From Gaza to Gyms
How Israel's Defense, Men Competing in Women's Sports, and Britain's Border Battles Became the Unlikely Trio of Today's Headlines.
In this video,
defends Algerian Olympic boxer Imane Khelif.https://x.com/Eve_Barlow/status/1820913959865921978
The intent in this video is well-founded: there ought to be a conscious separation between stating the facts and a call to action.
I respectfully disagree with the stance on the Olympic boxers.
A call to action doesn't necessarily mean violence. Often it means showing up for a debate, or writing a letter to your representative, or the vote.
If the facts are not clear, then silence is the best course of action. Often the wisest statement to utter is, "I don't know."
A call to action is often driven by emotion. To say that "Hamas murdered hostages" immediately evokes a deep, visceral, emotional response. The action begins with simply and publicly supporting Israel. For those like us who love Israel, we immediately move from the emotion to the action. For others who are open-minded and reasonable, the connection takes a bit longer to forge yet in the end does express itself. (Please Scroll to Continue Reading.)
Merely stating the facts isn't necessarily a call to action. Separating the two, thought from action, is a sign of a rational mind capable of critical thinking. The beauty of the human spirit and kindness in the human heart is revealed when tragedy leads promptly to compassion -- when truth and action are closely linked, it reveals the goodness and righteousness of a person and the culture. It's not automatic, though, and doesn't have to be.
This Substack post was written by Ms. Barlow on the same topic.
It defends the troubled Olympic boxers. Seemingly, a very concerted and broad effort was made across many media channels to defend Khelif. However, my sources indicate that the root of this effort is a smear against the IBA: if one discredits the IBA, the case against Khelif crumbles. The IBA seems reputable to me, though, and I do not accept the slander against the IBA as correct. The IBA found Khelif to have failed the criteria for competing in women's sports, and I accept that as proof positive. It also corroborates what my eyeballs saw, and surely your eyes also saw. Also note: the Olympics is a billion-dollar business. The IOC doesn't want a boycott and will lie to avoid one.
Yet that's besides the point. The point is: men ought not be competing in women's sports. Whether or not you believe that Khelif is a man does not invalidate the argument. If Khelif is not a man, then there is only one less data point. The assertion, however, is still true.
There must be a separation between a statement of facts and the concomitant actions. "Men cannot become women." That statement does not imply that men dressed as women competing in women's sports ought to be lynched (to be clear: they shouldn't be lynched!) However, they ought not be allowed to compete against women. If that trans-athlete perceives such exclusion as an injury of emotion or law, it does not outweigh the need to protect the female athletes from bodily injury.
If you get angry seeing women assaulted by men in the boxing ring, and it drives you to public protest, that is a wholesome response. Such protests should be peaceful, and anyone inciting such demonstrations to violence ought to be immediately thwarted.
Similarly, protests in England today against uncontrolled immigration have sometimes spiraled into violence, which is sad. The underlying issue, nonetheless, remains the same and must be addressed: if immigrants do not integrate into society and instead butcher young girls, and are held not at all accountable to police, the law, and the will of the British people, what is a society to do?
If murderous terrorists raid a music festival, drag off and torture hostages, then shoot them ignominiously on the cusp of their rescue, what is a society to do?
The people of the UK have every right to assemble and speak their mind. It saddens me that average folk are being arrested for posting on Twitter / X. We are one step away from support of Israel becoming an incarcerable offense (offence?) in the UK.
When using the "wrong" pronouns is considered an act of violence, all of society falls down shortly thereafter.