Mirror, mirror
on the wall -
who is the cleverest
of us all?
This morning, watching the early (7am) News on TV - not pleasant watching at present. Ukraine has slipped well down their place in the bulletin. Israel/Gaza/Hamas has gained prominence.
But two things caught my imagination.
First of all a photography competition - didn't catch the details. The entries shown - wild life/nature being the theme- were spectacular. One of the winning shots was incredible and the chap who took the photograph was in the studio to explain how he got the shot.
It was of a group of killer whales hunting for a breakfast. It was in the Arctic and the three of them had ear-marked a sleeping seal on an ice floe. They had plotted together (in whale-speak not shouting out loud and making a lot of fuss and noise to advertise to the world) to 'home' in on the unwary 'meal' and had swum in together, gaining speed as they went (I think the photographer said around 10miles an hour) to create a wave strong enough to wash the seal off the ice floe into the water so that they could swoop in for the kill.
Who says we are top of the world inhabitants when it comes to planning and carrying out our intentions?
Second was shots taken in the Gaza Strip. I am not taking sides here - the whole situation is far too dreadful to even contemplate. But I did watch Simon Raven's "Mediterranean" some weeks ago and I tell you for nothing - the Gaza strip is a terrible place even in peace time.
Then I pick up my Times as it falls through my letter box. The Headline: "Hamas 'cut the throats of babies' in massacre".
Plotting again. Contrast the whales - just plotting how to get a legitimate meal (if seals have seal-speak then I am sure they would immediately say it was definitely not legitimate ) with the human race - so full of hatred, so hungry - not for food but for revenge - that eventually it all boils over into this.
Impossible for me to take sides. I try not to be politcal on here as my readers know. But the two 'scenes' in my head this morning - one of those whales, the other of the terrible hatred (on both sides) that has once again enveloped a whole area. And for what? Certainly not just to satisfy hunger - well not hunger for food anyway.
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19 comments:
The situation is so complicated that sides could not be taken even years ago and it has come to this. I feel for all the civilians, especially the children.
I do not understand this level of hatred that seems to have built up in the world. Difficult political background reasons, yes, but such brutality? There are natural disasters a-plenty without adding to grief in this way.
Sometimes I find myself agreeing with Henry Ford that history is bunk, particularly the kind which retells stories from a one-sided perspective and merely builds up resentment and hatred.
Some people are no longer human beings.
Hatred is so evil. I don't understand the kind of hatred we see where it goes so far as killing and hurt.
Well I read the Wiki on the Balfour Declaration this morning and understood the 'consequences after the action' a bit more clearly. The human race is so very good at messing everything up. The world is in turmoil at the moment, and yes Rachel it has always been so but the horrors are sometimes unspeakable and by the way genocide is happening elsewhere in an African country, the news does not cover that. Perhaps we want to blind ourselves to reality and talk about the comfortable world we live in in this country.
Whales are dining legitimately on their food, the horror of killing is just seen by us. The one thing 'the feeding of revenge' has been going on for years. A simmering pot that has exploded into wickedness and killing, Let us hope the world leaders keep things steady and we do not see revenge killing.
My friend was born in Palestine now Israel, of a jewish mother, but her mother took her to a christian church and had her baptized christian. She said, because “it will happen again, and I don’t want you to go through all that” Her mother was a very wise woman. It has happened again.
Animals and sea life hunting in the wild to sustain life is fascinating. Last night at 2 a.m., I awakened to a coyote hunt in the forest behind my house. From the sounds I heard there were probably 5-7 coyote on this hunt. They probably took a deer. The middle east conflict is heartbreaking. The people caught in the horrific crossfire and violence are in my thoughts and prayers. The leaders responsible are reprehensible and should be removed.
Pertaining to the horrid world situation and as I read this morning, Eleanor Roosevelt so wisely said, "We have to face the fact that either all of us are going to die together or we are going to learn to live together and if we are to live together we have to talk."
I don't read the news.
Hugs!
I always thought Israel and Palestine were as bad as each other, but now I do take sides. How can any country justify beheading the other's babies. Can news get any worse?
Maybe we should all take a leaf out of nature's book and seek the wisdom of animals. They seem to have more morals and ethics than humans.
It is always the ordinary innocent people who suffer in these boiling conflicts.
Even the natural world can be a violent place, but as you say, usually the violence is about food. Yet even among wild animals there is bloodshed over territorial rights. We are no better, though we claim superiority. That notion should be re-examined.
This has always been the way of the world. The only difference now is weapons of mass destruction.
Everything boils down to territory - protection of, access to, invasion of, or acquiring, regardless of the cost to children caught up in it all. These dear young souls are then vulnerable/subject to - brain-washing...and so it continues. Needlessly I might add.- Pam
The forty babies that were beheaded, there is no confirmation of this. I find it hard to believe that a muslim would do this to a baby. I also know that the first casualty in war is the truth.
As for animals, it is a common practice for gorillas and lions to kill the young of females (from other males), so that the females will go into heat and they can breed with her.
The whole thing makes me feel sick to my stomach and all I see in the future is more traumatized people, on both sides. Nothing good ever comes from war.
Good conclusion on this post. there's a lot of history before they got to all the hatred.
I think the two examples you use reflect how similar we are as a species in the animal kingdom. Was the headline of cutting babies throats, literal or figurative language?
I hate to get on to Google and search for either story, though I am sure they will find me if the content algorithms are doing their job. On a slightly different matter, I saw a job advertised today for an AI content writer, to train chat bots to come up with quirky (read human-like) replies. I am seriously thinking of applying 😂
Red - Too true. Nothing has been right since 14th May 1948.
Thank you all for putting your points of view. The war and the awful killing goes on. I feel compelled to watch the news but I would rather not - I just don't think we ever get the whole truth.
You need to go back to 2 Nov 1917 Pat, the end of Ottoman rule and take over by the Allies.
http://yuliyamoreorless.blogspot.com
This is a reminder where to find posts from a fellow blogger who lives in Israel.
Pls send her your love and support.
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