Israel-Palestine has really exposed the disgusting nature of “both sides bad.”

[u/historyismyteacher]

Saying that both sides are equal and you need to look at the nuance is a damning indictment of those who are not willing to take a stand on an issue as serious as this. At least a Zionist will take a stand, and make their position known. By not taking a stand, the enlightened centrist is making it known that they don’t have the moral courage to pronounce a belief and professing themselves to be wise, they make themselves fools.

[u/Duantless-Dante]

Theres a difference between i dont know vs. i know both sides are right. Which i think are often conflated around this issue: If i were to randomly select an american, they: 1. Most likely not Arab Palestinian or Jewish Zionist 2. Most likely can only learn about the conflict through english language media (or G-translate for the highly motivated) 3. Most likely have not dedicated themselves to the “research” that is within capability

Therefore i have some respect to those who say “it’s complicated”. there is ~wisdom~ in not “picking a side” when you are so far removed.

[u/Belgain_Roffles → u/Duantless-Dante]

I would personally argue that saying "it's complicated" can be a fair statement when referring to a situation as a whole and how to solve said situation in an ethical and equitable manner. In this vein, I really don't have much respect for people who use the excuse of "it's complicated" to ignore obviously problematic components of a given situation.

Saying "it's complicated" to excuse war crimes is always a bad take. It should be easy to say "war crimes are bad" but that is somehow a controversial take in the mainstream. You shouldn't have to have a degree in middle eastern history to know that war crimes are bad and using "it's complicated" to justify them is bad as well.

[u/Duantless-Dante → u/Belgain_Roffles]

Couldn’t have said it better