Anyone else surprised at how few of our well known TV comics - you know the ones who Jim Davidson would call "lefty snowflakes" - have anything to say about babies and children being blown to bits? Alexei , of course , - " Israel is the Jimmy Saville of nation states , both like harming children " - and Steve Coogan , Guz Khan , Francesca Martinez , Rob Delaney , Michael Spicer and a few others . Why the deafening silence from the rest ? Cowardice? Fear of being blacklisted ?
Or just plain indifference - nothing to do with me ?
Particularly appalled by "national treasures" like Stephen Fry and Ben Elton , the two great humanitarians of our age who have nothing to say .
And please don't regurgitate the BBC line on this that "Israel has a right to defend itself" "it's the bad Hamas" "the Palestinians are evil " etc. etc . Which is propaganda shite . There is no justification for blowing babies to bits and traumatising the surviving kids for life . None . Discuss.

Both Stephen Fry and Ben Elton are Jewish (not practising).
I should imagine they are somewhat torn, thus the low profile.

So are loads of the peace protesters all around the world including Jews in Israel who are being beaten by the police . It looks cowardly not to say something even it's the plain daft comments from Baddiel where he nails his colours to the mast and condemns himself . He's entitled to his opinions but it's the fence sitters I get annoyed with .

We shall all ignore the atrocities that caused this then. (seeing as you are mentioning babies) and ignore that Hamas fire hundreds of missiles a day.
If Israel didn't have an iron dome - there would be similar casualties to the Jews too.
When your enemy hides below schools and hospitals - using these people as shields and not caring a jot about Palestinians what would you expect?

It's your opinion , Stephen but it sounds remarkably similar to what the UK MSM are putting out all the time . There have been 75 years of atrocities by Israel . Do your research .Take a look at Al Jazeera where they don't treat the viewers like children .

Saying this in a devils advocate way and not referring to any comic specifically but not making statements on social media or debate shows doesn't necessarily make them a fence sitter and there's also the 'is posting/saying this actually going to make a positive difference' factor. Many countries are barbaric to their citizens and there isn't really anything other countries can do about it so celebrities coming together to send a powerful message on social media is soon forgotten and just leaves the celebs feeling they have done their bit. Maybe those who seem to be silent on the subject are doing something positive out of the public eye and not through fear of being blacklisted or targeted by trolls but because not everything needs to be said through a megaphone.

Quote: Definitely Tarby @ 9th November 2023, 10:55 AM

Saying this in a devils advocate way and not referring to any comic specifically but not making statements on social media or debate shows doesn't necessarily make them a fence sitter and there's also the 'is posting/saying this actually going to make a positive difference' factor. Many countries are barbaric to their citizens and there isn't really anything other countries can do about it so celebrities coming together to send a powerful message on social media is soon forgotten and just leaves the celebs feeling they have done their bit. Maybe those who seem to be silent on the subject are doing something positive out of the public eye and not through fear of being blacklisted or targeted by trolls but because not everything needs to be said through a megaphone.

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Perfect, in a nutshell, and that's all you're getting out of me.

Quote: Jaicee @ 9th November 2023, 10:54 AM

It's your opinion , Stephen but it sounds remarkably similar to what the UK MSM are putting out all the time . There have been 75 years of atrocities by Israel . Do your research .Take a look at Al Jazeera where they don't treat the viewers like children .

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And yet are doing the same to me with 'do your research.

Personally I'm kinda more interested in what politicians have to say on the issue

I could give two shiny shits what comedians think about it

They should stick to commenting about airline dinners and mother in laws

Leave the important stuff to the important people

Anyway whatever your personal take is on what's going on - you're either antis-emetic, or an islamaphobe

Quote: lofthouse @ 9th November 2023, 12:02 PM

Personally I'm kinda more interested in what politicians have to say on the issue

Leave the important stuff to the important people

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Important people? Don't make me laugh. All they are interested in being made a peer or fiddling as much as they can out of their expenses or back handers from industry - they couldn't give a flying f**k what goes on outside their ivory towers.

Interesting views . Why shouldn't public figures have something to say about such a world shattering event ? I'm 65 and this is the worst state sponsored barbarism I've ever witnessed and I remember the footage from the Biafran War with kids with distended stomachs from starvation ( we'll see that soon in Gaza along with cholera and other diseases ) and Vietnam where Agent Orange and napalm were used on civilians . So Fry, Elton etc. should wait until the death toll reaches what , 20,000. 30,000 , 50.000 100,000 or a million before venturing an opinion ? Maybe they agree with it for all I know but what's the point of this platform or any of the social media if everybody sits back and says nothing ? And Stephen I'm not treating you like a kid . Look at the foundation of Israel and the first Nakba . History didn't start on October the 7th . I rest my case . All the Best .

If somebody machine-gunned my kids at the Download Festival and hid in a neighbour's house with their knowledge and permission, then the neighbour would have to take their chances with them.

Quote: fasty @ 9th November 2023, 1:12 PM

If somebody machine-gunned my kids at the Download Festival and hid in a neighbour's house with their knowledge and permission, then the neighbour would have to take their chances with them.

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Nation States can't act like individuals.
If they did, we'd have destroyed the planet decades ago.

I always wear a red poppy, for those that fell in the Great War. Young lions that were led by donkeys and dragged into an industrial blood bath I also respect the men and women who fought the Nazi menace and for any poor sod killed on active service. That said I would march for peace as I feel it's the right thing to do.
As for genocide I have no idea how I would feel if a group killed a 1000 + Scousers and stated it will kill more if it gets the chance as they believe that Liverpool had no right to exist. I doubt I could talk to a group like that, nor I suspect would I want to.
That said children are dying as we speak, and it has to stop. I think for me the balance lies in the fact that most of us are distant from the bereaved and the hurt as such we have to be the wiser voice that calls for the violence to stop and for the talking to at least be mooted.
On one side I see people whose grandparents still have the tattoos that show their offsprings what can happen if they don't fight back. On the other is a generation brought up in an a wired off enclave and subjected to massive injustices.
Everyone outside of this mayhem must do what they can to demand that honest actors step in and stop the killing on both sides. Governments must be clear that what is now happening is unacceptable and that a ceasefire is the only option.

Quote: Definitely Tarby @ 9th November 2023, 10:55 AM

.... not everything needs to be said through a megaphone.

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Agreed, but if propaganda ensures only one side of debate can be heard, isn't that a time for a megaphone ? How else to you get balance ? The innocent on both sides should be allowed to grieve, surly ?