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“Are you a Hamas mom too?”… Only hate and stigma over the ‘Iraq-Palestinian war’ in university areas that have disappeared from discussion

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The contents of a poster posted at a university in the name of the Workers’ Solidarity Youth and Student Group. (Screen capture from the Workers Solidarity Youth Student Group website)

There is a debate going on at universities over the armed conflict between Israel and the Palestinian armed faction Hamas. The debate is intensifying as the ‘Support for Palestine’ slogan is put up. However, it is pointed out that productive discussions have disappeared as stigmatization and hate speech against the other party abound.

According to News 1’s coverage on the 13th, on the bulletin boards of universities such as Seoul National University, Yonsei University, Korea University, University of Seoul, and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, a poster was posted in the name of the Workers’ Solidarity Youth Student Group with the message, ‘Let’s show solidarity with the resistance in Palestine.’

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The poster said, “Israel was founded in 1948 through ethnic cleansing that involved large-scale massacres and expulsions of Palestinians, and has continued to adhere to a racist policy of racial segregation ever since,” and “No matter how this resistance to Israel is achieved, It is the legitimate right of Palestinians.”

This claim sparked a debate over the long-standing territorial dispute between Israel and Palestine. There is a conflict between the claim that Israel provided the fundamental cause of the conflict and the opinion that Hamas’ actions are unacceptable.

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Even on ‘Everytime,’ an anonymous community for college students, debates are going on, such as “Isn’t Israel the perpetrator?” and “The moment it touches civilians, Hamas inevitably becomes bad.”

The problem is that in the process of expressing opinions, people are labeling the other party as ‘hate speech’. A representative example is the expression ‘Hamas Mom’. The expression ‘OO Mom’, which is mainly used among young people, is derived from ‘Mom Cafe’, meaning blind support like a mother. The hate expression that has evolved from here is ‘mamchung’.

Hate expressions online appear to continue even in college campuses. Even among those who support Palestine, it is not difficult to find hate expressions that disparage certain religions. The extreme expressions between each other only intensify conflict instead of productive discussion.

Regarding this, Ms. Lee (20, female), a second year student at Yonsei University’s Department of Business Administration, said, “I think they are hastily using a derogatory term without fully understanding the issue. The ‘mom’ suffix can also be seen as misogyny.” said.

He added, “More than anything, supporting Palestine cannot be viewed as the same as supporting Hamas, but I think there is a leap forward.”

Mr. Hyeon (23, male), a fourth-year student at Yonsei University’s Department of Public Administration, pointed out, “It’s not hate, but it could be a light term, isn’t it?” He added, “The reason this dispute became a hot topic was because of the Hamas airstrikes, but I don’t think the term has any relevance at all.” did.

Regarding this, experts diagnosed that this is happening because the forum for public discussion has disappeared.

Song Gyeong-jae, a professor of social economics at Sangji University, said, “I don’t know if the expression in question can be defined as hate speech, but it appears to be a term expressing hostile feelings taken from ‘Mamchung.’” He added, “It is a polarized argument not only on domestic social issues but also on international issues. “I am concerned that there may be an appearance of criticizing the group,” he said.

He then pointed out, “The fact that discussion spaces have disappeared on platforms such as portals, leaving only spaces where like-minded people gather to strengthen their positions, such as in communities, may be the background to the creation of this problem.”

Source: Donga

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