Honestly Threatening, or Irrational Gut Reaction: You Decide

This poster is up all over campus advertising the rally at the bookstore tomorrow. I gotta admit, I've had a terrible day today because I was convinced that the sign read, "Retribution Justified" or "Retaliation Justified" instead of "Resistance Justified," and that the boy was throwing a rock at the tank in the picture. I read it as essentially justifying and supporting violence in Gaza; that somehow because the Palestinian people were occupied, throwing a rock, or any form of violence, would be an acceptable and admirable response. Instead of being an anti-Israel rally, I read into it as more of a pro-Hamas rally, and it really, really scared me.  

So technically, I let my emotions get the best of me and I misread the language and image of the sign. But nonetheless, even though it may not say "Retaliation" or "Retribution," I still feel like the word "Resistance" in this sign is inherently violent.  Even without the language and image, I still feel threatened by the message of the protest. I'm just not quite convinced that "Resistance" is separate from "Retaliation" or "Retribution" on our campus. 

Is the sign an effective tool to motivate people to attend the rally tomorrow? I honestly don't know, and really hope not. To me personally, the sign is about as pro-war and anti-dialog as a political message can get, and I feel physically threatened by it. But hey, at least it rhymes. 

-lizrick