Good night oppressed minions, don’t forget to ethnically cleanse your hands & massacre behind your ears… 

The utilization of rheotric - language that is elaborate, pretentious, insincere, or intellectually vacuous - is probably as old as language itself. However, it never ceases to amaze that so many people are taken in by contentless colorful language. The so-called “humanitarians” love to use words like “genocide”, “massacre” or “ethnic cleansing” without justification, explanation or basis. Case in point the so-called “ethnic cleansing” and “genocide” of the Palestinian Arabs that so many in the left quote as if it is common sense. However, not even .001% (probably a few more decimal places) have been killed in all operations & active wars spanning 60 years, thus the utilization of these words if misleading; heck, it’s downright dishonest.

I single out the “left” for I tend to find this mindframe is much more likely to utilize colorful language to ellicit emotional responses. There is nothing inherently wrong or dangerous in utilizing rheotric, however, there is a severe consequence that comes when utilizing such powerful language without adequately basing such choice of words in hard facts & content. Desensitization is the consequence I speak of. When one uses “holocaust” to describe the inadvertent killing of a handful of civilians, it cheapens the powerful phrase by attributing it to something it is not. It also desensitizes readers/listeners for familiarity takes away the emotional oomph of such words.

If Israel is an Apartheid state… then what do we call Saudi Arabia?

Recently an event called “Israeli Apartheid Week” was being held at various Canadian Universities. The use of the word Apartheid is no accident, it is meant to illicit the brutal visions & memories of South African Apartheid. In a “perfect world”, people, especially University students, would be versed in history & current events; they would be cynical & always demand content rich explanations; they would NOT BE reliant on ‘bite-sized tidbits’ & ’sound-bytes’ as their primary source of news, history & emerging events; they would see right through this baseless utilization of shameless rheotric. If that is a “perfect world” then the real world could not be more imperfect.

Don’t misunderstand me – I am all for free speech, and I do realize it takes all sorts of viewpoints & opinions to make a “free nation” however how can anyone associate Israel with Apartheid when:

• Israel is the only trully plurarlistic nation in the Middle East, with Arabs, Jews, Samarians, Christians, Buddists, Hindus livings side by side harmoniously. Freedom of religion is respected, valued & protected by law. This respect for all beliefs is opposite of Apartheid – it is also unique in the Middle East.
• Israeli Arabs have freedom of self determination. They are free to move around, buy a home wherever they want, go to whichever school they like, pick whichever career they want. There are no restrictions in this regard – that is absolutely contrary to Apartheid, it is also EXTREMELY RARE in the Middle East.
• Israeli Arabs & all non-Jewish or secular citizens have access to full healthcare under the same social security net offered to Jews. This equality in healthcare do not Apartheid make.
• Israeli Arabs & all Israelis are subject to the same laws, the same punishments. If there is no distinction between ethicity/race then it is NOT Apartheid. In the Arab World, esp. in Islamic nations all non-Muslims are considered DHIMMI (At best) & are treated as second class citizens. They must pay a form of extortion called Jizya which is outlined in the Koran. The Koran says the Jizya must be collected so that the Dhimmi “feels subdued” (Sura 9:29)
• Israeli Arabs are the only Arabs in the Middle East who are free to (1) Run for office, (2) Vote in elections… This equality to Jewish Israelis is the absolute opposite of Apartheid.

I can go on & on. All of the above begs the question:

If Israeli Arabs are living under Apartheid then what do we call the female citizens of Saudi Arabia or the Jews of Iran, heck, what do we call the Syrians of Syria?

Everything I have stated above is common knowledge to debaters on both sides of this conflict, yet still Apartheid week goes on. And it not only “goes on”, the attendance & attention this “forum” gets is absolutely outstanding.

Rheotric vs. Logic, Rheotric wins…

I do often wonder where the academic curiosity is, why are all these attendees not asking questions in relations to the above? I have heard that some believe that by appealing to ones emotional centers a manipulator can bypass or silence that persons logic center. Obviously there is some truth to this. Still, it is rather disturbing that in the very places founded as bastions, — bases of open minds & deep thought — one can so easily elude the brains security system simply by peppering it with some strategically placed “genocides”, “massacres” & “mass graves”….