Things never really change.

You thought this post was going to be about Israel, didn't you? Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not gonna post a MILLIONTH post about the conflict. I'm going for something ever so slightly less important:

Recent events in my life have gotten me thinking about how we humans handle the issues we face and what those issues were. I've come to the realization that everything that happens to us in friendships and our emotional reactions to it are just overly dramatized playground problems.

I was thinking about making a list of all the childsplay problems and their adult counterparts, but I didn't think everyone could relate to the problems I was thinking about (problems that I can't help but think about, since they inspired this post). However, I can just mention some things: being left out, being made fun of, having things taken from you (people or things), et cetera.

Now, with the problems remaining the same, our reactions differ with our growth. When you're nine and some kids make fun of you at school, you cry right there, or you tell the teacher, or you run away and cry. Or else you say something lame like "Nah-uh! Your face!" As we progress, the people who make fun of us don't go away, but the way we react to them is different: you might decide to kick some ass, you might decide to walk away, and you even might decide to brush it off and tell yourself it's not that big of a deal. But in all parts of yourself, you can tell it had the same effect on you now as it did in 2nd grade. You still question yourself, you still want to go to your mom, and perhaps not cry, but maybe just tell her about it.

If you're left out of somethin, you won't feel any less upset, but instead of your friends being poopooheads, you are the one with something wrong with you. How come they didn't tell me? What's wrong with me that makes me less trustworthy than that person? And this comes after the initial anger that says "What the hell is the matter with these people's jugement that they would exclude me?" and you digress into "fine, I'll exclude them." And "Poopooheads" turns into things far worse and harder to take back. Maybe I'm just rambling here. Maybe this post doesn't make any sense without context. Maybe I have to explain what happened. But I won't.

Everyone can take this post to mean what they want it to mean. And if you want to apply it to Israel-Arab World, go right ahead, it's valid if you're not gonna be a stickler and say "oh it's way more complicated than that". The fact of the matter is, as complex as we think our problems are, they all boil down to one form or another of the basic problems we all face. And it's difficult to come to terms with that, because you feel that you're being childish and immature. But don't worry about it, you're not alone. Isn't there a child inside of us all?

George Galloway

George Galloway kicks ass. Take a look at this while I go smack my little brother for putting "Fight Night"(PS2 game) on way too loud.

For those of you who don't know who George Galloway is: he is a member of the British House of Commons. He is previously of the Labour Party and is known for his efforts when it comes to Middle Eastern politics. This guy rocks. Just look at that video, which was emailed to me by a friend who lives in Cairo. Thank you, Hatem!

Jews, Arabs, Israel, Mel Gibson, Anti-Semitism, and Hizbollah.

I've been juggling thoughts in my head for the past 29 days. Most were depressing. Some were enlightening. Some were hateful. Some were loving. All were steeped in deep emotion and a sense of history.

Here are just a few things I've been thinking about:

ON JEWS: To all my Jewish friends, if you do not identify with Israel, I am sorry that you are being made to by the world and the media. It seems unfair to me that if you have a certain religious or ethnic background, you are associated with the good, the bad, and the ugly of that particular background. This happens to everyone, so it's not just my Jewish friends (it happens to me all the time), but I thought I'd mention the Jews because it seems to be happening to them, in my perspective as an Arab.

ON ARABS: From my American perspective, I feel even worse for the Arabs and Muslims. Anyone who is associated with Mohammed (pbuh) or the Arab World is being bombarded with questions and scarring comments. Even well-wishers make stupid mistakes when addressing an Arab or Muslim (yesterday, my aunt went to the pharmacy and the pharmacist, who she's known for a while, greets her with "So what's been up besides people killing each other in the Middle East?") You could even be a white guy from Arkansas, but if you're Muslim, you're still associated with Terror. I'm really just sick of that shit. People are so ignorant.

ON ISRAEL: Israel is full of smart sons of bitches. Here's one very, very simple thing that changes EVERYTHING in the way people view them: the name of their army. IDF, or the Israeli Defense Force, is a name with such spectacular irony that it's hard for me to control my gag reflex when I hear it. I shake my head in my amazement everytime I hear the news say "the Israeli Defense Forces are battling the Lebanese militants". Language makes such a difference --it can change a murderer into a victim... and vice versa.
Also, someone please explain to me Israel and America's reasoning behind now wanting a ceasefire... or at least the one they are telling people.
ON MEL GIBSON: This is getting out of hand. I don't see how Mel Gibson's comments came as a shock to everybody. They've been on his ass about being "anti-semetic" since the Passion of the Christ came out. Put it to rest already. Plus, the policeman who stopped him was Jewish. How do we know that he didn't elaborate on what Gibson said to make him sound more anti-semetic than he really was. He was drunk, how could he remember clearly? Plus, this whole thing really puts the Jewish hold on the media front and center. I mean, the guy lost deal after deal and offer after offer over this fiasco. I think they should put it to rest. Racist comments happen everywhere all the time, what makes this one so special? Since when did we take seriously what some drunk guy was saying (no matter how handsome and charming he is)?

ON ANTI-SEMITISM: It irks me that people are afraid to debate Israeli war tactics and governmental policies because they are afraid of being deemed "Anti-semitic". I mean, they have no problem being anti-muslim and anti-arab (which is weird, because many Arabs are semites). Anti-Semitism doesn't mean anti-semite to the Western media. It mean Anti-Jewish. If they meant real anti-semitism, then half the things they say should get them in the hot water they are so afraid of. "It vexes me. I'm terribly vexed."

ON HIZBOLLAH: I'm sick of Hizbollah being characterized as a militant terrorist organization, rag-tag criminals, or the myriad of other insulting and inaccurate titles. How else is Lebanon supposed to be defended? I don't even know what to say about this. There's so much I want to say and there's so much I feel against the people who are faulting Hizbollah for their resistance tactics. I guess I'll just end this blurb now. There's too much to say and all I can say right now is God be with whomever is right. I know both sides are killing civilians and I know both sides are losing civilians. And I also know that the Israelis who were claiming to be be fighting "fairly" and "warning civilians" seem to have failed to drop leaflets that are to warn the civilians on the majority of the suburbs they bombed in the past few days.

There is an article I read which provided evidence that the US and Israel planned the Lebanon attack as early as June 17th. I'll find it and post it up.

Anyway, let's pray for peace.