11mo ago

TIL that at age 17, in 1980, Jodie Foster already had a decent handle on why some in the US are so thick about the situation in Palestine

www.interviewmagazine.com

A Taste of Paradis: Jodie Foster, in Conversation with Andy Warhol

JODIE: The reason it has been difficult for the United States to understand the Palestinian side is not only because of the media but because colonialism is in our history. We can’t face the fact that colonialism is wrong and that it steps on a lot of toes and hurts a lot of people.

26 comments

Jodie Foster has an IQ of like 132, and graduated from Yale.
- True, but it's not like intelligence (nor attendance of a prestigious university) guarantees empathy or critical thinking skills.
  
  Yeah, the numbers do not do justice for her.
- If you mean that she’s also a victim, then yes.
BOB: Well, when you have TIME magazine do a cover story on Palestinian rights you see that the perception of the problem is changing.
Any fuckin day now
- He's referring to this cover from April 14, 1980: https://content.time.com/time/magazine/archive/covers/1980/1101800414_400.jpg The full article is here: https://time.com/archive/6857830/key-to-a-wider-peace/
  It's not hard-hitting journalism by any means, but it recognizes the idea that maybe not everybody loves the idea of Israel wiping out the Palestinians. That's progress to some degree for US mass media 44 years ago.
- BOB: If you go to Mexico or Morocco they offer you their brothers and sisters left and right for two dollars.
  I have 2 dollars ...
- It's a generational thing. And religious thing too (which is also a generational thing).
It's more basic than that even. It's the fact that most people know fuck all about any history. Specifically here, there's more than a century's worth of history on Zionism (and colonialism is indeed relevant) that people know almost nothing about.
- It can be summarized in a few sentences, though.
Jodie Foster has always been one of my favorite actresses. This is another plus for her ethical character.
It's funny because I have the opposite impression. Some Americans feel guilty after studying American history. (Why feel guilty? You're not the ones responsible.) These Americans seek to absolve themselves of that perceived guilt by identifying something far away that matches the "white vs non white" pattern that they're looking for, so that they can feel righteous by condemning it without actually having to change how they live their own lives.
- It's not like American tax dollars aren't supporting Israel's genocide efforts. I'm supporting that regardless of whether or not I want to.
  condemning it without actually having to change how they live their own lives.
  Tell that to the protesters getting assaulted by police.
- Why feel guilty? You're not the ones responsible.
  We still enjoy the benefits of it, and Native Americans still get fucked over by the US government on the regular. Also, have you considered we just maybe think ethnic cleansing is wrong regardless of who does it.
  But don't let me stop you from psychoanalyzing the motives of people you've never had a conversation with.
- Less about guilt, more of a sorrow and trying to make the future better than the past, instead of the same or worse. I've never met anyone that claimed to feel guilt, or looked like they were experiencing it or anything though.
- The thing is when you're the global hegemon there's no such thing as 'far away'

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