The Logical Fallacy of Comparing Gaza to Greece

 

Expressing opinion in public
Expressing opinion in public

I found an obscure op-ed dated 9 July 2015. The opinion by an editorial board: Gaza and Greece are comparable. Offhand I can think of two points for comparison: both border the Mediterranean, both begin with the letter “G.”  GAZA NEEDS WHAT GREECE IS GETTING. thePretty much published on the first anniversary of the 51 Day War, also known as Operation Protective Shield.

The fantasyland of eternal bailouts. The fantasyland of eternal hatred.

The ultimate lesson about Greece is not economic, it’s about Fantasyland. Greece has lived in Fantasyland — just like Gaza.

Greece’s fantasyland is the free lunch. Gaza’s fantasyland is the attitudinal free lunch: hatred without consequences.

The Greek fantasy is the supply of money as automatic as the laws of nature.

The Gaza fantasy is the end of Israel despite the laws of nature.

The Greek fantasy is pensions, wages, holidays, insurance, subsidies, welfare, all based on funds from outside Greece, without limit.

The Gaza fantasy is the destruction of Israel based on  random missile fire and terror tunnels.

The Greeks fight the laws of production. The Gazans fight the laws of decency and self-interest.

The Greeks are finding out the hard way that big bailouts are not forever.

The Gazans need to find out that hatred forever will not destroy Israel.

The Greeks are finding out that there is no way to economic strength other than work, discipline and the end of ridiculous policies, such as huge pensions tied to early retirement.

The Gazans need to find out that there is no path to social achievement other than tolerance, political pluralism and religious freedom.

The Greek bluff was called.

Excellent symbol.

Now the Gaza bluff needs to be called: no more “humanitarian assistance” when it is basic humanitarianism, i.e., the end of the hatred of Jews and Israelis, that Gazans need to cultivate.

Greece banked on the fear of others to let Greece fail. For this, Greece is failing.

Gaza banks on the blindness of others to the true cause of their suffering: themselves. For this, Gaza wins sympathy around the world, yet continues its suffering.

Greece is now getting a dose of reality. Gaza is long overdue for a dose of reality.

Greece turned its good people against the necessary pain and pleasure of hard work, economic reform and national self-reliance.

Gaza turns its people toward the unnecessary pain of dead Gaza children as the inevitable consequence of placing them in harm’s way.

Greece is learning: It is not someone else’s job to fix the mess it created.

Gaza needs the very lesson that Greece is learning: Its poverty is of its own making, not someone else’s responsibility to fix.

Greece is learning: Fantasyland cannot last forever. The day of reckoning inevitably arrives.

Ditto, Gaza.

Greece’s fantasyland is the free lunch

Gaza’s fantasyland is the attitudinal free lunch: hatred without consequences.

Greece is learning: It is not someone else’s job to fix the mess it created.

Gaza needs the very lesson that Greece is learning: Its poverty is of its own making, not someone else’s responsibility to fix.

No. It's not OK to place Greece and Gaza in the same headline
No. It’s not OK to place Greece and Gaza in the same headline

 

Inexplicable Discrimination

مرحبا (Hallo),

The word for today’s class is “inexplicable.” Let’s get some قهوة عربية (arabischen Kaffee) and try to understand why news stories should be read with discrimination and not with discrimination.

Hey man, look at this crazy crap. There’s a cow on the news right now and it’s walking down the expressway. Is that like something you’ve ever seen ever? It’s like a North Korean spotted anywhere outside North Korea: an escapee from an authentically horrible place. A possible location of said cow using Google Maps: buildings densely populated by bovines. You are responsible for finding two (2) similarly inexplicable matters.

Doctors make house calls in Cuba, infant mortality is low, education is free, something about literacy rates and a cartoon character. What do my fellow Americans know about Cuba, its culture, its history?

Time for a Google search, exact phrase: “most moral army in the world”. Find a sentence that incorporates all six (6) words. For example, here is one such result from Haaretz (March 3, 2014): “The most moral army in the world fired an anti-tank missile at the house in which a wanted young Palestinian was hiding. The most moral army in the world ran a bulldozer over the top of the house and destroyed it.” I subscribe to Haaretz, so this article may not be available to you. Now, to stay on task, consider usage: inexplicable or explicable.

Class assignment: clip stories from your local newspaper about police officer heroes. Compare to episodes of The Wire. Consult this database maintained continuously and meticulously by The Guardian:

People killed by Police in 2015

You may also view the following video from Australian journalists that might pique your interest and provide examples of the “inexplicable.” It’s 53 minutes long. Remember that my quiz questions may come from anywhere in the video. If you are not a member of this class you do not have to view it. It’s here for its value; however images of gross child mistreatment are always disturbing:

Stone Cold Justice

The following link is provided as extra credit or for students majoring in the Israel-Palestine Conflict (1948 to present):

Electronic Intifada

 

 

Honoring the Names of the Dead in Gaza

#GazaNames