Daily Shaarli
October 20, 2023
Winner of the Autism Society of America’s Dr. Temple Grandin Award for the Outstanding Literary Work in Autism
A groundbreaking book on autism, by one of the world’s leading experts, who portrays autism as a unique way of being human—this is “required reading...Breathtakingly simple and profoundly positive” (Chicago Tribune).
Autism therapy typically focuses on ridding individuals of “autistic” symptoms such as difficulties interacting socially, communication problems, sensory challenges, and repetitive behavior patterns. Now, this updated and expanded edition of Dr. Barry M. Prizant’s Uniquely Human tackles new language such as shifting from “person-first language” to “identity-first language,” diversity of identity in the autism sphere, and the future of autistic advocacy by amplifying the voices of autistic and neurodivergent individuals.
Somewhere along the way, I, of course, encountered the famous Martin Niemöller quote:
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
And, of course, I understood its message — it's inescapable. Yet, on some level, I felt exempt from it. Certainly, I would never be the person who didn't speak out. (It's funny — the little lies we tell ourselves, isn't it?) The sad truth is that there have indeed been times in my life when I've held my tongue and remained silent when I shouldn't have — most often simply to avoid conflict rather than in the dire context contemplated by Niemöller, but deserving of frank appraisal, nonetheless.
Particularly in recent years, I've learned that because my views differ from many of my friends and family members, it's best not to voice them in certain settings. Such efforts are too fraught with peril. I don't want to lose or even inadvertently alienate people I care about. I know many don't subscribe to that approach, but for me, preserving relationship is paramount to opining — in most instances. //
Without betraying any confidences, I can say that a recurring sentiment I've seen expressed by Jewish friends and family over the past week is disheartened disappointment in the silence from some quarters — people they consider friends and allies, people who belong to groups or espouse beliefs that they've stood with and defended in the past. In many cases, it's left them feeling abandoned; in some, it's left them wondering if it's a silent expression of ambivalence or — though it's hard to fathom — tacit approval.
I'm not of the "Silence is violence" camp. But I do agree that silence can speak volumes. Indeed, when I encountered this article on Tuesday, it struck a jarring chord: Why Are All of You Silent? The entire piece is a worthwhile read, but I'll share a brief excerpt:
Some of these people have something to say about every political cause. They insist that “silence is violence” and that, in the oft-quoted words of Desmond Tutu, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” But apparently those maxims don’t apply when Jews are being murdered.
If anything, it speaks to the sheer inhumanity of Hamas’ attack that there are so many people staying quiet—normally when Israel appears in the headlines, every woman who took “Intro to Human Rights” in sophomore year posts at least three infographics about Palestinian borders on her story. It’s a shame it only took babies being beheaded and women being violently assaulted for people to stop treating a tragic conflict in a deeply complicated place they’ve never visited as a convenient opportunity to broadcast their political virtues.
...
War crimes and murdered toddlers are not a “complex political situation” with “arguments on both sides.” You can support Palestinian statehood—in fact, you can have any opinion you want about the regional politics of the Middle East—and still believe that jihadist terrorists abducting 85-year-old Holocaust survivors should be condemned. Conflating those two things only gives credence to the idea that violence against Jews is political; violence against anyone else is unquestionably evil. Insisting on that distinction, in the public arena where narratives are created, is the only way to break the cycle of demonization and intimidation-into-silence.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war and said that Hamas “will pay a price it has never known before.”
The counter-attack from Israel is now underway, and because of the brutal nature of the Hamas attack, Israel is not going to leave any stone unturned in their response. They've gone too far this time. A lot of killing of Hamas is about to follow.
However, even in that, Israel shows their fundamental humanity and how different their response is. Hamas fires rockets on civilian areas, kidnaps and kills Israeli women and children, then runs and hides in residential buildings, using the cover of their own women and children. The purpose is to terrorize and harm Israeli civilians, then try to avoid any consequences. But Israel — which could just take out the buildings — does something extraordinary on behalf of civilians. They do what's called a "roof knock" strike with a low-level explosive to warn any non-combatants to get out before the full strike comes. Hamas targets civilians deliberately, while Israel does everything it can, even under these circumstances, having undergone a dastardly attack, to minimize civilian casualties.
