by tryanmax
So, I did something crazy the other day. Sit down for this: I made a map. No big deal, right? Maybe it is.
I was trying to follow the stories about the US Embassy in Israel moving from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and the protests supposedly in response. Many stories framed the events as though the Trumps and Israelis were laughing and cavorting while poor Palestinians were being slaughtered just next door.
I have a passing familiarity with the geography of the area, but I wanted to lay it all out in front of myself. What I ended up seeing was so comically at odds with news reports linking the violence to the embassy that I just had to share.
I posted it on Twitter with the caption: “Just because not everyone seems to know this.” That’s it.
As they say on Twitter dot com, RIP my mentions.
For some context, for me a typical tweet that isn't a reply to someone gets about one response. A dozen retweets and replies is a successful tweet. The lifespan for any given tweet is typically only a few minutes. The above post received 600+ retweets and 1250+ likes over 36 hours and is still going. That's well beyond my tiny reach of 700 followers at the time I posted it.
The really interesting part, though, is the replies. I've gotten dozens, mostly from strangers, which is again odd. Most are positive, complementing the map—I personally wish I’d picked better colors; it looks like an Imodium and Pepto cocktail—and thanking me for providing useful information. On the other hand, a handful have actually tried to "debunk" the map! I’ve gotten the predictable Trump/Jew/Israel hate, as well. Clearly, some people got their conceptions turned around and did not like it.
So, I did something crazy the other day. Sit down for this: I made a map. No big deal, right? Maybe it is.
I was trying to follow the stories about the US Embassy in Israel moving from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and the protests supposedly in response. Many stories framed the events as though the Trumps and Israelis were laughing and cavorting while poor Palestinians were being slaughtered just next door.
I posted it on Twitter with the caption: “Just because not everyone seems to know this.” That’s it.
For some context, for me a typical tweet that isn't a reply to someone gets about one response. A dozen retweets and replies is a successful tweet. The lifespan for any given tweet is typically only a few minutes. The above post received 600+ retweets and 1250+ likes over 36 hours and is still going. That's well beyond my tiny reach of 700 followers at the time I posted it.
The really interesting part, though, is the replies. I've gotten dozens, mostly from strangers, which is again odd. Most are positive, complementing the map—I personally wish I’d picked better colors; it looks like an Imodium and Pepto cocktail—and thanking me for providing useful information. On the other hand, a handful have actually tried to "debunk" the map! I’ve gotten the predictable Trump/Jew/Israel hate, as well. Clearly, some people got their conceptions turned around and did not like it.
22 comments:
Thanks for the map, tryanmax. I think this is interesting on many levels.
First, it's clear that this is an ideological protest, not a protest about some actual physical grievance. In other words, the complaint isn't about some hard other than emotional harm.
Secondly, it is interesting that this has been portrayed as if the Trumps were walking over the bodies to get to some elite dinner.
Third, it's interesting that this drew so much interest when the media is treating the story as not interesting compared to Stormy Porn Star.
Fourth, on the debunking, it's become par for the course that the left will not accept facts that don't fit their narrative, no matter how verifiable.
Cool, I wish I had your ability with the language and reason etc...generally I just tell people to F*$# Off...which is why I'm not allowed to speak at political rallies...
Hey, I have an off-topic question...why is it illegal to pay someone not to speak about something that is perfectly legal..i.e., if it isn't illegal for a person to have consensual sex with someone, is it illegal if they are paid to be quiet about it?
As someone with a less than passing familiarity with that neck of the sandy woods, much obliged on the map, tryanmax!
As for the debunkers, seconding Andrew's assessment about people's panties getting in a wad when you challenge their established narratives with facts. Silly debunkers.
You're welcome, Andrew. Those are some good observations about how goofy folks are about the US Embassy move.
Critch, that impulse to tell people off is your gut telling something doesn't add up. Follow that feeling, find out what it is, and the rest will come naturally. Soon you'll be telling people off in ways they themselves don't understand.
EP, glad I could be of service. The headlines made it sound like all of this was going on in the same place. Check out this photo hit piece by Vox: Photos: US Jerusalem embassy opening and Gaza border protests
We've known for awhile what a joke modern journalism is, but they seem more than willing to keep driving one more last spike.
Update on the Twitter situation: I am now a lapdog for the Zionist agenda, apparently.
Tryanmax,
Your argument makes little sense. Protests being removed from the thing being protested is hardly uncommon. Everyone involved recognize that the protests were sparked by the embassy move.
The embassy move was something that has been held off by presidents for decades because absent a comprehensive agreement, it would inflame tensions.
