Friday, December 15: A Total Disregard for Life
Anybody know what stage of genocide we're in now?
As we close in on 70 days of constant Israeli bombardment and destruction in Gaza, journalists are still being attacked, hospitals are still under fire, and western politicians are still more than happy to watch the carnage unfold. And Palestine still resists. The only constant, other than the war crimes of the apartheid state, is the steadfast refusal of Palestinian resistance to bow to the endless violence of Israel’s military.
Here in America, Benjamin Reese, a teacher down in Georgia, was arrested this week and accused of threatening to behead a 12-year-old Muslim student who said that the presence of Israel’s flag in his class was offensive. Separately, a student at a school in Florida was expelled not because of any unruly behavior, but because of his mom’s posts on social media relating to Palestine. This is the level of hatred and alienation that Palestinians and their supporters are receiving.
A teacher can threaten to behead a 7th grader for critiquing the flag of an apartheid state, a Palestinian child can be stabbed to death, three Palestinian students can be shot, with one paralyzed from the chest down, but remember to spare a thought for the poor zionists on campus who saw a watermelon placard and had a panic attack. It appears some people genuinely think that their temporary emotional discomfort holds more weight than a genocide. These are not serious people. At best they deserve to be ignored, or mocked relentlessly until they realize the gravity of what’s happening.
Seeing the reaction of so many Americans to protests blocking highways and inconveniencing people who just want to ignore the genocide and go about their day has been almost humorous. It never fails to disappoint seeing how much average Americans hate any and all forms of legitimate protest. Voice your complaint, but don’t disrupt the flow of capital. Make your anger heard, but don’t be violent or even civilly disobedient. Don’t boycott, don’t go on strike, and certainly don’t inconvenience anyone! These are the demands of a cowardly citizenry that just wants a return to the status quo of Palestinians dying in silence.
While we sit and quibble over what phrases to use at protests or what methods are most convenient, more than two-thirds of the house of representatives voted in favor of a defense policy bill yesterday that includes a record $886 billion (with a B) in annual military spending. Our infrastructure can crumble into dust and our healthcare costs can skyrocket and our schools can be underfunded, but there will always, ALWAYS, be money for endless wars. I hate it here.
Special shoutout to the American Jewish allies who shut down 8 bridges in 8 cities across the country in honor of the 8th night of Hanukkah. Their demonstration came with one clear and unified message: permanent ceasefire now. It’s that simple.
Side Items
15 Years Later: In all the chaos I nearly forgot to commemorate a wonderful historic moment that took place during the Bush era. On December 14, 2008, Iraqi journalist Muntadhar Al-Zaidi removed both of his shoes and threw them at George W. Bush, shouting, "This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, you dog." For this brave demonstration, Al-Zaidi was arrested and allegedly tortured. There were calls across the region to place his shoes in an Iraqi museum, but the shoes were destroyed by US and Iraqi security forces, because they represent even the slightest resistance against a war criminal