Sunday, October 20, 2019
A little late for Pronoun Day but still appropriate
Via ZH,
Well then, what does Pompeo mean? Like the old Soviet joke, the secret is in the referent of the pronoun. "The security of its people" does NOT mean "the security of each nation's OWN people." "The security of its people" means "The security of ISRAEL'S people." Thus every nation-state has the right and obligation to defend ISRAEL'S people, not its own people. Perfectly logical.
= = = = =
Fussy grammar sidenote: This particular joke wouldn't actually work in Russian, which has a commonly used 'self' pronoun. The sentence would be "Israel has the fundamental right to defend itself's people." Applied to other countries, the other countries would also be defending self's people, not ambiguous its people.
Via ZH,
“Our administration’s been very clear,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told The Jerusalem Post in an exclusive Friday interview, published on Sunday. “Israel has the fundamental right to engage in activity that ensures the security of its people. It’s at the very core of what nation-states not only have the right to do, but an obligation to do.”Does Russia have the fundamental right to defend its people? No. Does Venezuela have the fundamental right to defend its people? No. Does Cuba have the fundamental right to defend its people? No. Do Persia and Syria have the fundamental right to defend their people against ISRAEL? FUCK NO.
Well then, what does Pompeo mean? Like the old Soviet joke, the secret is in the referent of the pronoun. "The security of its people" does NOT mean "the security of each nation's OWN people." "The security of its people" means "The security of ISRAEL'S people." Thus every nation-state has the right and obligation to defend ISRAEL'S people, not its own people. Perfectly logical.
= = = = =
Fussy grammar sidenote: This particular joke wouldn't actually work in Russian, which has a commonly used 'self' pronoun. The sentence would be "Israel has the fundamental right to defend itself's people." Applied to other countries, the other countries would also be defending self's people, not ambiguous its people.
Labels: infinite infinite infinite infinite infinite infinite infinite INFINITE INFINITE INFINITE INFINITE INFINITE INFINITE INFINITE lunacy, Language update
¶ 10:51 AM
