Monday, December 18: None of This is Normal
I thought the holidays were all about joy and celebration...
The days pass and the slaughter continues. Hospitals are bombed, schools are attacked and used as military bases, innocent men, women, and children are dying at rates that would shock the outside world if it happened anywhere else. Yet zionists and western apologists are still saying, “How could it be genocide if we haven’t killed them all yet?”
In the past, zionists would argue that Palestinians were given every opportunity for a state of their own, that their violent refusal to concede to Israeli demands was the reason they’re an oppressed and stateless people. Now we’ve reached a point where the prime minister of the apartheid state is openly sharing that actually, he’s the reason there’s no Palestinian state. At a press conference in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu stated it plainly, saying, “You have been blaming me for almost 30 years for preventing the Palestinian state. That’s true, I’m proud that I prevented the establishment of a Palestinian state.” There’s truly no sense of shame from this coward from Philadelphia.
All the while, western outlets are running asinine headlines like this, conflating zionism with Judaism, alleging that Black American solidarity with Palestinians is somehow testing their ties to Jewish allies. Narratives like this one are intentionally spread to drive a wedge between marginalized communities and undermine authentic solidarity, a classic strategy of divide-and-conquer. The problem with this line of thinking is that true solidarity isn't transactional in its nature. I stand beside my Black brothers and sisters not because I anticipate calling on their support when Muslims are being targeted, but because nobody deserves to fear for their life when being pulled over by police. Some of my Jewish friends have showed up and continue to show up for Palestine because being anti-genocide is a pretty standard position for anyone with a functioning moral compass.
I say ‘some of my Jewish friends’ because I can’t ignore that there are people in my life, Jewish and otherwise, who have avoided saying anything at all. What’s happened in the last two months (a genocide) has changed me on such a fundamental level that I truly doubt I’ll ever be the same again. Frankly, I don’t think I’ll ever look at those people in my life the same way, specifically anyone who’s remained silent throughout it all. I feel an intense loathing and an increasing distance so vast it seems unbridgeable. But I remind myself and I ask you, dear reader, to remember that it’s not too late. If you haven’t spoken up yet, if you haven’t protested or called your elected officials or even said a word about the inhumanity, it’s not too late. But with each passing day it becomes more and more evident who has normalized the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, which is not something I can ever forgive or forget. Someday this violence will end and Palestine will be free, and our paths may cross again. You can bet good money I’ll be spitting in your eye if you allowed this to happen without standing vehemently opposed to it. Don’t be the person with blood on their hands AND spit in their eye. It’s a bad look.
Side Items
Sisi Re-elected: After last week’s presidential election, Egypt has a new leader! Ok sorry, that’s not true, they actually have the same president, but thanks to the most recent election he’ll now be in office until 2030! Abdel Fattah al-Sisi narrowly won the race with only ~90% of the vote, a pretty close call for a dictator. The election took place as Egypt continues to struggle with a growing economic crisis and does its best to ignore the ongoing massacre in Gaza, adjacent to Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. Of course nobody is really surprised by the results of this election, but something tells me Sisi might not make it to 2030…purely speculation
So Close: A car plowed into a parked SUV that was part of Joe Biden‘s motorcade last night in Delaware. Relax snowflakes, the old man and his wife weren’t harmed, so it’s ok if I dream of his inevitable demise. The driver wasn’t considered a serious threat to the president, just your average Delawarian operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol. This situation does make me curious about the conversation this man will eventually have with his insurance agent. I’m thinking this kind of accident will raise your rates pretty considerably