The other day I turned on the news while I was getting ready to go out, and saw something that disturbed me very deeply.
A group of young men, ages sixteen to twenty-two or so, were arrested in Israel a couple of days ago for a series of brutal assults. They filmed these assults, putting them to heavy metal music, proclaiming their allegance to Hitler after having attacked their victim. They showed the videos, and I think that is what disturbed me the most.
Of course the first thing that I want to jump on is the situation itself. I'll never be able to understand what is in the minds of people who do this sort of thing and this is one of those situations where I just don't want to. The terrible hate and cruelty, and then the pleasure that these "people" find in that cruelty is completely unfathomable to me. These young men were attacking complete strangers that they happened across on the streets, in the subways -wherever they happened to be at the time. They were picking out people with darker skin or men weraing yamichas, and they jumped them. The videos showed the way the victims were beaten to the ground, the way they were trying to get away while protecting their stomachs and head at the same time as the group went on beating them. Firstly, it is entirely too obvious what cowards these young men were for attacking strangers who were alone in an isolated place and doing so while they were in groups of four. Second of all, it just goes to show how little these people had to do with their lives and how little they understand the world around them in its current or past state. Thirdly, they were only there because their parents were allowed back into Israel based on a law that allows immigrants with Jewish relation, so the young men had to have Jewish blood to be there at all, meaning that they are that much more ignorant, that much more completely at loss of any amount of knowledge. To be quite frank, I think anyone who would do such a horrendous thing should be euthinized. People like these are the only ones I feel such tremendous hate towards - they are serving only to further damage the world around them and its people, and the world needs no more damaging.
The second thing that I want to talk about is my concern over the showing of the videos. I know that violence is depicted in almost everything on TV, and it really doesn't bother me. One of my favorite moves is 'Fight Club,' but that is because I know it's not real. In the case of this video, these were real people being accosted, physically and mentally battered and bruised for no other reason than their skin or a yamicha. First and foremost, I think that it is completely inappropriate to show this on television broadcasts that stretch across the world. One of those victims couls very easily see it and re-live what was undoubtably a traumatic experience, and I know that I wouldn't want millions of people seeing me being beaten to a pulp by a couple of little worthless waists of air. Secondly, I don't think that it is appropriate to be showing such violence with full knowledge that it is real, that it is real people and real pain involved. It's not the same as a movie, and I know that you could probably argue me on that, but it was very personally disturbing to see the real thing. It's different than how it is portrayed in movies, and it is much more troubling. I know that the only reason that a news channel would have showed something like that was to either 1) really get across the point that this is terrible, maybe to stir some people to try to help stop such things or 2) for that shock factor which may boost ratings. My bet is on number two, seeing as such huge news companies like CNN tend to care more about ratings and less about spurring activism. Ultimately, just telling the story would have done the job.
Because of these events, Israel leaders are considering changing the law to allow in immigrants who are truly Jewish. I know that the law is a little more complicated, but I don't know the details beyond that. I wouldn't blame them is they made that decision.
Mostly, though, I hope that these men are severely punished for their actions, and that ultimately their pain is either equal to or greater than that of their victims. My hope is also with their victims that they will only be stronger after such a thing would happen to them. I also sincerely hope that in the light of something like this happening in the modern world everyday, average citizens might be more willing to put in a bit more effort to prevent things like this. No one wants to raise their children in a world where innocent people are brutally attacked by complete strangers for no real reason.
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