• PKMKII [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
    64·
    11 months ago

    Besides the obvious “read another book” stupidity, this whole metaphor falls apart because the white walkers were a WMD gone rogue built by the fairy folk. They were the original inhabitants of Westeros, which means she’s saying the Israelis are foreign invaders.

    • betelgeuse [comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
      28·
      11 months ago

      You could talk about The Wall being this outward symbol of military might only to be a failing military program that isn’t effective. You can talk about how the kingdoms ship their criminals and youth to go fight on this wall for some grand glory but it doesn’t matter. You can talk about how empires always have this kind of thing and how it never saves any of them in the end. The white walkers just walk to the end of it and blow off a corner and walk through. It doesn’t stop them or even slow them down. You can even talk about how the real solution was to abandon the wall, unite with The Other on the other side. You know, the people who have basically been oppressed by the presence of the Wall and have absorbed the abuses of empire. In the end it’s not the big military thing that saves everyone it’s throwing away the cultural barriers and uniting all the people.

      Or you can just take the in-universe propaganda at its word and view the big empire military thing as very cool and useful. Just like the people who think The Empire in Star Wars is cool and good and should have won. Because big space ball with obvious weakness is cool to look at and crushes the enemy. Just a naked respect for even imaginary displays of power, not self examined. If you draw a stick figure hoarding yellow circles and murdering other stick figures they would really like the first figure more.

      People’s relationship to capital changes the way they interpret stories.

  • hexaflexagonbear [he/him]@hexbear.netOPEnglish
    47·
    11 months ago

    Wait are those the free folk. I guess the metaphor kinda works lol. Why yes, Palestinians are a marginalized group, falsely portrayed as the ultimate evil, and attempting to avoid certain death.

    • zifnab25 [he/him, any]@hexbear.netEnglish
      20·
      11 months ago

      Are they really going so high-brow as to call Palestinians “Voldemort”? I’ve seen far more comparisons to wild animals and 90s urban youth.

      Comparing Palestinians to zombies feels very par for the course in the liberal zionist community.

      • Evilsandwichman [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
        6·
        11 months ago

        liberal zionist community

        I’m not strictly sure about liberal zionists, but I’ve certainly seen lots of zionists refer to or portray Palestinians as hicks or bumpkins (one person specifically called them terrorist bumpkins). I’m reminded of something I read on a wikipedia page once about European Zionists back in the forties and fifties thinking of Arab Jews as mentally challenged (the specific term wasn’t so friendly). I’m also reminded of one of Hasan’s guests saying there’s even a genre of film about Arab Jews joining modern society and learning how to be civilized.

  • Crowtee_Robot [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    21·
    11 months ago

    I’m frankly amazed GRRM had the restraint to not create his own fantasy world version of Jews in ASOIAF. He just took different antisemitic tropes and grafted them to his various racist caricatures of black and brown people in Essos instead.

    • theposterformerlyknownasgood@hexbear.netEnglish
      27·
      11 months ago

      Did he? I’m honestly always open to assuming GRRM wrote something messed up, but I personally don’t really see it. I guess the Iron Bank could be interpreted that way, but it’s also pretty clearly supposed to be Venice and an Italian city state Bank

      • Crowtee_Robot [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
        9·
        11 months ago

        I’m thinking less Braavos and more like some of the other free cities and further east like Qarth and the various Ghiscari cities. Things like greedy merchants, large noses, lack of fighting ability, being underhanded and untrustworthy; it’s like Jewish stereotypes were shattered and scattered to the winds. Maybe I’m grasping at straws, but taken as a whole it feels a little suspicious.