headermask image

header image

There's knee-jerk rhetoric, and then there are people with imagination

While chatting via IM with a friend who lives “somewhere in the Middle East” I mentioned that I'd put some photos taken in Ramallah and Gaza up on my Flickr account.

I noticed, he responded. Could you tag them with “Palestine” so that people can find them easily?

Sure, I said.

But then I went over to the Flickr page called Palestine and saw the following statement: Zionism = Racism
No Zionists are NOT welcome here!

Oh dear. Guess that means I can't share my photos – me being a Zionist, a racist and God knows what else. Pity.

Okay, sarcasm aside: I just think this reactionary sloganeering is so damned boring. (and stupid). Would somebody change the script, please? It's like listening to Saeb Erakat and the Israeli spokesman of the day addressing CNN's cameras after a suicide bombing: “The Palestinian Authority condemns this act” and “This is yet more evidence that Israel does not have a partner for peace.” (that “click” you just heard was the sound of the button on the tape recorder.)

[Update: After posting this late last night, I woke up to find an email from Haitham. Full disclosure: he is the friend who asked me to tag the photos with Palestine. Turns out that he is also the one who created the Palestine page on Flickr - which I didn't know, otherwise I would have discussed the issue with him directly rather than implying on my blog that he is a "stupid jerk." (oops). Anyway, for the record: I don't think that my friend Haitham is a stupid jerk. And he removed the offending text, which does not no longer reflects his views. Et voila, another silly online controversy-that-shouldn't-have-been is gone. If only everything in life could be so simple. And if only I had taken the trouble to investigate this issue before writing the post.]

On the other hand, Karim posted a much more imaginative photo essay about peace on his blog. (not for prudes).

Oh, how I love the internet. I discover such great stuff.

P.S. Someone else who likes to buck convention is coming to stay with me tomorrow.

If you liked my post, feel free to subscribe to my rss feeds

4 Comments so far (Add 1 more)

  1. Zion
    (ism)
    Jerusalem hill,
    pregnant
    with Jewish history.
    Laboring
    to birth G-d's vision
    of a complete people,
    Abraham's children,
    wed to the land
    and each other.
    jfrancis
    1.22.6

    1. Anonymous
    on September 7th, 2010 at 7:34 pm
  2. is this the friend of Wendy's? How exciting! The world gets smaller through the interweb, doesn't it. Enjoy your guest!

    2. Anonymous
    on September 7th, 2010 at 7:34 pm
  3. Check that page again, Lisa. That quote about Zionism is no more there!
    On the other hand, 'tagging' a picture has nothing to do with 'adding' it to certain group. These are two different things…
    So, please tag them to what they are ;-)

    3. Anonymous
    on September 7th, 2010 at 7:34 pm
  4. Bravo Lisa for inviting the Iranian blogger to TA, a coup de genie!! I'm excited to read about how it goes, so don't keep us waiting too long. On his way back send him to Paris… Bon courage!

    4. Anonymous
    on September 7th, 2010 at 7:34 pm

Post a Comment

Your email is never published nor shared. Required fields are marked *

*
*