Photo Friday (vol. LXXIV) [O.P.S. edition]

[O.P.S. stands for Other People's Stuff]

I chose the name of today's edition because I didn't take these photos.  The were taken by a gentlemen who calls himself 'Zombie' .  They landed in my inbox as part of my daily 'briefing' from The Freeman Center for Strategic Studies.

The subject matter is quite disturbing... actually more disturbing (to me, anyway) than most of the images I saw from Israel's north or from the south of Lebanon.  They were taken in San Francisco at a pro-Hezbollah (anti-Israel) demonstration outside San Francisco's city hall.

San Francisco is a well known bastion of liberalism and free speech.  In many ways it represents all that is good about America... and also all that is bad.  Good because people are extremely politically active and use every ounce of political muscle given them by the U.S. Constitution (and then some). Bad because while you would never hear a San Franciscan calling an African American 'black' or 'negro', or a Native American/First Nation member an 'Indian' or 'Eskimo'... there seems to be absolutely no social taboo against the use of intentionally insulting epithets when talking about Jews and Israelis.

These pictures tell a chilling tale of San Franciscans who would be surprised and shocked to realize how much common ground they share with hate groups like the KKK.

Have a look:

Kikes, huh?  Please don't bother trying to tell me that this is about debating Israeli policies and not about hating Jews.  This next one seems to imply that 'Israelis' are occupying some portion of America.  Uh huh.  I think this gentlemen is actually talking about Joos.  What do you think?

It's nice to see the Palestinian flag on display as well even though this was not a demonstration about them.  I suppose any opportunity to dogpile on the rabbit...    Hate is like a good suit of clothes... any opportunity to take it out of the closet and parade it around in public is a cause for celebration.

But not to worry, there were plenty of Hezbollah flags to be seen, as well. 

Of course I always enjoy when people ignore the fact that Israel has not had an occupying presence in Lebanon for 6 years... while Hezbollah is an illegal Militia in violation of UN Resolution 1559.

Next up is a well reasoned placard.  It basically supports Hezbollah's tactics and informs Israel that it has no recourse against it.  I'd like to have chained this walking chin-biscuit to a guardrail in Kiryat Shemonah for a few days and seen if his politics evolved at all.

One of the recurring themes at such rallies is the willingness to believe that Israel and/or the US were responsible for 9/11.   There is simply no way to have a reasonable discussion with someone whose anger is so rooted in fantasy.

Of course no anti-Israel rally would be complete without trotting out some made-up quotes to further cement Sharon's place in the Pantheon of the Elders of Zion.

I especially love when Jews/Israelis are called Nazis. 

Likewise, the constant use of the word 'genocide' in reference to alleged Israeli actions/policies is meant to reinforce this myth among the uninformed.  It's a case of telling the lie so often that it becomes an accepted fact. 

Note that none of the posters seem to be stating anything particularly positive about Hezbollah, the Lebanese or the Palestinians.  One would think that a rally in support of something would actually, well, support it.  Instead, all we see is a chilling, baseless hatred for Jews.

No other ethnic or religious group would ever be spoken of in these terms by residents of the SF Bay area.  It would be the height of political incorrectness to do so.  But for some reason Israelis/Jews are not a protected species.  It is always Joo season in San Francisco.

And just so you don't think this is reserved for bay area denizens... think for a moment about the news coverage you watched at home during the war in Lebanon.  It was a very subtle thing, but even the fairly balanced coverage was marred by a horrible distinction:  Non-combatants who were endangered, injured or killed in Lebanon were always referred to as 'civilians'.  Non-combatants who were endangered, injured or killed in Israel were always called... 'Israelis'.  Apparently there are no civilians in Israel, and by extension the people who live in my country were not entitled to the same consideration and protection implied by that title.

Just so you know... another reason I used the term 'Other People's Stuff' for today's edition of Photo Friday is that this coming week you will be treated to some guest posts here on treppenwitz. This is just for a few days and doesn't mark the start of treppenwitz as a group blog, I promise. 

I've asked a few writers I know to step in while I try to recharge my batteries.  I may also republish a few 'best of treppenwitz' posts (ego?  what ego)... we'll see. 

The simple reason for this short break is that I've been writing/ranting way to much about politics and war lately and it has really run me down.  I need a few days to get back to my 'daddy-blogger' place.

That's it for today.

Shabbat Shalom.