Arghh

I walked around the lake this morning for my weekly farmer's market visit, and it was lovely as usual except for one factor: the dueling protesters. On one sidewalk were the Women in Black against the War and In Favor of Palestine and Ending the Gaza Occupation, etc etc. On the opposite sidewalk were the cluster of people waving the huge Israeli flags and signs reading Peace With Security and pointing out that Israel makes good software (relevant?). So there they stand, waving their flags and shaking their signs and otherwise not saying or doing much at all. It feels like a bunch of tourists have brought their conflict and dumped it on my cheerfully diverse and down-to-earth Saturday celebration.

This is not about apathy or wishing that the difficult and scary things in the world never intruded on my privileged Bay Area bubble. I respect the difficulty of the conflict in the Middle East, and the last thing we need is more self-righteous glaring. Are these two groups of people really incapable of intelligent dialogue? Is this the best thing they could be doing with their time? Are there not activities that would better contribute to both their goals? If there is one thing I really can't stand, it's a self-indulgent waste of time masquerading as social justice.