I think we can tell what this blog is going to be about, can’t we?
I’ve woken up this morning to the news that the orange one has bombed Iran… I haven’t written for a while, to be honest; I haven’t been in the mood. My mental health has taken a dip after a series of events that have all chipped away at me.
But today I feel compelled to write, even if this will probably result in some sort of discussion I am not mentally equipped for.
As ever, a caveat. I can’t pretend to be an expert on all the topics I am about to cover, because I am not; however, I do have an opinion and a voice that I am prepared to share. If that doesn’t align with yours, then please do me the honour of a proper debate. Not a slanging match, because that helps no one…
Shall we start? In no particular order…
Genocide and War
No introduction needed here. Israel is currently systematically destroying Palestinian territories. This episode has been going on for months, but this conflict goes back years. There has been a Western hand in this; the British had control in the early part of the 20th century, and all hell has broken loose every few years since.
I know, that’s incredibly simplistic. But right now, Israel is trying to wipe the Palestinians off the face of the earth, and not many Western powers are condemning it (more on that later).
There are probably many reasons for this. Early on in the current conflict, anyone opposing Israel’s actions was accused of being anti-Semitic. There is a massive difference between Judaism and Zionism, and Netanyahu is a Zionist.
Anyone who protests against what is happening is being labelled as an extremist, which doesn’t help anyone.
This has now ramped up a notch with the US bombing Iran, in apparent defence of Israel. Irrespective of what Trump says, this will be seen as an act of war. How the Western leaders respond to this could and will shape geopolitical relations for years to come.
My mind goes back to the last time there was a major Western involvement in the Middle East. The Iraq wars were in part started by the West being concerned about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction, again a massive simplification, because tensions have been high in that region for decades, if not much longer.
I didn’t agree with Britain being involved then, and I don’t agree with our position now. We’re sort of condemning Israel for killing Palestinians, but then we’re also sort of supporting Trump’s actions of the last 12 hours.
All of which poses the question, what makes the Western powers the purveyors of all things moral?
You don’t have to dig too far back into both the UK and the US’s history to see we’re not squeaky clean. Everywhere we’ve been involved has ended up being destabilised and often left in much worse shape. In many cases, creating lasting damage, refugees that we don’t want to accept in the country and subsequent power vacuums that have encouraged extremism to thrive.
Like I say, this is a simplification of events, massively, but I cannot keep my mouth shut on this any longer.
LGBTQIA+ Rights
I have a LOT to say about this, and this probably deserves its own blog at some point, but all you need to know is that I support Trans rights. I don’t agree with anything that comes from JK Rowling’s mouth, and she is an embarrassment to people who call themselves feminists.
I have Trans friends, and I can honestly say that if anyone who was anti-Trans actually spoke to them, they’d see that they are not the threat that they are being painted as being. The mental health statistics that come from the Trans community are horrendous. Many of them contemplate taking their own lives because they don’t have access to the life-affirming healthcare that they need.
Statistically you’re still significantly more likely to be raped by a CIS man, irrespective of your sex.
Trans women are currently being treated the same as gay men were; they are not a risk to society, and most of them just want to crack on and live their lives without the scrutiny and harassment that they’re currently getting.
Oh, and if you agree with the whole you need to be using the bathroom of the gender that you were assigned at birth argument, be prepared to see some men in your spaces! So far, the argument is focusing on Trans Women, but no one seems to be extrapolating this further as to what happens when Trans Men need to piss.
Honestly, just piss wherever you want… And yes, I have pissed in a men’s toilet many times…
Religion
I am clearly on one today, because I am going here too!
Not all of you will know that I class myself as a Buddhist. I don’t have a regular practice these days, something that I want to get back to, but I am a meditation teacher, and I have studied Buddhism for over 30 years.
We, in the West, seem to be really good at getting upset with people who don’t fit into the monotheistic Abrahamic religion trope, don’t we?
The West has a massive issue with Islam, stating that the religion is controlling of women, giving them fewer rights, etc. But if you read the Quran, it doesn’t explicitly say that. Again, I am not a great expert in Islamic tradition, but I know enough to know that extremism is the issue.
We only have to look at some of the Christian extreme views to know that!
But again, wars are started based on religious views that have become twisted away from what the original intent was.
I am not about to defend anything other than my own experiences here. In my life, I have come across many Muslims, both male and female, and I see people who are nothing like the extremists that take up space in the media.
I just have a massive issue with how it’s becoming more socially acceptable to be Islamophobic.
The Media
The media has a lot to answer for in all three of these examples. I am someone who has worked in marketing, and I know how easy it is to twist things to make them fit your narrative.
We only have to look at the years since the lead-up to Brexit in the UK to see how narratives can be twisted to suit a cause. The problem with this is that the people with the money tend to have the louder voice because of their ability to lobby people of influence.
You only need to look at JKR to see what has happened in recent months.
Of course, as a Buddhist, I am going to want to encourage people to think about a middle way, and I want to do that with this blog.
You might not agree with my views, and I am perfectly OK with that. However, what is becoming increasingly clear is that we’re losing the ability to debate and be gracious with other people’s views.
Twitter has become the voice of the right, and Bluesky has become the voice of the left. Both are echo chambers in their own right, and neither is right.
So after all that, I probably need to go and lie down in a darkened room, but one last ask…
Be excellent to each other?
Because right now, we need some bloody kindness in the world.
Not Middle Aged 