2024 02 21

Gene & Judes, a Chicago hot dog institution. River Grove, Illinois. January, 2024.

The ongoing Palestine-Israel war has me thinking of this skit quite a lot lately, for reasons we won’t get much into on this blog.

Look, it’s a complicated, tragic topic and one we could go on about for hours, but I’m doing my best not to turn this space into a geopolitics blog despite my constant temptation to do so.

One thing I do want to briefly discuss is this feeling I have about the war. I think the US and Israel were largely caught off-guard by the massive amount of pushback they have gotten by their own citizens. It’s almost like they dusted off the 9/11 Playbook and used the same script but then were surprised that the multiple years of leeway Americans gave the Bush Administration before turning their backs on the invasion were depleted within a few days this time around. Obviously, the situation is not the same, however, I get the sense that this time is different largely for symbolic reasons. Many young Americans relate with the Palestinians in a metaphirc sense. It’s a population being suppressed and dominated by an older, more powerful male-dominated state which they don’t relate with. Palestinians largely have no real opportunity in life, no prospects, unless they go somewhere else and not be a nuisance. Justified or not, I think a lot of young Americans probably look at the Palestinians and relate with them a whole lot more than they do with Israel. If siding with Hamas is rooting against your own team, in a sense, it’s still rooting for the suppressed underdog you know.

Anyway. Let’s not be the baddies. Back to photography tomorrow?

-Clayton

PS- if you do want to start a Geopolitics Club, hit me up! Been threatening this for a while now, might actually be time to make it happen.