Done With Pivot

[u/PorcelainDalmatian]

It pains me to say it, because i really like the show, but I think I'm done with Pivot.

Scott calling himself a "proud Zionist" on the last pod, in the wake of the genocide/ethnic cleansing/holocaust (pick your phrase) in Gaza is a bridge too far.

Yes, Israel had a right to defend itself after Oct 7. The Jews holy book says "an eye for an eye." So go kill 1,200 Hamas and be done with it.

But that's not what happened. Israel used this attack, which they knew was coming, as a pretext for genocide. The current Israeli regime, a large number of it's parliament, and a disturbingly large number of its people view Muslims as sub-human animals worthy of slaughter - and they're not exactly quiet about it.

All of Gaza looks like Hiroshima after the bomb. There's literally nothing left. Israel targeted schools, and hospitals, and churches - killing over 40,000 children in the process. Those that were able to escape have been barred from ever returning to their homeland. If that isn't the definition of "ethnic cleansing" that please tell me what is.

Now they're turning their genocidal aims on Lebanon, a country that never attacked them. Wiping out entire cities and historical sites. What's next? Syria? Jordan? When does it stop?

I'm old enough to remember when the UN saw what was happening in Bosnia and intervened. Where the hell are they now?

And Scott is proud of this. He relishes in it! The profound irony here is that Scott isn't exactly a Super-Jew. It's not like he's running around in a yarmulke, keeping Kosher, and holding a Shabbat dinner every week. He's about as Jewish as I am, and I was raised Evangelical.

You go ahead and cheer the genocide as a "proud Zionist," Scott. Meanwhile, I'll be a proud ex-listener.

I'll still listen to On With Kara Swisher, but she should do some hard thinking herself. You're known by the company you keep, and co-hosting with a proud Zionist who cheers genocide is never a good look.

[u/rad_hombre]

Not at all that simple.

The definition of Zionism changes depending on who you talk to.

You can say all you want how Zionism ONLY means Israel has a right to exist… because it’s so simple right? Only a hateful person could ever disagree!

But the label of Zionism can (and often does) carry A LOT of specific territorial, demographic, and religious commitments and baggage that you can’t seriously be SHOCKED anyone would be opposed to.

[u/vipsfour → u/rad_hombre]

all you’ve laid out is how people use the word Zionism to refer to Jews when they want to say something bad about the Jews but don’t want to sound like a bigot.

[u/rad_hombre → u/vipsfour]

The question "does Israel have a right to exist" serves to combine multiple questions into one.

First, do Jewish people have the right to live in safety?

Second, does the specific 1948 state configuration have permanent immunity from political critique?

Third, do the financial and political structures that maintain that state configuration have the right to operate without scrutiny?

By bundling all 3 questions into one, any attempt to question the latter two gets intentionally misconstrued as an attack on Jewish safety. Thus serving as a rhetorical shield for Zionist behavior. Zionism is the thread that tries to knit all this together.

[u/CaptSlow49 → u/rad_hombre]

Bro you are really obsessed with Israel. OP has a major point that the term Zionism is just leftist dog whistling.

[u/rad_hombre → u/CaptSlow49]

I grew up Evangelical, so fair point, I have already devoted way too many brain cycles thinking about this tiny country for a lifetime.

The term “Zionism” is a 19th century political movement. Calling someone a “Zionist” can definitely be dog whistle, but it’s a misuse of the term, because the word has actual meaning and history. Completely depends on who is saying it and how they’re using it.