Afghanistan Suffering Doesn’t Count in Hollywood - California Globe

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Trevor Noah, seen here at the Aronoff Center in Cincinnati, Feb. 1 2019, has been silent on the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. (Photo: Hayden Schiff)

In Spring, the world saw one of the bigger recent skirmishes between Israel and Palestine. Shortly after the Biden administration sent $235 million in aid to Palestine, rocket fire began, and Israel’s Iron Dome was put to the test.

Hollywood, with its inability to think before speaking, took to social media to sound off on how horrible Israel is and how Palestine should be supported. The deep ignorance of Hollywood was perfectly encapsulated by models Bella and Gigi Hadid – “One cannot advocate for racial equality, LGBT and women’s rights, condemn corrupt and abusive regimes and other injustices yet choose to ignore the Palestinian oppression.” These Palestinian-American beauties apparently do not understand the laws of their native land. Other celebrities to trumpet their support for Palestine include Mark Ruffalo, Meghan Rapinoe, Trevor Noah, Viola Davis and Susan Sarandon among others.

Fast forward to today in Afghanistan. With the announcement from the Biden administration that the United States would be ending its twenty-year occupation on August 31^st, the Taliban wasted no time. So far, they are succeeding. As of today, the third largest city in Afghanistan, Herat, was overrun by Taliban insurgents. According to MSN, “The capture of Herat makes it the eleventh provincial capital to fall to the insurgents in the past week. It provides the militants with a route to the capital from their strongholds in the south.”

With these conflicts increasing so does the abuse of women and young girls. The Sun reports the “Taliban ‘going door-to-door dragging out girls as young as 12 to make them fighters’ sex slaves’ in terrifying rampage.”

Ruth Pollard from Bloomberg reports, “The Taliban are going door-to-door in some areas, compiling lists of women and girls aged between 12 and 45 years for their fighters to forcibly marry. Women are again being told they cannot leave the house without a male escort, they cannot work, study or dress as they please.” This is essentially human trafficking and indentured servitude.

So where is Hollywood’s outrage pointed? Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson, Ron DeSantis and Anti-Vaxxers.

The progress made in the last twenty years for women in Afghanistan has been nothing short of miraculous. The activist Sima Samar describes the gains, “Much has been gained in the 20 years since the Taliban were ousted. Schools for girls are open. Women entered the workforce, politics, became judges — they are even at the negotiating table where the Taliban and the Afghan government are struggling to find a way to end war.” All of this is coming undone and those in the U.S. with the loudest microphones refuse to take the stage and call out the human rights abuses these Islamic extremists in the Taliban are perpetrating on their own population.

What a difference from the Hollywood cries this Spring. During the Israel-Palestine conflict, Mark Ruffalo tweeted, “1500 Palestinians face expulsion in #Jerusalem. 200 protesters have been injured. 9 children have been killed. Sanctions on South Africa helped free its black people – it’s time for sanctions on Israel to free Palestinians. Join the call.” He’s currently tweeting about election integrity and framing them as Jim Crow laws. Apparently, an entire country’s women being converted to property isn’t tweet-worthy for the Incredible Hulk.

Just like their silence on the crisis at the southern border, Hollywood stars decline to hold their pal in White House accountable. While even the New York Times acknowledged yesterday that “Taliban Advances in Afghanistan Could Bring Political Peril for Biden,” Hollywood’s just not buying it.

In seven short months, the situation in Afghanistan has the Biden administration floundering. If Biden decided to keep troops there, the violence would most likely abate. However, with inflation skyrocketing, a border crisis that has turned chaotic, his closest Democrat governor ally resigning this week in New York while another in California faces a recall all while the infrastructure bill waiting in the wings, his political capital has been stretched too thin.

However, the fact of the matter is clear. “Terrified women dreading their future are now fleeing the war-torn country as Afghan fathers expressed fears Taliban thugs will take away their daughters and force them to be slaves.” The Sun further describes the situation in Afghanistan: “The scenes are reminiscent of those in 2014 when masked ISIS members paraded through Syria and Iraq in US Humvees during their lightning offensive.”

The debate whether to pull out of Afghanistan is a highly contentious issue in the minds of Americans. Being so far removed from the war not only geographically but also concerning the media who no longer gives it adequate coverage, people often forget that the country has been at war for over 20 years. It’s almost as if the population has accepted an approach to perpetual war as an end in itself.

However, Hollywood has made its progressive priorities clear – the rights of the oppressed are the most important thing. Whether they are preaching #MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter or #FreePalestine, they’ve made it their mission to speak out for those they deem victims. What’s unfortunate is that being declared a “victim” can only occur if that description comports with Democratic Party narrative.

When it comes to families being separated at the border under Donald Trump, they are outraged. The same things happened under Barack Obama and now even worse with Joe Biden and they are silent. A Black man named George Floyd was murdered by a police officer and the Democrats rally for riots. Then, a Black police officer, David Dorn, was killed in those riots and they are silent. Now, women and girls are essentially being auctioned off in Afghanistan and Hollywood remains mute.

Audiences have dwindled for sports, the Olympics, award shows and now the box office. Perhaps the public is starting to catch on. Hollywood stars don’t care about justice. They only care about scoring partisan points.

Joel Brizzee covers the Hollywood Hypocrisy beat for California Globe. He is a former financial services director and lives in Santa Monica. He graduated from the University of Oregon as a Religious Studies major with an emphasis in Christian theology.