Gaza is a Mirror for the West’s Hypocrisy and Selective Outrage

Western governments only endorse protests against nations that are its adversaries. Understanding this can help us be consistent in our principle of universal human rights.

Kenn Maurice Orfanos || Yesterday, I made a comment on a Toronto page about the protests that took place against the Iranian government. I simply said, “And there were no police crackdowns like their were against anti-genocide protestors.” The response I got was immediate.

One person used the laugh emoji. Another said “what is this genocide you are talking about?” also with a laugh emoji. Still another commented: “Those protests should be crushed. The people of Iran are beautiful and deserve our support, unlike the violent, evil scum of Gaza.”

Now, as I have stated before, I fully support the people in Iran protesting their government. Everyone should have the same equal human rights regardless of who they are or where they live. And I condemn the brutal theocratic regime which has admitted it has killed thousands.

But I wondered how these “protests” in Toronto would have any impact on the people in Iran beyond expressing solidarity and encouragement. Both of those things are important, but how will they affect the Iranian regime? Were they aimed at the Canadian government’s support of sanctions which undeniably cause enormous misery for the working class in Iran?

In the case of anti-genocide protests, the aim was to challenge the Canadian government’s support for Israel as it commits this monstrous crime against humanity. A material impact that goes beyond the mere symbolism of solidarity.

And this goes back to my comment. I wasn’t objecting to demonstrations in support of the Iranian people. I was pointing out that they enjoyed police protection. Yet, the ones which have protested our governments role in aiding a genocide were frequently attacked by police.

And the protests in Toronto this weekend are being openly celebrated by the city and its media. While the anti-genocide ones have been largely ignored or openly condemned. Often, the participants have been smeared as being “antisemitic” even if they are openly Jewish.

Performative activism is a feature of liberal politics. It takes no real risks and is almost always supported by the ruling class because it serves to advance their geopolitical narratives. This isn’t to say we should not show our support for the protestors in Iran. We should.

But we should understand how power manufactures consent for its crimes. How it manipulates public outrage. How it informs us who we are allowed to support and who we must condemn. How some are painted as “beautiful” and others are “evil” and “deserve” what is being done to them.

As terrible as the Iranian regime is, nothing it has done compares to what Israel is doing right now in Gaza. It has reduced ancient neighbourhoods to rubble, burying whole families under them. It is starving children and exposing them to disease. It is restricting life-saving food, medicine and aid. It has tortured and killed doctors, nurses, paramedics, teachers, poets, artists, journalists. Israeli snipers have deliberately shot toddlers in the head and neck. It has used bombs which have literally evaporated human flesh and bone. It has sponged away entire bloodlines from the ledgers of history. And it has done all of this with the assistance and diplomatic cover of the United States and other Western nations, including Canada.

If nothing else, Gaza is a mirror for the West, and it is showing its glaring hypocrisy and the rot and decay at the heart of our supposed “tolerant and pluralistic society.”

This is a photo of the ruins of the city of Rafah in Gaza. It was shared last week by an Israeli soldier. If our humanity is so impoverished that we cannot see the evil being carried out with our government’s blessing when it is staring us right in the face, then Western civilization is doomed. And maybe, it should be.