Today we talk about Gaza and international law, framed around an episode of Alie Ward's Ologies.
But the core of my argument is about "word games", and the danger of letting a litigious approach to human rights keep us from responding with greater integrity to human suffering in all its forms.
Don't get lost in definitional weeds; fight the social paradigms that make too many of us afraid to engage with wrongdoing in our world.
#War #Gaza #Law #International #Humanism
https://open.substack.com/pub/mlclark/p/the-word-games-we-play-with-atrocity
I just wanted to thank you for this excellent piece and let you know that I listened to the linked Alie Ward episode about the terminology around crimes of atrocity with Dr. Dirk Moses, which was well worth the time commitment. 👍
Oh, I'm glad it was a worthwhile listen! Thank you, Lise. 💛
I was pleasantly surprised myself; I'd avoided listening to it for a bit, but of course Ward focused on the foundational definitional questions that many folks are too afraid to / don't know to ask when talking about the theme at all.
Now I'm super thankful to have this resource to share, because I think it's the rare piece that empowers us to better understand legal language in active use, rather than leaves in despair.