Fake Empathy

Perhaps because a large percentage of kids at school growing up were Jewish or because one of my grandfathers were rumored to be a “secret” Jew (and he looked quintessentially Jewish), I’ve long carried a degree of empathy for Israel and I feel (and have felt) the weight of animosity leveled towards Jews from so many directions. I’m not sure where it (the empathy) comes from, but it is there so there’s that. I’ve carried it for decades.

This kind of commentary is also difficult. There are a lot of people who would reject me if they read this. Honesty is not valued in our culture beyond its alignment with performative standards.

Across my feeds, I’ve seen several references to empathy for the terror being experienced by the people in Iran and the Middle East. Sometimes it’s stated (sometimes not) being caused by the US and Israel. And as I tend to do, I’ve been pondering these sentiments coming from the Queer and Leftwing communities. (There are those on the Right who disagree with the war but that’s not driven by an expression of empathy)

Is this anything more than anti-Americanism, anti-Trumpism, anti-Semitism masked as empathy or virtue?

Disclosure: I did not vote for Trump or for Kamala. I found both to be misaligned from my values.

The Iranian government is a fundamentalist religious dictatorship that persecutes the Queer community, women, and ethnic minorities. It started off by holding Americans hostage. It is in fact the worst nightmare, the literal boogeyman of the Left/Feminists/Queers. The Iranian government executed around 40,000 people (some say 30,000) in the latest round of protests (they have killed many more during its tenure) and imprisoning thousands more. One of the Iranian leaders is wanted by Interpole for the bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people. But there is no empathy for these people. There is no empathy for the people being persecuted. Indeed, there are pro-Iranian groups on the Left despite it being the antithesis of what the Left theoretically stands for. The Iranian regime that has survived is its most ruthless and repressive part—meaning, allowing it to govern will cause much suffering among Iranians (of which there claims to be so much empathy).

Having said all of that, I’m an introverted intuitive, extroverted feeler. I’m wired to consider the feelings others; I’m wired to have empathy. Over my life, I’ve learned the hard way that I cannot extend empathy to everyone. The energy formula doesn’t work. So in this case, my empathy goes to the Iranians killed by their government, arrested, and for those Iranians desperate for a change, for more freedom. So I’m being selective but it’s not politically driven. I have felt this way for a long time, and it began during one of the uprisings suppressed by the Ayatollah.

I am concerned that the empathy is a mask for Anti-Jewish, Anti-US sentiments.

Just yesterday, 2 people were arrested for planning an attack on a Jewish synagogue in Houston for the purpose of killing as many Jews as possible. The Left is expressing empathy as a camouflage for hatred of Jews and Trump, and it has filtered into the consciousness of the culture. A third assassination attempt was made on Trump over the weekend. It’s widely known that many on the Left want/fantasize him dead which enables a culture of permission to commit violence. Way to go with that empathy.

Russia continues its meatgrinder war against Ukraine with many atrocities and targeting of civilians to its name but that provokes little or no attention from the Left. Arab tribes have been systematically killing tens of thousands of black people in Darfur (ethnic cleansing), the kind of war that should be at the top of the Left’s “concern” list, but it’s rarely if ever mentioned.

Israel is a small country. When Hamas swarmed over the border and killed over a thousand people at a music festival, while kidnapping others to bargain against retaliation, it was akin to a gang of terrorists sweeping over from Galveston, killing over a thousand people in my neighborhood, and then returning to the island to the cheers of its inhabitants. No offense, but I would be in a rage and I would be fine to see the entire island levelled. I would struggle to exist with the level of fear of it happening again with anything less, and proximity does matter. It’s not a paranoid fear— it’s tangible, it’s real, and it’s only a few miles away.

And Galveston is 60 miles away. Tel Aviv is 44 miles from Gaza. The distances are so tight it is a challenge for Americans to fathom.

Where was the empathy for Charlie Kirk? People actually celebrated his death over differences of political and moral opinion. Most on the Left simply didn’t care. The rhetoric on the Left has implicitly advocated for social murder as a justification for implied violence (that reasoning was used to justify the killing of the healthcare CEO Brian Thompson). There have been Telsa bombings and other Left inspired violence that never gets mentioned in mainstream media (or is mentioned only in passing). Another CEO was recently targeted. No empathy there. Someone just tried to kill Trump again while those on the Left have their dinner parties and gatherings and express their wish for someone to succeed.

Then there is this disconnected, privileged expectation that Israel should have empathy for mass murders and their supporters? Really?

It’s also fair to bring up that Jews suffered through the Holocaust, a determined attempt at actual genocide (because this term gets used loosely these days). Israel cannot count on anyone to stand with them. Even the US is no longer a sure ally going forward as the Left has become openly hostile. I’m guessing part of Israel’s calculation in their level of response comes down to surviving the future.

So though the level of Isreal’s response can be debated, I hold with some contempt people who are hyper critical from a place of comfort and safety; it’s entitled. And especially in Europe, the Left has made common cause with Muslims. Europe never really lost its anti-Sematic bias, and the infusion of Muslims has provided fertile ground for this bias to be openly championed.

In the Left mentality, hatred/bias/ is ok when targeted to Jews or white men. In the current culture, there is little to no consequence for being radical left but there are a lot for being too far right. Which means there isn’t much to restrain violent-provoking rhetoric on the Left as there is no accountability (no accountability should the theme song of the modern Left).

I also judge the level of “caring” or “empathy” for the people of the Middle East to be performative. I care about the situation, so I get to stroke myself as being “empathetic”. But it’s selective. And it’s selective based on the politics of the situation. Further, it’s been selected for you by whoever controls the social media narratives. It’s one big echo chamber.

What about the Kurds, Azeris, and Balochs (and other ethnic minorities) that are persecuted/terrorized in Iran (from the regime many in the Left are openly advocating on behalf of). Do you care about them?

Where is the empathy for the Queer community throughout the Middle East that suffers wretched persecution? How can anyone in the Queer community genuinely feel empathy for peoples who would despise, imprison if not kill them if given the chance for being Queer? If the community is that evolved, then where is the empathy for the KKK? (which, by the way, the Southern Law Poverty Center helped to fund— not just informants but also the KKK leader and to the group’s operations because a lot of these organizations need YOU to be outraged and emotionally triggered to keep the money flowing so they benefit from continued activity from far right groups). The culture is addicted to manipulation. Guess who the customers are?

It is possible to do both (to have empathy for the Middle East community and those suffering in the war). But that’s not what’s happening because the empathy must align with the politics (performative).

Many Gays/Lesbians in Europe are shifting right because the Left has increasingly become intolerant (a byproduct of its alliance with Muslims). Why isn’t there a conversation? Where’s the empathy?

I’m not saying no one should have empathy for the people suffering in the war (there was a lot of suffering before the war, the peoples or Iran were terrorized, but there wasn’t much empathy going around on the Left).

I am saying that empathy handed out only when it fits an anti-Israel or anti-Trump political narrative is performative.

If that’s how it works for you, well, I don’t believe you.