This is not a natural disaster. This was not inevitable. They didn't grow up like this. It was inflicted on them by the vilest sadists on earth.
Important thing to remember: the only reason the number of deaths in Palestine are going down is because there isn't enough people to kill.
Read that again.
The genocide is still happening. The cruelty and inhumanity is still happening.
It is time we stop treating them as such.
The fight between Aziraphale and Crowley about Gabriel goes like this:
Aziraphale believes that it's Safest for them to deal with the gabriel situation by being involved and solving it together.
Crowley believes that it's Safest for them to get as far away from the Gabriel situation as possible, either by removing gabriel from them or themselves from him.
Aziraphale also believes that it's Right to help Gabriel, because Aziraphale believes in the innate goodness of everyone and everything.
Crowley believes that it's Right to not help Gabriel or frankly to care about him at all, because Gabriel hurt Aziraphale repeatedly over millennia and then tried to destroy him.
They approach this issue with such a difference in their core beliefs and values that they have to disagree, it's inevitable. And that would be fine. Except that the way they resolve this argument is utter bullshit.
First off, Aziraphale responds to Crowley with an ultimatum: do it my way or leave. (Which, hello, trauma from being cast out of heaven? Wtf Aziraphale. )
Crowley responds by telling Aziraphale he'll have to do this alone, and then predictably leaving.
Crowley only changes his mind and returns because he learns that Aziraphale is in real existential peril. Then they do a series of Things, none of which actually revolve their big disagreement.
Crowley offers a sort-of apology ("can we take it as stated?") but doesn't say what he's apologizing for. He doesn't tell Aziraphale what he thinks he got wrong (spoiler: because he absolutely doesn't think he Was wrong, and his belief is reinforced by the threat of destruction hanging over Aziraphale's head). It's "I'm sorry for whatever I said, get in the car" all over again.
Aziraphale doesn't even apologize lmao, and why should he? He must be right, because Crowley's back! And Crowley's doing their ritualistic "apology" dance that they use in place of actual fucking conversation. So Aziraphale doesnt need to acknowledge anything about his line of reasoning or his belief system, they can just carry on.
Especially because, crucially, Aziraphale doesn't know that Crowley was actually right! And helping Gabriel will put them both in extreme danger! And he doesn't know this, because Crowley didn't tell him!
Crowley didnt tell Aziraphale about the Book of Life punishment because he believes Aziraphale is Safest not worrying about that, and that it's Right for him to protect Aziraphale from that hurtful, harmful knowledge.
They literally do. not. discuss this issue ever again. They have no idea, or none that we're textually shown anyway, why the other reacted the way they did to Gabriel. They simply move forward with the problem, without even an iota of enlightenment about each other's points of view. They think they already know each other perfectly, right? They've been talking for millions of years, Crowley loves rescuing Aziraphale, etc.
So then we get to ep6. And it's really the same fundamental disagreement:
Aziraphale believes they will be Safest with their hands in the game.
Aziraphale believes it's Right to force Heaven, through what he has been manipulated into thinking is his new authority, to do Good (actual moral good, like he and Crowley do).
Crowley believes it's Safest for them both to stay as far away from the machinations of heaven, and by extension hell, as possible.
Crowley believes it's Right for him to reject Heaven as they once rejected him, to reject their whole dichotomous system in fact. He believes it's Right for Aziraphale to reject Heaven too, because Heaven tried to destroy Aziraphale.
And once again, Crowley doesn't tell Aziraphale of the danger they're in - Armageddon the Sequel, plus Archangels being demoted and having their memory wiped.
They still do not and cannot understand one another's motives and beliefs here. Because they have never had this freedom of choice before these last few years, and in that time they have never talked about this openly. Weirdly, Gabriel's arrival gave them a chance to hash all this out. In another world, maybe they knew exactly what the other wanted, and could therefore choose each other at this critical juncture.
But that's not what happened.
(cue my "the irony of the serpent of Eden protecting someone he loves from knowledge" tag).
Edit to say, I have Thoughts about Why they communicate like this, which I'm trying to gather for another post.
We always talk about how David Tennant manages to pull off the duality of Crowley's look (the switch from angel to demon) and generally change his entire appearance for the different roles he plays but me personally, I am just SO baffled at how they manage to turn Michael Sheen into Aziraphale
Did you know that before occupying Palestine, Zionists in Europe considered establishing a state in Argentina?
Here is the story of Moise Ville, which was supposed to become the ''Promised Land'' before the occupation of Palestine.
Via TrtWorld
So, I feel like I’m losing my mind. I keep seeing metas about how Aziraphale wants Crowley to return to Heaven and be an angel again because he wants them to be on the same side/be good/change/etc., etc., etc. but I don’t see that at all. I actually see it as the very opposite.
