AUSTIN, TEXAS: Joe Rogan has questioned people's "binary thinking" when it comes to choosing a side in the current Israel-Hamas conflict. In October 2023, a military offensive, including many ground and aircraft strikes against Israel, was carried out by Hamas militants.
Following reports of thousands of civilian deaths, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) launched a massive military offensive on the Gaza Strip, killing a disproportionate number of Palestinians in retaliation, vowing to 'end' Hamas, once and for all.
Joe Rogan's take on people's 'binary thinking'
Despite suffering significant deaths since the war's inception, each side has persisted in pursuing its own goal. As a result, people all across the world have effectively chosen sides and are supporting Israel or the Palestinian people.
Dave Smith was recently invited to appear on The Joe Rogan Experience (JRE) by Rogan. Smith is a political analyst and comedian. During their conversation about the Middle East War, Joe Rogan said that he has become upset with the public's oversimplification of the war's viewpoints.
"Either Israel is evil or Hamas is totally evil. It can't be there's a lot going on. This binary thinking that everybody has in our culture today, where people, we automatically subscribe to what one side thinks," Joe Rogan said.
He added, "If you're on the right, you automatically subscribe to what the right-wing people think. If you're on the left, you subscribe to the left wing. Which wars are we supporting? There are different sides to supporting wars."
Internet reacts to 'JRE' podcast episode
Many people who watched the episode on YouTube shared their views via comments. A user said, "Finally. Someone who speaks the truth," whereas one added, "Finally a guest who's telling the truth".
Another user added, ""let's stop it with this binary thinking!" proceeds to give a completely one-sided account of history in the region," while one said, "Excellent commentary! There is more to the story. I appreciate the open discussion on JRE."
A user also mentioned, "Living in middle America, I don’t agree that people are either fully left or fully right. I find a lot of people don’t have an opinion or are trying to figure these complex situations out. They may vote one way on their ballots, I don’t know. But talking to people face to face (not on the east or west coast) is a lot different than reading social media comments."