The West's hypocritical moral high-horse, and why Cheek won't be marking IWD this year
Cheek's recap on the week that was.
It’s been another totally normal week in the Cheek office, and we are not pulling our hair out :)
I was already a drink or two deep at a Mardi Gras pre’s when the breaking news alerts began trickling in. My stomach dropped. We had been anticipating an act like this; war-mongering US and Israeli leaders have proven repeatedly that they have little regard for international law. It was not hard to predict where this was headed.
But it was Mardi Gras - a small glimmer of light, joy and community amidst the current depths of hell we find ourselves in. I put away my phone, and I promised myself I would ignore the push notifications until Sunday morning. By then, we had heard of the horrific news that an Iranian girl’s elementary school had been struck. More than 160 children were reportedly killed. That is a war crime.
Almost as horrific as the crime itself were the hoards who rushed to the comments to defend the US and Israel, circulating unsubstantiated claims that this was caused by a failed Iranian missile. Such claims, which bear close resemblance to debunked narratives that attempted to exonerate Israel of strikes on Palestinian hospitals and schools, proliferated with little pushback as internet blackouts and a lack of international media on the ground make independent verification almost impossible. Meanwhile, others argued it was justified because the school was nearby an IRGC base, and that this could not compare to the violence Iran has inflicted on its own people through decades of political repression, gender apartheid, and most recently the killings of thousands of protestors. But why should little girls have to pay for the crimes of their government?
To be clear, Iranians and the diaspora have the right to celebrate, to mourn, to hold a multitude of feelings. It is not our place to police or judge. However, we will gladly reserve our judgment for the detached onlookers who insist upon the West’s moral high ground, all the while cheering for the bombs that fall on brown children in a faraway land.
Kalila Welch, editor of Cheek Media Co.
