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What setback?
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I was disturbed by the Nov. 29 headline accompanying the article about Palestinian statehood ("Israel Resigned to Major Setback at U.N.").
Was it a "setback" for men when women were allowed to vote in the United States with the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment?
Was it a "setback" for white people when voting practices that discriminated against African-Americans were outlawed with the 1965 passage of the Voting Rights Act?
Was it a "setback" for straight people when gay and lesbian people achieved marriage equality in Massachusetts in 2004?
If not, then why is it a "setback" for Israelis when Palestinians are accorded some measure of justice, human rights and self-determination, which has been denied to them since 1948? And why does the large, bold, leading headline focus attention on what this step means for Israelis?
When apartheid was dismantled in 1994 in South Africa, was the principal focus of attention what this step would mean for white South Africans? Or was it more appropriate to focus attention on what the end of apartheid would mean for black South Africans who, like the Palestinians, endured an oppressive political situation for so many decades?
DAVID HERNDON
Edgewood
First Published December 4, 2012 12:00 am