Laura Ingraham @IngrahamAngle
·
Ron DeSantis points out the irony: 'Arab countries, often vocal supporters of Palestinian Arabs, aren't accepting them as refugees. They're concerned about their own countries. Why can't US elites share the same concern?' #IngrahamAngle 🤔
8:05 PM · Oct 17, 2023 //
Moonmad
18 hours ago
It's simple, Palestinians terrorists in the past used the host country as a base for their actions and often fought and undermined the Jordanian and Egyptian government. Look at Lebanon they started a civil war there and the current government is too weak to get rid of them so they try to manage them. It would be the same as bringing int he Mexican Cartels and have them start agitating in Texas. Oh wait we're in the process of doing that.
Now the administration has removed the picture and made a public apology for the security lapse. The damage is already done, however, as Hamas terrorists presumably are able to screen capture just like anyone else. Plenty of people have already taken advantage of the screenshot button, and the untouched photo is still all over the place on the social media platform X. //
Monica Crowley @MonicaCrowley
·
The Biden WH just doxxed the Delta Force operators in Israel to rescue American hostages
and the Biden State Dept issued a Worldwide Caution for U.S. citizens.
Your life - and the life of every American - is in exponentially more danger under this corrupt psychopath.
1:56 PM · Oct 19, 2023
Media outlets around the globe were quick to run Hamas’ headlines—without fact checking.
We now know that an Islamic Jihad rocket aimed at Israel misfired and hit the hospital in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/DzJgsbxS4i
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 17, 2023 //
Israel Defense Forces Spokesman Jonathan Conricus was interviewed by the BBC, and he used it as an opportunity to let them have it for their reporting and to eviscerate the media in general for their failure to confirm the facts before running with the story.
houdini1984
4 days ago
You can support "palestinian" statehood, of course, but it is impossible to support that without supporting their idea of a state, which is from the river to the sea - meaning all of the land that the Jews inhabit. The dream of "palestinian" statehood is nothing more than a continuation of Hitler's final solution. It is a dream of genocide that would see every Jew killed, driven into the sea, or forced to flee in terror.
There is no such thing as a "palestinian" outside of the context of this genocidal ambition. The very idea of a palestinian cause has nothing to do with restoring some previously existing Arab state called Palestine - since no such Arab state has ever existed. No, the very idea of Arab Palestine is about one thing and one thing only: the destruction of Israel and of the Jews. The idea of a palestinian people is nothing more than the politicization and attempted normalization of genocide.
Period.
Curtis Houck
@CurtisHouck
·
Follow
ABC to IDF members: "There are those voices there, across this region and elsewhere who say the price of military action is too great, that too many civilians are now dying. Too many Palestinians dying."
Israeli solider: "We're in a full war here. And the responsibility isn't on us [to pull back]. You should take that question straight back to Hamas. We are here because we have no other choice."
10:21 AM · Oct 16, 2023 //
The goal of war isn't an eye for an eye, it's to make sure that the group that took your eye never has the resources, manpower, or wherewithal to try to take yours, or anyone else's eye again. It is the show of such overwhelming and deadly force that your enemy is crippled to the point of never getting back up again or, if possible, the complete destruction of them.
There's an old saying about how war is hell, and that's especially true in places where terroristic despots have their military trained to use civilians as human shields, including having them hide in hospitals, daycare centers, apartment buildings, and the like so that when and if their opposition strikes back, they'll be accused of war atrocities against innocent people. //
On the other hand, if the Hamas government actually cared about the loss of innocent life then perhaps they wouldn't have green-lit their military to take hostages, murder, rape, and parade naked women in the streets, and behead infants.
But the torture of the Israeli people was the point despite what Hamas knew would be an overwhelming response of force, because this isn't just about Israel for Hamas; it's about the eradication of Jews worldwide, starting in their homeland which of course leaves the IDF no choice but to respond accordingly. //
Douglas Proudfoot
2 days ago
It ain't a war crime to kill human shields. Protesters have ignored that fact. It's only a war crime to hold humans as shields for military targets. The ONLY war criminals are Hamas. Under the rules of war, any military installation is a legal target, regardless of whether there are civilians on or near the target. If there are civilians on or near the target, it is the resposibility of the controling authority, in this case Hamas, to evacuate the civilians as best they can. Hamas tries to stop civilian evacuations, because they want to maximize civilian casualties. Again, that's Hamas' war crime and ONLY Hamas' war crime, no matter how many civilians are killed.
Hamas has over 400 km of tunnels under Gaza, but no bomb shelters for civilians. Hamas has supplies for months of siege, but Gaza civilians are already running out of drinking water, fuel and food. In short, Hamas values civilians in Gaza only as casualties and human shields.
Everything Hamas does is a war crime, genocide, killing babies, taking hostages, killing prisoners of war, using human shields and making no provision for the civilians under their control. Nothing Israel does is a war crime.