Drama Masks: SF Opera and Shotgun Players ask, What price life? - 48 hills

"I've spent almost two years listening to pro-Israeli voices defend the bombardment Gaza as retaliation for October 7. They say they want accountability for the hundred-plus hostages and the thousand-plus casualties. Then why are there now more than 200,000 dead Gazans, countless more injured and displaced, and the land almost entirely rubble? Funny thing about revenge: It doesn't limit itself to any set number."

"One of the great shames of humanity-and there are many-is how we put a price on life itself. Other species may have complex behaviors, but we're the only ones who've made bartering life into a science. From slavery to expensive healthcare, from clean water to comfortable linens, everything that makes a human life worth living has a price tag attached to it."

"I won't pretend I've gone my whole life without assigning numerical value to people, but the benefit of maturity is putting aside the stupid things one does or thinks about in their youth. What's more, being fond of Socialism allows one to see the equal value of all human life-a value not shared by the dead fascist that was buried in Arizona this week. That posthumous revisionism of his life show the power of storytelling in assigning value to existence."

Massive bombardment of Gaza framed as retaliation for October 7 has produced catastrophic civilian tolls: over 200,000 dead Gazans, countless injured and displaced, and widespread destruction. Revenge expands violence beyond any fixed quota and deepens collective harm. Longstanding U.S.-funded policies contribute to a multi-decade genocidal context. Human societies routinely assign monetary value to life across institutions—from slavery and expensive healthcare to access to clean water and comforts—effectively turning existence into a commodity. Socialism affirms equal value of all human life. Posthumous revisionism of a recently buried Arizona fascist demonstrates how storytelling reshapes perceived worth. Contemporary plays probe the danger of reducing sentient life to numbers.

Read at 48 hills