, i don’t buy it. and this is in the ‘politics’ section with the pro israel placement right near the top. i posit the article is there primarily to make a political pt about israel. it’s a cheap set up by wapo.
I think this article tells us more about what it means to be “liberal” these days, than anything else. Weiss fails to mention other “liberals” who also went to Eton, but are ashamed to say it, in the company they keep.
Its a pretty good illustration of what “liberals” are all about.. talk about caring about the poor, middle class, public education etc – and then send your kid to Eton or if your in the states, to Deerfield, Exeter or Hotchkiss. I mean shit, Sidwell Friends has been educating the scions of “liberals” for decades, and for only 50K a year!!
And that’s just it – “liberals” just aren’t supposed to talk about their elitism, its supposed to be kept secret. They don’t believe in meritocracy anymore than “conservatives” they just have to play along, same with human rights, labor rights etc. So, this makes perfect sense, all the way around. All of these people will still be friends at the end of the day, because they’re all full of sht, and they all know it. This essay should have been titled, “liberal catharsis” … Israel is this persons dark secret, but im sure the rest of the crowd has theirs
@- Phil,
Q: The discourse is getting a little rancid on the pro-Israel side. Have you noticed?
R: Yes. Twice, in less than a month.
marc: that article is not THAT illogical, the link to Boris Johnson provides an explanation, in words of Boris himself, of what neo-socialists do, namely criticise bankers rather than being grateful, as his lordship is (Lord Mayor of London) that they pay some taxes in the city. So at least they have some identifying feature. Apart from hating Eton and folks who do not hate Israeli government.
Still, it is bewildering to follow dispatches from Eurabia. The place reeks of Caliphate. Just now EC (European Commission) is putting the last touches on the ban on small cages in chicken farms. It took 12 years, but the last few millions of small cages will go to scap metal within months. Exactly the type of mentality that objects restricting Palestinians to Area A. In USA, bless the creator, battery cages are legal and the support of Israel is robust. In Israel battery cages are legal and housing options of various groups of Palestinians are about as attractive.
Interestingly enough, among major newspapers LA Times seems most critical of our best ally ever, and California is the only state that banned battery cages.
Another point is that one reason that Israeli government is “hated” is that it tries to defend itself against the fifth column which is funded from a variety of foreign sources, including some “pro-democracy” foundations run by parties like German CDU or British Tories. The beneficiaries are called “radical leftists” in Israel. So I suspect that it is not like Eton is so friendly to Likud, Israel Beitenu etc.