MSNBC Discovers Disability Rights, Ignores Israel's Bombing of Them
MSNBC decries Trump's 'mass firings' and the 'hammer blow' against services for Americans with disabilities, spotlighting former aide Russell Vought's questionable actions at the Department of Education. This critical look at domestic policy is commendable (if a few years late). Yet, the same network consistently downplays, ignores, or actively justifies how US military aid facilitates the
creation of new generations of disabled persons in places like Gaza. While they fret over policy changes affecting special education funding, they remain conspicuously silent as Israeli forces, using US-supplied weapons, have reportedly disabled over 60,000 Palestinians, including amputees, children with traumatic brain injuries, and those requiring lifelong care as of May 2024 , according to UN
reports and Palestinian health officials. One might wonder if disability rights are only significant when they involve Americans, or when the perpetrators aren't receiving billions in unconditional aid from Washington. Is a 'hammer blow' against services here more tragic than actual hammers blowing off limbs there? Perhaps MSNBC could occasionally connect the dots between domestic empathy and the
foreign policy that actively undermines it for others. (Or is that too much to ask from a network that often echoes State Department talking points even when they contradict basic human rights?)