GAZA: from Biden’s Reductive Thinking to U.S.-backed Genocide
Click here to read on Medium, option to listen (4 mins)
I AM DISGUSTED by the manipulative simplicity with which Biden is discussing Gaza & Israel. The dangerous erasure of historical context, in service of oppression and genocide.
Biden is not the right leader for this moment, and I fear that him as the Democratic nominee may be the nail in the coffin of our democracy. More to come later from my political-sociological-healer eyes, right now what I will say is I AM DISGUSTED.
To be clear — I will never condone an attack on civilians. All of this violence needs to be seen in context. There’s no such thing as an unprovoked attack by an oppressed population.
My criticism of the Israeli state has nothing to do with Judaism, this is all completely separate from religion. I respect all faiths and spiritual practices. I am disgusted anytime faith is used to justify harm. That has nothing to do with the religion itself, it’s people twisting the sacred to build their own power.
Again, I’m not condoning the actions, I’m just not pretending this happened in a vacuum.
We need to be able to hold complex truths if we want any hope of a peaceful world. A world I dream of for the next seven generations and beyond.
We need to all realize that Israel is a settler-colonial state that the US is closely allied with and providing military aid to–that’s our money, handed over by the president I helped elect–did you? What does that make us? Gaza is an occupied territory, home to over two million people and often called the world’s largest open air prison by human rights organizations and UN experts.
Innocent Palestinians are being slaughtered with full backing of the US and Biden’s glowing smile. Palestinians in Gaza are under seige, at least 2.3 million people in a space the size of Philly with no escape.
“No electricy, no food, no water, no gas. It’s all closed. We’re fighting animals and are acting accordingly.”
Yaov Gallant– Israeli Defence Minister, from an Al Jazeera segment
The dehumanization chills me to the bone. This is the mentality of a person capable of committing a massacre and then sleeping soundly. And he has plenty of US funds to play with.
The brutal, systematic, decades-long oppression of Palestinians, plus
no end in sight
total impunity and
backing of one of the world’s superpowers (the U.S.)
is exactly what creates terrorism– breaking down the psyches of entire generations through trauma, taking away their identity and hope. A person with shattered identity and no hope is very vulnerable to violent extremist ideology. If we want to stop terrorism, let’s talk about stopping Israel’s reign of terror first. Hamas was created in 1987, Palestinian occupation started in 1967 — do the math. Unhealed trauma only produces more trauma, after all.
“It’s possible and necessary to stand with both the Palestinians and Israelis without resorting to ethical relativism, to selective outrage, or worse, calls for violence. Politicians, policymakers should prioritize restoring legality and accountability, using diplomacy and peace as conflict resolution methods, rather than advocating for more violence or standing with one side or another.”
–Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur, from an Al Jazeera segment
Biden’s tragic, murderous short-sightedness is what you get, frankly, from someone who clearly has not done the work to expand his mind’s eye. Let’s not forget: he was the guy who threw Anita Hill under the bus in the most vile way, harming her and sexual assault survivors around the world allll to help Clarence Thomas take his seat as a US Supreme Court Justice. That worked out great, eh? We’ll circle back on this another time, I have lots to say.
Biden is not capable of the VISION that we NEED in order to:
protect our democracy
save our planet
reclaim our economy
and create a world that is truly free, rooted in love, and where all human rights are honored (special callout to my trans & non-binary peeps)
A world where boundaries are a given, and abuse is a distant memory, yet carefully studied in history classes. Because we know—
It is never black and white.
That foolish idea only serves abusers, bullies
and apartheid states now fully genocidal.
We out here in the world of love,
we see ALL of the colors and know–
murder can’t possibly be the path to peace.
To Biden and your buds — you are drenched in innocent blood. Step aside and let us clean up your horrifying mess, or you may be the executioner of this Great, imperfect yet real democracy.
U.S. Voters, PLEASE call your Senators and Representatives
Your voice is powerful and needed. Seriously, so few people actually call—they pay attention when voters make the time and effort. Remember, they work for you!
You can leave a message anytime. An aide goes through all messages, notes how many constituents called about the same issue, and may pull out certain ones to replay. If you, like me, are navigating social anxiety, just call after hours and then you’ll definitely go to voicemail.
Representatives Lookup and Contact Info
Senator Lookup and Contact Info
Here’s a script you can use, and if you want, personalize. For example, because I know my representative is a long-time advocate for civil and human rights, at the end I said “I know you are a fierce advocate for justice, please do whatever you can to stop this horror.”
Pro-tips: if the D.C. office mailbox is full try calling a local office. State your full name and zip code so they can verify you’re a voter.
Please do whatever you can to immediately end the genocide that is underway in Gaza. It is already horrifying that the U.S. has been supporting Israeli apartheid and decades-long brutal oppression of Palestinians. Now the Israeli state is carrying out an extermination plan with U.S. political and financial backing. 2.3 million Palestinians are trapped with no food, water, gas, electricity or medicine– this is violation of international law, and simply inhumane.
The U.S. cannot call itself a beacon of global democracy while financing genocide.
THANK YOU. May we raise our voices and stop this horror.