Litigating Life

[days_unfolding]

I was looking at books about capsule wardrobes and color analysis, but that should wait until I lose the weight. I'll design an intentional wardrobe.

I woke up an hour early. Frittered some of the time away, but I still had time to go through a box of shoes and put them away and tried on two pairs of boots to find the ones that fit. I'm going to try to sell the other pair on eBay, but I have a weird shoe size (6.5 wide), so I'm not hopeful.

Had a nice nap at lunch and woke up before my alarm. I think that I'm catching up on my sleep.

Yay, the check from the trust is on its way. I'll have to pick a date to go back up there and book a flight. I've decided to fly instead of taking the train.

I'm having a hassle with the loan company servicing my mom's mortgage. They won't tell me the status of the account. They want the death certificate (which I've scanned) and driver's license, and proof that I'm a trustee of the estate. Well, the trust is the trustee of the estate, so maybe they'll tell them and not me. I'm tired of this kind of thing.

I’ve been very active on Facebook today. I posted this:

On a serious note...When Hamas attacked civilians in Israel, I was horrified. I wasn't at all surprised that Israel went after Hamas. After all, the US went after Osama Bin Laden after 9/11 (though we also got involved with a largely pointless war in Afghanistan). My sympathies were with Israel. When a librarian giving a talk on Zoom showed a picture of herself holding a "from the river to the sea" sign, I was appalled and wondered how she thought that was appropriate.

But I'm appalled at the number of civilians that have been killed in Gaza. During the Vietnam War (which I think that this conflict is starting to resemble), Lieutenant Calley justified the slaughter of civilians by stating that he thought that Viet Cong were hiding among them. Israel is saying that Hamas is using the citizens of Gaza as human shields. Lieutenant Calley was prosecuted, although he was the only one prosecuted, and I have a hard time believing that was the only instance of civilians killed during the war. Certainly, they were affected by bombs and napalm.

I think that Israel is in a no-win situation at this point. I don't think that they can completely root out Hamas, and in fact, they're inspiring (if that's the right word) future leaders of Hamas by this war. On the other hand, if there is a cease-fire, there's no guarantee that Hamas will honor it.

What a freaking mess. What am I missing? Tell me.

And these comments:

Israel says that 17,000 of the 40,000 killed were members of Hamas. That still leaves 23,000 civilians killed, which is a hell of a lot of “collateral damage”.

And I don’t know. Is the appropriate reaction to the killing of civilians to kill more civilians on “the other side”? I’m seriously asking that as a philosophical question.

But then:

Well, the person whom I lust after just posted a video questioning Israel’s right to exist. That was a dash of cold water. I guess that I’ll go for revenge weight loss. But seriously, I would like to meet someone whom I lust after as much as I lust after him.

And these comments:

I suppose that I could walk up to him looking ravishing, and say, “You know, I really wanted you until you posted that” :)

Or I suppose that I could argue with him and tell him that I had a friend in high school who’s parents were Holocaust survivors and it’s Not. That. Freaking. Simple. Having said that, the politics of that region are a mess. I really think that some form of two-state solution will be the only solution, but I understand Israel’s concern about being attacked from said state, as there are people who won’t be happy until Israel is wiped off the face of the earth, as witness Video Exhibit A.

I had thought about napping, but was too agitated, when it occurred to me: duh. Go work out. You’re in the perfect mood for it. I did get a good workout on the treadmill, pounding the damn thing, without any need to read. But I'm postponing using the dumbbells until tomorrow. I get in these moods where I kind of litigate life, for a lot of good that it does me, and that's where I'm at. Maybe I should do some decluttering; this probably is a great decluttering mood too.

Huh. I wanted to order some under bed storage containers for my blankets, only to find that I already had some. And I want to do mass quantities of laundry this weekend; I found some clothes that need washing that I need to sort (how many plain black t-shirts does one person need?) and some to donate to the thrift store. And I want to wash my electric blanket, which has been hanging around since winter. I think that I’ll throw a load in as I go to bed.

Comments

[shadowkat]

Yeah, I got into a fight with someone on DW over the whole Israel/Hammas conflict. I was arguing that it's a nuanced situation that goes back centuries. And the other person accused me of supporting genocide of the Palestinians and how dare I and that they wanted nothing to do with me - when all I was really doing is saying it's complicated? And of course the divisiveness in my UUA church over the mess.

Ugh.

Hear you on litigating life.

[days_unfolding]

Yeah, I think that it's very nuanced. And the gyros place at which I stopped before dinner had a sign that said that "we don't support genocide". I would like all the killing to stop though.

[shadowkat]

The "Cease Fire" signs in my neighborhood work better for me. Because both sides have committed terrible acts. And it's a small not necessarily fertile piece of land that they should learn to share. Instead, their actions are destroying the land, and themselves.

I personally consider all wars to have an element of genocide to them? I mean look at WWII - people were actively trying to either wipe each other out in that war. Vietnam certainly did. As does the War in the Ukraine. There aren't any heroes or good guys in war. The difficulty is our society thinks there are, and because of that - we don't hunt for other better means of resolving the situation.