Hey Samantha, I agree, when we look at the present and throughout history we see human beings enslaving, oppressing, stealing, killing, lying, r*ping, and many other horrible things. In history there are also glimpses of hope, true love, compassion, empathy, and freedom. To be real, it is important to acknowledge both. However, it is sobering and enlightening to acknowledge the pain and suffering we see in the world and how it can seriously put into question our faith in humanity. I think it is also important to acknowledge that life has tragic elements and many painful or negative experiences in the world just happen (congenital deformities that impact a person’s ability to live a normal/healthy life). Like you, I also see things and read things that really make me question whether humanity is able to reform or not. I feel a similar way. You are right, people have behaved in atrocious and unimaginable ways towards one another. I hope these words offer some hope that change is possible and accompaniment: “Ignorance and servitude have a tendency to make men wicked and unhappy. Science, reason, liberty, alone can reform them (humans) and render them more happy; but everything conspires to blind them and to confirm them in their blindness. The priests deceive them, tyrants corrupt them in order to subjugate them more easily. Tyranny has been, and will always be, the chief source of the depraved morals and habitual calamities of the people… Let the mind be filled early with true ideas; let man's reason be cultivated; let justice govern him; and there will be no need of opposing to his passions the powerless barrier of the fear of Gods. Men will be good when they are well taught, well governed, chastised or censured for the evil, and justly rewarded for the good which they have done to their fellow-citizens. It is idle to pretend to cure mortals of their vices if we do not begin by curing them of their prejudices. It is only by showing them the truth that they can know their best interests and the real motives which will lead them to happiness. Long enough have the instructors of the people fixed their eyes on heaven; let them at last bring them back to the earth.” - J. Meslier.

I agree with you. Armin has surprised me with his very hard turn to the right and what looks to me like as uncritical and even irrational support for Trump at times. At some point I noticed that, like Trump said, that he could “shoot someone on 5th avenue and he would not lose any voters” and he might be right, at this point only very hardcore supporters have remained uncritical. I am surprised that now we are negotiating with Iran to just get back to square-one, Trump and his crew are responsible for this, not to mention the introduction of astounding levels of corruption to the US government. The damage he has done in the time he has during this administration is wild.

@Rr Halda, PhD That’s actually the part that concerns me. The fact that it is the government is not an answer—it is the reason for the question. Governments possess powers that private citizens, journalists, and commentators do not. That’s why many of us become more cautious, not less, when governments begin publicly labeling critics as ‘offenders,’ ‘lunatics,’ or ‘liars.’ If a future administration created an official website cataloging right-wing commentators under similar labels, would ‘because it is the government’ still be a sufficient justification? This situation reminded me of this poem: “First they came for the Communists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Communist Then they came for the Socialists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Socialist Then they came for the trade unionists And I did not speak out Because I was not a trade unionist Then they came for the Jews And I did not speak out Because I was not a Jew Then they came for me And there was no one left To speak out for me.” M. Niemöller.

I’m not sure why you shifted the discussion from the evidence to the identity of the person making the report. Was the attack confirmed? Yes. Is there a dispute about responsibility, negligence, and whether it was a war crime? Yes, there is. Whether the reporter is Palestinian, Israeli, monarchist, socialist, conservative, or liberal does not by itself determine whether the report is true (although we should pay close attention). The question I’m interested in is much simpler: what evidence do we have regarding the event itself, and how reliable is that evidence? It sometimes feels like every request for verification is being interpreted as support for the regime, opposition to regime change, or some other political position. But asking for evidence is not the same thing as taking a side. Even showing facts that oppose the pro-MAGA narrative gets many people riled up. Also, could you show me evidence about the media publishing that the Abraham Lincoln sank 3 times? You also said “For over 6 weeks no one in the media has asked about the school. Not once! Not to Trump, Rubio, or in any military press conferences!” Do you consider this statement to be true? Or have you checked?

@Jose Suarez Those are two separate questions. If your point is that U.S. journalists have not pressed Trump or Rubio on the school recently, that’s a much narrower claim than saying nobody in the media has asked about it. And regarding Al Jazeera, at this point the reporting is not limited to a single outlet. The story has been covered and discussed by multiple media organizations, so evaluating it solely through the lens of Al Jazeera’s credibility does not really address the broader body of reporting. As for the author, I don’t object to looking into her background. My point is simply that a reporter’s activism does not by itself determine whether a report is true or false. You even noted that you found nothing showing support for Hamas or hatred of Israel. So the question remains the same: what does the evidence regarding the school itself show? That’s ultimately more important than the political views of the person reporting on it.