• Varyk
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    7 months ago

    No, this is the same as the all those hack writers saying that the Oct. 7th attack on Israel is the same as 9/11.

    It’s a lazy comparison that is obviously incorrect with any amount of scrutiny or historical context.

    Yes, there is a single near-parallel in that “a military conflict is happening”, but that is where the similarities end.

    If the argument is that any country ever in a war is like any other country ever connected to a war, it doesn’t seem like a very worthwhile thing to post.

    Dissimilarities:

    1. There is no direct American involvement in the war, only the perpetuation of military aid to a 75-year-old Ally.

    2. Almost zero Americans are dying, while nearly 300000 US soldiers lost their lives in Vietnam.

    3. The US got its ass kicked in Vietnam, whereas obviously Palestine has no comparable military retaliatory ability against Israel.

    4. Again, the US is not directly involved in this war. This is not going to generationally affect the US in the way that a generation of wounded and a traumatized US soldiers actually did affect US society following Vietnam. Up until a few months ago, US awareness of this 75-year-old conflict was basically nil outside of sitcom references.

    5. American tiktokers are trying to make this about themselves and so they’re comparing it to one of yhe only wars they have heard of, the Vietnam War, which is absurd and misguing it.

    6. This probably should have been number one, but the Vietnam War occurred directly because of a lie lie told by the military to Congress to trick the US government into going to war. The current war is occurring because Palestine attacked Israel with an act of terrorism for the nth number of times Palestine and Israel have attacked each other with acts of terrorism.

    The 75 year Palestinian genocide by Israel is not at all like the US invasion of Vietnam, and it’s insulting to Vietnam, the veterans then and the Palestinians now to pretend this issue is all about the US.

    This “war”, or concluding genocidal chapter, will be culturally relevant in Palestine and Israel. It will generationally define Palestine and Israel.

    I hope it influences US foreign policy, but it isn’t anything like Vietnam and to suggest so is incorrect and insulting.

    • qevlarr@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      What the hell are you talking about? The comparison is between the US college protest being like the Vietnam protest, not between the conflicts in Vietnam and Gaza which are nothing alike. This is a politically coming of age of a new generation of protesters, and the political establishment dug themselves into a position that these protesters will never accept. This may be Biden’s downfall because there’s no chance he’ll give up his full support of Israel and the occupation.

      • Varyk
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        7 months ago

        I’m talking about the entire issue.

        Your response is what I mean when I complain about laziness.

        It’s good that kids are protesting.

        This extra-national conflict , that the US is not directly involved in, and Biden clearly does not fully support, is not a generationally defining events directly comparable to Vietnam.

        As for your “political coming of age”, it’s very nice that some students are righteously upset about this war that’s been going on for almost a century, but the possibility that they are growing up is not generationally defining, it is possibly personally defining for some of them.

        Which is still important, and less hyperbolic and incorrect.

        Also, “biden’s downfall”? Absurd.

        Let’s look at how dumb that assertion is.

        If the ~13 million college student voters ignore the Biden investments in infrastructure, sustainable energy, lgbtq rights, labor rights, environmental investment, student loan debts cancellation, covid relief, domestic policy, foreign policy, international relations, and importantly, his diplomatic efforts to draw down the current israeli-palestine conflict, and they decide to focus on part of a single issue, and illogically personally blame Biden for continuing an active military alliance that has existed since before biden was potty trained, vote for somebody else and that 8% of voters somehow leads to biden’s loss and then a candidate they don’t want wins, then that outcome and its consequences will be entirely their own short-sighted fault.

        You’re advocating ignoring the achievements of an administration to bolster narrow self-righteousness.

        Personally satisfying in the same way a toddler holding their breath is, but more societally harmful and self-destructive.

        • qevlarr@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          Whatever you say. You sound like a Hillary supporter with that “smart voters would never do that” energy. I’m out. You can have the last word. Or lots of words

          • Varyk
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            7 months ago

            Appreciate it.

            Love your attitude:

            “Smart voters? Get me out of here!”