On the Current Humanitarian Crisis
Things across the world are horrifying. How do we behave?
On the Israel-Hamas war
It's not justified to kill innocent people. It doesn't matter who's doing the killing.
I don't even know where to start with the atrocities Israel has erupted onto Palestine in the last few weeks, and how the United States is handling it. How about absolutely disgusting, barbaric, and inhumane? It's incredible; although I expect political hypocrisy from the United States most of the time, I didn't think they'd go SO low as to support Israel's genocide against innocent Palestinian people in the name of handling terrorism. If the measures being taken were coming from a place of handling terrorism, it would be handled differently, and not by killing regular people for the actions of those in power. Hamas’ murder of 1400 Israeli’s on October 7th was horrible and condemnable. From October 8th and on (and the many times before October 7th where Palestinian civilian infrastructure had been destroyed), what’s been happening to Palestinians has been horrible and condemnable. Both have been victims of terrorism. But as of now, over 10,000 Palestinians have been killed, including over 4,000 children. Those are the facts. So how can Western governments and media still frame Israel as the victim?
I really wonder how in the name of religion governments could commit such atrocities. How can people just brush aside the tens of thousands of people and KIDS who prematurely died in Gaza this past month? How come US citizens don’t have a choice over the way their government uses their tax dollars? As if we can trust elected officials to be sane these days. The fact that Palestinians are being killed by bombs made in the USA while a select few make a fortune off of this conflict is absolutely sickening.
With the international controversy of the USA as world police, living abroad makes you realize the pros and cons of the huge piece of land. I often get confronted with critics of the country, and do feel like Uncle Sam deserves to be defended sometimes, but hardly ever when it comes to its tactics for international intervention. When will we learn from history? The fact that the US is letting such bloody events slide with its support for Israel shows how much of a joke our political strive for democracy, freedom, and moral righteousness really is. They’re not only letting it happen, but actively supporting and aiding and throwing US tax dollars like confetti to the country that is breaking international law and misnaming massacre as ‘collateral damage.’
On (social) media during crisis
It’s difficult to make a judgment on whether or not social media can be a positive tool for progress. Instagram stories don't see much of me anymore when it comes to national or international conflicts. A friend of mine said a few people unfollowed her within the month because she wasn't posting her view on Israel's attacks on Gaza. Although she’s informing herself and grieves the immense loss of life, she chooses not to talk about the conflict on social media. Perhaps the unfollowers view her as the enemy because she’s not using her energy to stand up for Palestine the same extent they are. Are they nervous her silence means she’s pro-genocide? Perhaps she’s deciding to step this one out, and appreciate the life without war she’s currently living while grieving the atrocities in silence. Share on social media, or don’t share on social media, I really don’t think it makes a difference when it comes to changing opinions. I agree with the fact that it makes noise, which forces people to face reality, and I appreciate those who do make that noise. I’ve seen some of my friends post a lot of great historical archives and make great points spitting FACTS on Instagram. But I’m not convinced it makes a bigger difference than the conversations we have with people in real life about the conflict. (If you disagree, tell me why! I’m here to listen and learn.)
In terms of news, I don't think getting information from social media is the best source... unless they’re first-hand accounts. Excessively posting each new bite in support of our view can lead to easy consumption of quick sensational posts that get us riled up quicker than we can think about what we've just consumed. Another problem may be that in an ideal world we’re supposed to trust our national news networks to give us the facts that the government tries misconstruing. It’s supposed to be the regular people differentiating from the people in power. Unfortunately, the US is not that ideal world, and we’ve come to a point where it’s almost impossible to find news that is true objective journalism with integrity, without trying to sway our emotions with meticulous wordage or political propaganda. The political landscape has now become the regular people against the regular people thanks to politicized propaganda-machine news networks. The way sensationalized news divides us regular people is very harmful and unproductive. We rage against injustice, and that’s important. But it’s also important to figure out how to use that rage to effectively communicate and defend our stance.
