Celebration Parallax

[DISCLAIMER]

In a blog entry entitled Gaslighting, I defined the namesake of the post by stating “gaslighting [is] a form of psychological manipulation in which a person is deliberately deceived in an attempt to cause the individual to question the person’s sanity.” Here, an example is warranted.

First, I’ll define terms. Whereas “ethnic cleansing” is defined as the expulsion, imprisonment, or killing of an ethnic minority by a dominant majority in order to achieve ethnic homogeneity, “genocide” is defined as the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group.

Second, it’s worth noting the key distinctions which pertain to each of these terms. According to one source:

The United Nations first defined genocide in 1948 in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The treaty outlines five acts that can constitute genocide if they are done “with the intent to destroy an ethnic, national, racial or religious group”:

1. Killing members of the group

2. Causing serious bodily or mental harm

3. Deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s physical destruction in whole or in part

4. Imposing measures intended to prevent births

5. Forcibly transferring children

To qualify as genocide, the actions must be done with intent to eliminate an entire group of people. Without provable intent, a group or individual can still be guilty of “crimes against humanity” or “ethnic cleansing” but not genocide […]

Ethnic cleansing, on the other hand, only refers to the expulsion of a group from a certain area.

Ethnic cleansing has not been defined and is not recognized as a crime under international law, according to the U.N. And in reality, the lines between ethnic cleansing and genocide are often blurred.

“Your motivation may be that you want the people out, but if in doing that you intend to destroy the group, then it’s also genocide,” said James Silk, a human rights professor at Yale Law School.

Last, I submit an example that pertains to what one source describes thusly, “The Gaza war is the part of the conflict fought between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip and Israel that has occurred since 7 October 2023.”

I’ve heard plenty of commentary regarding whether or not the state of Israel’s actions toward the people of Gaza (also known as Palestinians) relates to genocide, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, or merely standard operating procedures of armed conflict. Even still, some people deny any wrongdoing on the part of Israel.

Other individuals claim that no genocide is occurring, though ethnic cleansing is more likely. Remarkably, one group of people will outright deny any offense being committed by Israel; however, when convincing evidence to the contrary emerges, these individuals then gaslight the public.

Regarding such questionable justification, the celebration parallax comes to mind. Per one source, this is the “phenomenon whereby the exact same set of facts is either celebrated or deplored depending solely on the political bias of the observer.”

If one supports Israel from a sociopolitical perspective, then potential crimes against humanity regarding the Gazan people are excusable. However, the same supporter would likely lament similar actions which were historically taken against Jewish people. This is gaslighting.

Of course, one source states that “if you start comparing Israel to Nazis and saying they are perpetrating genocide and massacres, then you are crossing the line to antisemitism.” False. Conservative essayist Michael Anton helpfully describes of the celebration parallax:

The Celebration Parallax may be stated as: “the same fact pattern is either true and glorious or false and scurrilous depending on who states it.” In contemporary speech, on any “controversial” topic—or, to say better, regime priority—the decisive factor is the intent of the speaker.

If she can be presumed to be celebrating the phenomenon under discussion, she may shout her approval from the rooftops. If not, he better shut up before someone comes along to shut him up.

Note also that the key distinction here is celebration versus non-celebration, not support versus opposition. One need not actually, clearly oppose the subject under discussion in order to be blameworthy. Declining or neglecting to celebrate it forcefully enough is enough.

Suppose that a person doesn’t maintain that it’s antisemitic to compare the current behavior of Israel (as a nation state) to the historical behavior of Nazis. Still, this individual doesn’t exercise free speech while also neglecting to vigorously celebrate Israel’s actions.

This hypothetical person could be accused of being antisemitic. This is the celebration parallax. Alternatively, another individual may claim that genocide, ethnic cleansing, or crimes against humanity aren’t occurring at the hand of Israel, and it’s good that these actions are occurring. This, too, is the celebration parallax.

Personally, gaslighting that stems from the celebration parallax is little more than a form of Kafka trap— when one is accused of something and one’s denial is taken as evidence that the accusation is true. Regarding this unproductive form of argumentation, one source states:

I’m all for realpolitik and strategy, but the “it’s not happening and it’s a good thing [it is]” is damaging to your side as well. I think the potential for deception is not worth the cost in optics. If people in your nation (or political party) realize that you’re “up to something”, I think it’s more responsible to justify why you’re “up to something” than to deny it […]

I believe that the Celebration Parallax is used strategically to avoid debate by trying to convince the opposition that their “opposition” is entirely unfounded. As in, “yeah, that’d be bad if it was real”. To be dramatic, I’d call it gaslighting.

I think the potential for in-group and third-party alienation is immense when this strategy becomes too evident. Do the ends justify the means when the ends are dismissed as propaganda? I’m not sure.

People who use the celebration parallax as some sort of defense against thinking which is rational (in accordance with both logic and reason) do their arguments no favors. Merely claiming that Israel isn’t potentially committing war atrocities while declaring that it’d be acceptable if such behavior was happening is irrational.

Moreover, positioning oneself to label “antisemitic” any plausible criticism of Israel’s actions is nothing more than an ad hominem attack. It’s lazy. Ultimately, time will reveal who maintained the morally and ethically superior position regarding this example. I doubt that it’ll be the side left with blood of innocents on its hands.

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Photo credit, fair use

References:

Anton, M. (2021, July 26). “That’s Not Happening and It’s Good That It Is”. The American Mind. Retrieved from https://americanmind.org/salvo/thats-not-happening-and-its-good-that-it-is/

Bendavid, N. (2025, April 25). Many Jews say Trump is politicizing the fight against antisemitism. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/04/25/antisemitism-trump-jews-israel/

E-Reptile. (2024, December). CMV: Celebration Parallax is wrong even if your side ends up being right. Reddit. Retrieved from https://www.reddit.com/r/changemyview/comments/1h344f8/cmv_celebration_parallax_is_wrong_even_if_your/

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