The virtuousness of blatant misandry

Someone released a report yesterday or today announcing that the October 7th war started by Hamas has led to more than 30,000 deaths of women and children.  I have not paid attention so far because this smacks of propaganda.  An impression amplified by all the antisemitic Hamas supporters trumpeting the report as if it held any epistemic water.

The only thing we know for sure is that the number is not 30,000.  It might be a few more, it is almost certainly factors or magnitudes less.  The IDF are very good, among the best in the world.  They have worked hard to both fight effectively against Hamas terrorists as well as fight in a fashion that minimizes collateral damage in terms of civilian deaths and infrastructure destruction.  

It is a complex and difficult tight rope they are walking.  The greater the care they take with regard to civilians, the more their own losses there will be.  Militarily, operationally, ethically - it is a horrendous hairball.

What has been interesting, though, is the framing of the study.  Everyone is emphasizing the purported deaths of 30,000 women and children.  

Why the misandry?  Where are the civilian men?

There is Hamas and there is a civilian population and that civilian population is made up of men, women, and children.  Yes, I am sure that Hamas troops are taking a beating.  I hope so, as they are the biggest barrier to peace.  

And I am also certain there are many inadvertent civilian deaths.  And I suspect civilian males would be significantly the greatest proportion.  Hamas fights in civilian clothes so all males will likely be assumed to be hostile until evidenced otherwise.  

So what is the estimate of male civilian deaths?  I would use at least a rule of thumb of fifty percent greater.  If there are 30,000 women and children dead, then I would guess that there would have to be about 45,000 civilian men dead as well.  75,000 total civilian dead.  Multiply by three to get to the number of severely wounded and you get 75,000 KIA and 225, 000 WIA.  300,000 total civilian casualties so far.  Out of a total population of 2,400,000.  13% of the Gaza strip population, lost in five months of war.  For comparison, Germany lost 12% of its military and civilian populations during WWII over six and half years.  

It seems pretty clear that we are not witnessing a WWII level of intensity of combat.  It seems pretty clear that we are not witnessing those levels of deaths.  Literally, not seeing them.

Hence, until proven otherwise, this all seems like propaganda on behalf of Hamas who seem to have adopted a strategy of winning by losing.  Or something like that.

But I come back to the framing.  Here is a single example response picked at random.

Click to enlarge.

Mindless mullets parroting antisemitic barbarian propaganda for strategic gain.  You shall know them by their witlessness.  

And as these celebrities vomit up the propaganda, why is no one concerned about the deaths of civilian men?  Cannot they hear themselves.  All human deaths are a tragedy!  Men are almost certainly as exposed if not substantially more at risk of death in this conflict.  Why are the Hamas supporters not concerned about all civilian deaths?

Again, it sort of answers itself.  This is propaganda intended to sway the heart.  

We can mourn the tragedy of October 7th and can mourn that the initiator of the conflict, Hamas, has chosen not to surrender and not to release its hostages.  And we can mourn that there are an unknown number of dead civilians, men, women and children.  

But let's not pretend that we know the numbers and let's not indulge in misandry.  

And lets acknowledge that it is Hamas who is demanding a ceasefire.  Not humanity.