Son not invited to friend’s birthday party (13)

[PeoniesGinandBags]

My son is part of a group of a dozen or so boys in our smallish community who went to the local primary school together and then moved to the secondary school. Much bigger as it takes in from all the villages etc.

It was one of the boy’s birthdays and, it turns out, he had a birthday party at what looks to be a kind of snooker, bowling type place. I only know because his mum just shared all the photos on Facebook.

all of the boys from the group were there. My son had not been invited.

The family live a few doors down and whilst as parents were not friends on our own, we are friendly because our boys are.

Most nights, all of them are playing online together. As they are right now!

I feel really angry and upset that my son didn’t even get an invite. I’ve not asked him about it because I don’t know what to say. Am I wrong to think this is a bit of a crap thing to do? He’s absolutely the only one not invited. I know all of them as they’ve grown up together. It feels really exclusionary.

my son and the birthday boy did have a really small falling out perhaps 8 or 9 months ago but it was all done and dusted in a day and was nothing major. O even spoke with his mum above it.

i feel so sad that my son wasn’t included. And honestly, annoyed. Who does that? I would understand if it was just 2 or 3 pals but it is absolutely all of them!!!

Have you ever done your own research, watched actual real footage of whats going on and listened to the things Israeli potiliticians say about children and innocent people in Palestine? About wiping them out and newborn babies are already terrorists? Or videos of parents walking around holding limbs and whatever is left of their babies after israel carpet bombing areas for fun?

Oh and anyone who si going to attack my response, im not bothered. Do your own research people. Both the Israelis and Palestinians are entitled to their own state, but how come when the Jews came to palestine all those years ago, and were welcomed in Palestine existed... now all the Palestinians have been pushed into a small areas and the entire country is labelled israel?? Their "promised land".

But it is not society doing it, it is one mother who for her own reasons wants to distance from someone with views she sees as extreme.

I do see your point of view and don't disagree 100%, but the rights of individuals to avoid people they wish to avoid, and keep their family away too, is one of the most basic rights we have.

I agree. Why is antisemitic thrown around so loosely?? It's ridiculous at this point. The entitlement is crazy. When anyone talks about how much they hate Muslims its islamaphobia? Funny that, fear of Islam. Not anti Muslim. Almost as if its acceptable to have phobias.

Genuine question - if you saw two groups, one waving the Israeli flag and one waving the Palestinian flag, on the streets of the UK, which group would you expect to be most willing to engage in good faith debate, and to what extent does your answer lead you to conlude which side is more likely to be morally right?

No im laughing at you not people dying.
But I guess that just part of who you are that twists things for your own advantage.

I live in an area of Glasgow that has pockets that skew heavily 'British' in a very jingoistic, pro-Royal, pro armed forces kind of way. There's a little area that always has union flag bunting up and the message is explicit in Glasgow. Recently a couple of streets put up the flags on their lamp-post in the way a fair few racist xenophobes were doing at the time. The same kind of people in this area who would fly an Israel flag because another group of people have a Palestine flag and no other reason. They're totally at odds with my own politics and beliefs. Do I think they're dicks? Yes. Would I force that onto my daughter? No. We did in fact take her to a birthday party in a specific kind of social club in the area with all the bunting. We probably knocked on their door at Halloween and they probably knocked on ours.

The Palestinian flag. No brainer.

Society as a whole is becoming more and more entrenched though, and less and less tolerant. She might be one mother in this specific instance but we know on the whole it's not one mother.

Bloody good post.

Wow! Way to teach her kid that we all have different politics and opinions but can all get along!!
instead it’s them v us and just nasty

So let me get this straight... people who fly flags you agree with are reasoned sorts who are happy to engage in discussion... but people who fly flags you don't agree with have no idea why they're doing it and can't debate the issues... OK, got it.

Appalling and so narrow minded to exclude one child because she doesn't agree with their parents' outlook on life 🙄

That does not in itself prove you are on the wrong side, but it does prove that you are a very poor judge of the reality of how the two sides behave and think and act. Which does suggest you might also be a poor judge of who is right or wrong.

Someone clearly hasn't read the thread properly 😕

Can you get along with someone who believes all non-whites should be killed, or that sterilizing a mentally ill child is an appropriate medical intervension?

I think a line needs to be drawn somewhere, and whilst I do not necessarily agree I can see why some people would regard the Palestine flag as a pro-Hamas anti-semitic message and not want anything to do with the sort of person who flies it (not least in a country that has enough of its own problems without fighting amongst ourselves about an issue that we ultimately cannot affect).

I just don’t think this happened. More like made up to get everyone debating and arguing about Israel/Palestine on the thread.

Thanks, but I will continue to rely on my own judgement, it’s kept me safe from pro-Israel violent people like this.

https://youtube.com/shorts/wBbj-5aMB7c?si=m4ygcqj6Lx6ZilAM

Equally then by your logic the Israel flag is pro terrorist IDF, who have admitted to killing indiscriminately.

Yep.
Sitting back and watching us go at each other! 👀

I believe that if you agree with the right to protest, it has to include the right for those you disagree with to protest on the same terms. I don't personally think you should have a 'logic-approved' message to have to protest. In the past, fringe nonsense was easily dismissed, and the few who would turn up to protest idiotic things made little difference and ultimately just demonstrated their reprehensibility for all to see. Admittedly in these current times, with the interference of nefarious algorithms and the disappearance of educated viewpoints/platforming of fringe views overall...protest is a lot more dangerous. But imo the media have a role in this.

It hasn’t been formally legally established yet which will take time, but it has been academically established.

However the UN Commission on the Occupied Palestinian Territory (which was established by the UN Human Rights Council) has identified 5 genocidal acts by Israel as per the 1948 Genocide Convention and these are legal as well as factual findings.

The commission found that “Israel is responsible for the commission of genocide in Gaza”… “It is clear that there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria set forth in the Genocide Convention.”

Arguably, the formal legal recognition of genocide is already starting.

No. You're reading what you expect/want to see. If you want to engage in discussion with people, it's a poor habit, as you have already written their lines for them in your one sided 'debate' and are arguing against what you want to see not what is.
Read again. I've said that flying flags does not mean a person does not also debate. I've said that in some cases they fly flags without being capable of debate. But not always. See, nothing really for a reasonable person to disagree with about that, was there?

I’m not arguing with you anymore. Have your offensive post to me deleted.

Whether she is right or not, you have to accept that if you make a political statement then people will draw back from you and it will affect your family. If you're well read and educated enough to hold a strong view on matters in the middle east then I am surprised you don't already know this.

I have previously worked for Conservative MPs, and the Conservative Party. You wouldn't know this from my social media, or from mixing with me but of course it is inevitable that work comes up in conversation. As such people have distanced themselves from me and my family upon learning this. I am centrist and would never go Reform so I cannot be seen as crazy right wing in anyway, but some people on the left still dislike it enough to not want to know us and that is absolutely their perogative.