The tank and the stone

Today I'm trying a new approach. Select a photo or photos that spark a particular thought, idea, subject or memory; then write about it. Keeping posts shorter and staying on topic are important. Sharing the Gaza I saw and experienced is my goal. I realize I'm also sharing much about myself, something I hadn't set out to do....it's just evolved. I'm told that happens and is good for blogs.
Let's begin with Palestinian weapons. In my ignorance the first weapons I associated with the Israel/Palestine conflict were the stones; it seems crazy to me now. Media accounts consistently referred to Palestinian boys throwing stones at tanks, jeeps, etc. The weapons, I mean stones, were causing Israeli soldiers. acting in self defense, to shoot the boys. Next the Israelis would need to destroy the boys' homes and then, for the sake of security, they were forced to destroy the entire village. The problem was the Palestinian boys and their stones! I couldn't understand why the boys' mothers or grandmothers didn't make them stop. After all, the stones were forcing the soldiers into military action. If the stone throwing stopped....no more military actions.

One day I saw a picture of a stone bouncing off a tank...the tank was shooting at a group of boys throwing stones. I finally thought about the actual damage a stone could do to a tank? Probably none; not even a "ping." And what about a jeep or armored truck? Why hadn't I realized that before? Why did soldiers respond so quickly and violently? Excessive force? An excuse to shoot? Because they wanted to? Because they could? There was no need to blast away and kill people because stones were thrown at a tank! The Israeli soldiers certainly weren't acting in self defense!!

It was a wake up call for me...finally! I began to see imbalance.....the imbalance of power: the power of Israel's weapons; the power of Israel's image as victim, causing a reluctance to criticize; the power Israel enjoys in the media....the power of ignorance, sloppy thinking, accepting what is told with out question. I felt so horribly stupid and embarrassed.

More about stones in the next post.