Thanks for reading and commenting, Ned. I agree that Biden often goes “off script” and his statements then have to be walked back. In this case he seems to be trying to walk back what he’s saying himself as he says it. It’s a common technique for politicians: start with an uncomfortable fact and then blur and mystify until you’ve managed to distance yourself from it, or even pretend that you’re doing something to alleviate a problem you yourself are responsible for. The dangerous part is that in the process, the language suffers. Rather than making use of language to reveal reality more clearly, the media and the individuals they give the floor to are draining language of its ability to help us to see reality. The case of Gaza is extreme, but typical: Israel’s acts in Gaza fit the definition of genocide inscribed in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948, which itself was inspired by the acts of Nazi Germany against the Jews of Europe; yet anyone who uses the term “genocide” to apply to Gaza is immediately accused of anti-Semitism.
"why Biden would make such a statement without carefully crafting it beforehand"
Joe Biden mangles many statements, whether or not they have been carefully crafted beforehand.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Ned. I agree that Biden often goes “off script” and his statements then have to be walked back. In this case he seems to be trying to walk back what he’s saying himself as he says it. It’s a common technique for politicians: start with an uncomfortable fact and then blur and mystify until you’ve managed to distance yourself from it, or even pretend that you’re doing something to alleviate a problem you yourself are responsible for. The dangerous part is that in the process, the language suffers. Rather than making use of language to reveal reality more clearly, the media and the individuals they give the floor to are draining language of its ability to help us to see reality. The case of Gaza is extreme, but typical: Israel’s acts in Gaza fit the definition of genocide inscribed in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948, which itself was inspired by the acts of Nazi Germany against the Jews of Europe; yet anyone who uses the term “genocide” to apply to Gaza is immediately accused of anti-Semitism.