Monday, March 11: Different Kind of Ramadan
Don't text me "Happy Ramadan" unless you follow up with "Free Palestine"
Ramadan Kareem to all the homies around the world celebrating. Today is the first day of fasting for Muslims, and this year will undoubtedly be a bit harder to rejoice, as we continue to witness the blatant and barbaric human rights violations of Israel, propped up and funded by the rapidly declining American empire.
While many people will be dealing with the first day pangs of hunger and doing their best to extend their patience and avoid vulgarity, the people in Gaza have spent more than 150 days being intentionally starved (or ‘unwillingly fasting’ if we want to extend the passive voice of western media). We’re now in the fifth month of Palestinians not knowing when their next meal will be or if they’ll survive long enough to break their fast at sundown.
We’ve long since passed the point of daily executions being broadcast on social media. We’ve passed the point of daily bombardments on hospitals, universities, houses, mosques, and anything and anyone that moves. We’ve passed the point of daily airstrikes on schools that were being used as shelters by refugees forced out of their homes. We’ve passed the point of daily massacres of starving people gathering to collect meager humanitarian aid. The land of the free and the home of the brave has chosen a ‘moral middle ground’ involving simultaneously air dropping aid into Gaza while supplying Israel with bombs to airstrike civilian areas. And somehow the American government can’t even air drop humanitarian aid into Gaza without killing more Palestinians.
In his annual state of the union snoozefest last week, Joey Biden made a number of ridiculous claims, including announcing plans for the construction of a “temporary port on Gaza’s coast for the distribution of humanitarian aid”. You can bet your bottom dollar that this “port” will closely resemble an offshore oil rig, and you can also bet that the purpose of this port will be to extract resources from a besieged area full of starving people. The shamelessness of these cowards knows no bounds. You might be asking yourself why Gaza doesn’t already have a seaport where the US could deliver such aid? Well my friends, it’s because the apartheid state of Israel, as part of its ongoing occupation which it pretends doesn’t exist, has prevented Palestinians from building one.
Israeli protesters continue to block aid from entering into Gaza, and yes, the people behind these blockades are exactly as hypocritical and demented as you can imagine. This story published more than 4 years ago by The Intercept documents the tragic murder of Alex Odeh, a Palestinian-American activist who was living in California. The story is particularly poignant today when you understand that one of the psychopaths behind the Israeli "protests" currently blocking aid to Gaza is an American who fled to the apartheid state in order to escape charges for his suspected role in the murder of Alex Odeh.
As we continue to approach a presidential election featuring two historically and deservedly unpopular candidates, the external pressure to cast your lot with either of these demented clowns will only increase. People will claim that this is the most important election of our lives (again), and some may even accuse you of being a single-issue voter if you dare refuse to support Biden for his constant and undying support of the apartheid state. Personally, I reckon if you have to pick a single issue to stand on, opposing genocide is a pretty worthy cause. I understand wholeheartedly that freedom is often earned through the blood of rebels and martyrs. I just wonder how many martyrs will be necessary to result in lasting change. It wasn’t 10,000 or 20,000 or 30,000 and judging by the look of things, it may not be 100,000 dead Palestinians. The only question remaining is how much Gazan blood has to be spilled before the occupation and its supporters realize their mistakes?
Side Items
RIP to a Legend: Last week saw the passing of Akira Toriyama, a modern legend and one of the most influential and best-selling manga authors of all time (OF ALL TIME!!). Toriyama was best known for building the popular Dragon Ball universe, which spawned the infamous manga, the anime series, and so many corresponding video games and films. The incredible series first debuted way back in 1984, telling the story of a young boy named Son Goku who was on a dangerous quest to collect 7 magical dragon balls to protect Earth from alien humanoids called Saiyans. I fondly recall watching episodes of DBZ on Toonami as a young lad after coming home from elementary school, that is until my older siblings politely bullied me into abandoning the show, a crime for which they will never be forgiven
A Royal Mess: I’m not one to pay any attention to the so-called royal family across the pond, but it appears they’re currently undergoing a number of hilarious crises at once, probably divine payback for their generations of colonial exploitation and inbreeding. First the king was diagnosed with cancer, which he promised to treat with a mix of potions and herbs (RIP to that bozo), now it appears Kate Middleton, the duchess of whatever and wife to one of the balding princes, has mysteriously disappeared and is possibly being hidden from public view. May God forgive me for praying on the downfall of the entire royal hierarchy
The Oscars…Again: The Oscars took place again last night in Hollywood. I honestly do not care for the Oscars, which can’t possibly come as a surprise anymore. The biggest movie stars on the planet getting together for an evening of self-celebratory revelry and masturbatory recognition just isn’t my idea of entertainment. Some people won, most people lost, and a small handful of folks bravely used their platform to call for a permanent and lasting ceasefire