I have been working to unpack my blind spots on a fast track since 2015; and yet, the train seems to continue to speed up, just when I think it can't go any faster.
Hannukha has just begun and Christmas is just weeks away- and I can't think of anything else than the genocide that is occurring in Palestine. Calling it Palestine is intentional, as I refuse to refer to the land with the name given by the colonizers. I spend a lot of time in the social media sphere, too much some might say; but, it is where I have learned about this colonizing atrocity that has been happening more than my entire life, and about the narrative that I fell for in my indoctrination into whiteness and the colonizing mindset that comes with it. It is also where I have learned about what my "friends" will NOT say about what is happening in the world. Their silence is deafening.
I am truly disappointed in American humanity right now, and I don't know what to do with this feeling.
I understand that my feelings are small in the grand scheme of things. There are families that are being bombed relentlessly in Gaza, entire family trees being erased. In comparison, my little feelings of disappointment don't amount to much. The key question I keep asking myself is what am I going to do about it?
I've had white people leave my life due to my awakening to systemic racism and my calling out, and in, of those who continue to benefit and perpetuate it in their lives. I'm used to that and don't miss them at all. This awareness of "friends" being quiet about the genocide that is happening on livestreams all over the social media spectrum feels like another level- but it's really not. I just have to summon the courage to keep speaking up and calling people out, and in, when their silence gets louder.
If you are reading this, and you've been listening to the narrative about it "being complicated" or "complex"- I'm saying right now, DON'T FALL FOR IT! You are not stupid, nor does your newness to the topic disqualify you from learning and knowing the truth. Killing families en masse is NEVER OK! There are many Palestinian people on the ground who can let you know exactly what is happening now without hidden agenda. They want to live, they want their children and families to live- no complexities there.
Also, don't think this isn't all connected to white supremacy. It occurs to me that we are essentially watching a reinactment of the birth of the US in Palestine. A community who wants the land for themselves has been occupying that land for decades, making the indigenous people believe they will live "together"-all the while planning for their complete destruction, as long as the indigenous people continue to resist the taking of their land. What if standing up for the Palestinians right now, and fighting for the aprtheid state to end, is our opportunity to behave differently than our forefathers did when they genocided the indigenous people on Turtle Island and systematically colonized their land while compressing them into tiny swaths of land with very little resources.
Are you ok with this happening again??? On your watch??? I'm not.