All that being said, I agree with Trump and the Israelis on this issue. The peace process is dead and has been so for more than two decades.
Bill Clinton/Yasser Arafat/Ehud Barak was the only time in my lifetime it was close (crucially, Clinton was trusted by both sides, something no president since can say) and Arafat's stubbornness (as a famous ex-terrorist he had prestige his eventual successor lacked) kept a deal from happening.
Since peace negotiations aren't happening and not in sight there is nothing to lose by recognizing a long ignored fact on the ground by moving the Embassy.
Similarly, the Israeli response to the violent Palestinian protestors looking to martyr themselves and hurt Jews is both reasonable and predictable.
Last and least, politically this is an excellent move by Trump. It will shore up the evangelical vote and will increase his share of the Jewish vote as well.
Anthony, My argument is that the media was portraying the events as taking place in immediate proximity with one another when that is not the case. It seems like a perfectly comprehensible argument to me.
My secondary argument was that the reporting did indeed cause confusion, such that my tiny, obscure twitter account received an outsized response for a rather benign clarification.
It's a perfectly comprehensible argument but one not supported by either of the articles you have linked to this far.
The Daily News' title is inflammatory but it does make clear the Embassy is opening in Jerusalem and the protests happening in Gaza.
While I haven't seen the text of your tweet, in your write up you say 'protests supposedly in response' and 'comically at odds with news reports linking the violence to the embassy '.
Knowing how passionate (to put it mildly) many Muslims get about Israel and how the internet lends itself to vitriol I am sure the response to your tweet was quite strong.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KmUBWkDdXx4
The YouTube link is to an old video of a Muslim actor going from friendly to crazy when as a joke he is told the station he is being interviewed by is Israeli.
Anthony, I’m at a loss because you seem to be reading an article other than the one I wrote.
I included the text of the tweet in the article.
I described the response to it as primarily positive and only mentioned the “predictable” outrage as a closing afterthought.
I was explicit in criticizing the framing of the stories rather than their content.
If you care to discuss any of the things I actually wrote about, I am happy to do so. Otherwise, I have nothing to say in defense of claims I never made.
The confusion which you map clears up brilliantly, is that most people do not understand the geography of the region anyway.
You may not have done this on purpose, but the colors you chose were actually accurate. Israel has spent over 70 yrs turning fallow desert into a green oasis with farms, greenhouses, desalination plants by the ocean and clean water wells, schools, hospitals, homes etc.
That little strip called "Gaza" was ceded to the Palestinians by Ariel Sharon in show of good faith years ago. The Palestinians, rather than than take over a ready made "paradise" with an already-included modern infrastructure, they destroyed every bit of it because they didn't want to have any remaining vestige of Jewish occupation. Of course soon after, they were starving, complaining that they had nothing, and begging for help...
I agree with Bev. I think your map brilliantly clears up the narrative that the Trumps were basically walking over Palestinian bodies to get to the Embassy dinner.
I also agree with Bev that the Palestinians have screwed up their own world and, therefore, I have no sympathy for them. You want to prove the world wrong? Turn your little country into something better than Israel.
As an aside, there was another school shooting today. This makes me sad. It is tiring too. It's tiring that this keeps happening and everyone plays the same little political games.
What a waste.
If you get the chance, you should read this article: Delusional Liberal.
The article is positively delusional. This guy outlines what he thinks Obama's legacy was and how he sees things is pure fantasy.
Worth the read just to understand how messed up liberals are and how fake their grasp of the world really is.
Tryanmax,
I concede I missed your quote of your twitter post, but you denying some of the other words in your article is somewhat puzzling. *Shrugs* I'll go along with your latest explanation for convenience's sake.
Anthony, I’m not denying any words, but I do insist that the article be taken as a whole.
Delusional Liberal
I see they pulled out the Messiah photo of Barry to accompany the article.
So cool that Obama was bullshitting on gay marriage. (Don’t forget to take everything says as serious, literal, and at face value.)
If Trump can cripple Obamacare by shortening the application period, it can’t have been all that robust to begin with.
My favorite part is how Trump tricked the left into becoming more radical. TDS knows no bounds.
I lost interest around where the author admits that Trump is living rent free in his head in a flat shared with Richard III.
tryanmax, Isn't that crazy? His take on Obama is pure fantasy. He must know that half the things he credits Obama with simply never happened and the things Obama did do had no substance.
And yeah, TDS knows no bounds. Trump is like a boogeyman who undid all the things that never happened and shattered his angelic view of Obama.
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