Ever since social-justice warriors began to hijack the English language, political correctness — if not political politeness — has left more level-headed types struggling to respond. But if the past couple of weeks have demonstrated anything, it’s that the time for niceties is clearly over.
Across the globe, progressive jargon-mongers are waging a war of words that not only denies Hamas atrocities against Israel, but explicitly blames Israel for them. Most dangerously here in the US.
Fueled by permissive academic institutions and edified by a culture of “competitive wokeness,” the rigors of traditional discourse have been dismantled and devalued — leaving a pit of anti-intellectualism in their wake.
Phrases such as “genocide,” “apartheid” and “ethnic cleansing” are currently attaining levels of credibility that belie any sort of history or logic. Within this parallel political universe, Gaza must be “liberated,” Palestine “freed” and Israel is guilty of committing “war crimes.” Never mind that Hamas’s self-recorded crime-spree killed 1,400 Jews and left hundreds more taken hostage.
But for anyone wondering how to combat these disinformation tsunamis, you only have to look to the left itself. From #MeToo to #BlackLivesMatter, #Latinx to #AsianHate, the word-soup now sloshing through leftism is ready made for reappropriation.
In a sense, there is no other choice. Whether queer rights or animal rights, identity politics has always relied on self-appointed levels of authority — and impunity. #TransWomenAreWomen, #BlackLivesMatter — not because of any inherent humanity or truth, but because relentless social media campaigns keep on saying so.
Any challenge must be discredited — any critique conceded — even as the most basic linguistic standards are discarded in the name of “safe spaces” and “lived experiences.” Activists are now the gate-keepers of public thought — and anyone who crosses them risks being canceled from the crossfire.
The attacks by Hamas and its ongoing war against Israel now demand an equally strident rhetorical response. Having long since weaponized the lexicon of activism, “woke” warriorhood can only be combated with similar doses of insistence and intent. The blueprint is already there. Purple verbiage such as #BlackLivesMatter or #TransRightsAreHumanRights may be associated with specific struggles, but they can — and should — be reworked for the current crisis.
Amid the specter of a two-front war against Israel and the nation still tallying its dead, it is Jewish lives that are truly imperiled. With calls for Israeli blood being raised at rallies worldwide, it is Jewish rights that now must be reaffirmed as human.
Much of that blood has been called for by LGBT-led organizations such as #BLM or the Queers Against Israeli Apartheid — comical considering Hamas’s paper trail of gay death. Which only furthers the legitimacy of using their own words against them. Particularly as the media organizations who just a few years back staked their survival on public “racial reckonings” now refuse to condemn anti-Israel sentiments from their own staff.
Amid this deafening — and deadly — silence, the only thing that will capture the attention of hate-mongers is their own hate. But it must be delivered in language that the left can understand — language born of their own invention. #BlackLivesMatter — #JewishLivesMatter. #StopAsianHate — #StopJewishHate. #TransRightsAreHumanRights — #JewishRightsAreHumanRights. The list is depressingly endless.
True, there is great risk in co-opting those who’ve made co-option nearly criminal. But such word-smithing is not only moral — it is necessary and just. As Israel contends with unprecedented existential precariousness, the risks of not doing so are too great to consider.
The post-George Floyd era has been marked by endless demands to “elevate” queer and black and “BIPOC” voices. But what about Jewish voices — what about now? Threats of antisemitism have risen 1,200 percent since the Hamas attack. Which means the specter of violence against Jews is not simply a theory or data point, but a daily component of the “lived experiences” the woke crowd so aggressively champion.
Then there’s “zero tolerance” — a mainstay of social justice efforts and anti-racism campaigns across America. Clear and consequential, #ZeroTolerance must also become standard for antisemitic sentiments or sympathies for Hamas. Oh, and let’s not forget about “cancel culture” crusades — which have so infected the public domain and killed off so much original thought. Cancel culture should now loom menacingly over anyone who disputes the existence of Islamic terror groups — along with their death squads and quest for Israel’s destruction. Don’t forget, academics across North America have had their careers derailed for far less — often resorting to suicide amid the fall out.
This is what true “proportionality” looks like; nothing less would be tolerated for skeptics of hate crimes or those who question the existence of police brutality. Why should it be tolerated for Jews? With so many dead, so many missing — why shouldn’t #JewishLivesMatter? Perhaps they never have — perhaps they never will.
For years, social justice groups have been richly rewarded by organizations bullied into believing they must pay-up for being white or straight or male. And language has been their most effective tool of persuasion. But no one owns the language of struggle anymore than they own those struggles themselves. Jargon may be the ultimate enemy of fact, but we now exist in an era where facts no longer matter – feelings run supreme.
There are many out there who clearly feel that only #BlackLivesMatter — only #TransRightsAreHumanRights. They are wrong. Never before has it been so necessary to insist that #AllLivesMatter — none more so than the Jewish lives facing execution in Gaza or missile attacks in the Galilee. Nearly forty years ago the now-iconic slogan “Silence=Death” propelled the AIDS-advocacy movement from the fringes to the frontlines. Today, silence around Hamas barbarism could easily result in a similarly horrific death toll.