Aziraphale loves Crowley just as he is. But there’s something more. Something huge.
Aziraphale loves Crowley and because he is an angel who is stuck in seeing things as black and white, he constantly praises Crowley for being nice. For being good. For being kind.
Aziraphale has watched Crowley on and off for 6,000 years. He watched him thwart the plans of Heaven and Hell because it was unjust. He spared the lives of innocents. He did small things that made Aziraphale happy just because (like making Hamlet successful and saving valuable books). And because Aziraphale sees things in black and white, he sees all the things Crowley has done as nice, as good, as kind.
Crowley vehemently attests he’s not nice or good or kind.
He’s not exactly wrong nor is he lying when he says this. When Crowley spares goats during a cruel bet over a righteous man and swallowing laudanum to prevent a suicide, when he prevents Armageddon by working with Aziraphale and stopping the Anti-Christ from being the Anti-Christ, he’s not doing the nice/good/kind thing.
He’s doing the right thing.
Crowley chooses to do the right thing without hesitation. He is better than all of Heaven and Hell who have callous and dispassionate view of all existence because he questions, because he makes choices. Crowley sees the world for all its messiness and he sees himself. He sees a place where he fits in. He sees the blurred edges.
And Aziraphale sees that, even if seeing the blurred edges is hard for him.
But here’s the thing that Aziraphale can’t voice.
It’s the reason why he told Crowley about being allowed to return to Heaven and become an angel again. He doesn’t want Crowley to change. He doesn’t think Crowley is flawed. Or not enough.
It’s something that is so monumental that it cannot be put into words. Because to put it into words would be more than blasphemy. It’s down right unthinkable for anyone in Heaven, Hell, or Earth to say what Aziraphale knows deep in his soul.
God was wrong to cast out Crowley.
Aziraphale believes Crowley can/should return to Heaven because he knows that Crowley should never have fallen in the first place. He wants him to be forgiven because when Crowley fell it was unjust. Aziraphale is trying to correct a mistake. He’s trying to do the right thing.
Yes, Crowley would never accept returning to Heaven. And Aziraphale was wrong to even suggest it (although that conversation is another can of worms to unpack).
Aziraphale loves Crowley. He loves him exactly as he is. He doesn’t want him to change. Aziraphale knows that Crowley the best of all of them. He wants to change Heaven because of it. Because God was wrong and Aziraphale knows it.
Aziraphale may have difficulty seeing beyond black and white, but when it comes to Crowley he sees everything crystal clear and in vivid color.
This will be using the UN's ten stages of genocide map (as seen above) as a base for each stage.
So far, palestine is within its ninth stage of genocide.
*although I do not believe isreal is a real or valid country, this will be referring to its citizens as "isrealis"
This stage is about us and them narratives. In the Holocaust it was Jewish vs Germans, in this it is Palestinians vs israelis.
The ‘us vs them’ narrative has been drilled into young "isreali's" minds for decades and has only gotten worse.
I do not believe there are any symbols to tell an isreali apart from a Palestinian person.
Most of the time it is based off their religion, however not all Palestinians are Muslim nor are all isrealis Jewish.
Instead of symbols, they segregate.
This stage is about taking things away from their target group. isreal has taken away their housing, their land, and their property as seen in the west bank.
Dehumanisation refers to distancing the target group from humans, and making people less inclined to empathize with them.
Isreal refers to Palestinians as both animals and derogatory words such as "whores" or "monsters."
This stage is about planning the genocide, and training.
Many isreali students are taught in order for them to grow up and become IDF soldiers. They are taught how to kill without remorse and enjoy it.
Polarisation is about the media and spreading hate about their target group in media.
The IDF not only go on international TV and talk about palestinian "terrorists" but also spread misinfo on social media.
(see this post)
When preparing perpetrators use code words in order to make their intentions seem brighter.
Isreal calls it "land disputes" or "self defense" when it is a genocide fueled by colonialist ideologies.
Persecution is about rounding up their target group and committing mass killings.
Isreal has rounded Palestinians up into Gaza, an open air prison, and continues to bomb their homes, shelters, and hospitals.
There is nowhere for palestinians to go.
This is the stage we are on. Isreal is destroying hospitals, relief centers, communities, and families.
They are attempting to find and kill every palestinian. Class of 2024 has been canceled due to all students dying.
This cannot continue.
If we continue to let isreal kill off Palestine, we will get here. To the point where zionists will deny the genocide entirely.
SPEAK UP. DO NOT LET IT COME TO THIS.
Thank you for reading. The original post can be found under the Twitter/X account @aligaytor_. OP has given me permission to share it to Tumblr.