Not that I (or anybody for that matter) have to justify it, but I personally have not posted about the genocide on my social media because #1) I think if people look at the conflict as it is, just with data and facts, it’s quite obvious who the perpetrator is and #2) I think a better way of spending my time is actively informing myself on the events. If I were to have a conversation with somebody about the war in Gaza (can we even call it a war?), I want to be prepared and have an informed conversation. I’m someone who sometimes cracks in frustration when talking to people who don’t understand my view, and this anxiety prevents me from thinking critically and shuts me down. When that happens, I give myself the space, but I also want to train my mental agility. I didn’t learn a lot about Israel and Palestine in school, as I’m sure many US-educated folks haven’t (unless you studied political science or int’l relations). There’s a lot of research and absorbing to be done on a daily basis with each breaking news bombing.
To get my information, I lean toward independent news channels, and my favorite is Breaking Points. They’ve been doing such a good job covering the conflict from start to finish and I admire their integrity and the after hours they put in to give quality context, information, and insight (AND they’re funded by their audience!).
Other places I’ve been absorbing information from:
An engrossing podcast from the other day talking about the war:
One of my favorite political commentators (Kyle from the podcast above) who fires me up, and gives great principled takes. He’s a critical thinker who often makes great connections like in this video where he talks about the dangers that come from the psychology of victimhood — “Every single atrocity in history is carried out by people who are super convinced that they are the victims.”
This substack article by Fariha Róisín is important and full of resources and awesome researched information.
Another great podcast teaching me a lot about the history of the land!
Podcast, article, or video recommendations are welcomed and encouraged!
On existing physically outside crisis
It's a strange and outraging feeling going about one’s day to day while war breaks around the world, and it feels as though we keep edging closer to an even bigger catastrophe. Although we're talking about Palestine and Israel now, Russia and Ukraine are also still at war. The US military is crawling its way back into the Middle East, and neighboring countries have noticed. The US puts itself at more risk by intimidating other nuclear powers, while it claims to be protecting national security —hilarious!
Breathe in. Breathe out. Anyways, what do I know? I'm a student to the world and learning as I go, trying my best to stay informed and make sense of all the nonsense. (I mean what the **** is going on???) Things are crumbling to rubble across the world, and I happen to be living in Spain right now, typing on my laptop, and drinking hot tea to get over my cold. I'm also trying to start this blog, as it's been a passion project in the mental works for many years finally being put into reality. I'm aware of my privilege, even just to be outside of the US rhetoric right now. I wake up safe, in the comfort of my furry white blanket from Aldi, a 20-minute walk from the center of Málaga. I have access to electricity, internet, clean water, work, and shelter.
Lingering beneath the manifested international struggles is a problem in today’s social fabric. Particularly in the United States, the political environment isn't exactly a safe space, but a reactive one, and it's impossible to get to the bottom of people's concerns when we don't exactly know why it is people think what they think. Do people even know what they think? Why and how are a substantial amount of people actually supporting Israel’s actions right now? Is manipulative media really that good? The US is made up of over 300 million people… imagine the waves people can make if there’s a significant majority working together? Why is it so hard to imagine? What do we do about it?
The world changing depends on people to humanize each other and learn from one another. The solution to most things is COMMUNICATION. Conflicts on an international scale have geopolitical and economic interests, so our governments are probably the worst example of what it means to properly communicate. They communicate via manipulation and propaganda, telling the stories that are convenient for them. We need to work together as regular people to communicate our ideas, questions, and concerns clearly; we must interact, learn, listen, experience, travel, and have compassion for one another. When we’re able to stick together is when large-scale change becomes possible. Maybe I’m idealistic, or maybe thinking that’s just your easy way out. ;P
Photograph from the article “The Gaza Protests Could Save Lives—Maybe Even Your Own” by Jon Schwarz.
I hope you guys are taking care of yourselves, giving yourselves space, and learning something new each day.
JUSTICE FOR PALESTINE.
With peace, love, and compassion,
Tea