Yasmin Mogahed open letter #Gaza
badbrains
Posts: 10,255
"I used to wonder why some Palestinian people would engage in actions that could only provoke the aggressor further. Then I realized that to ask a people to live quietly, while they have no justice and no freedom, is to ask them to live "peacefully" as slaves. "Peace" without justice or freedom is slavery. It's like asking a battered woman to live "peacefully" with her abuser. We all want the bloodshed to stop. But what about the daily humiliation and institutionalized oppression?
I was reminded of a part in "The Hunger Games" when Katniss considers abandoning the resistance against the oppressor, in exchange for "safety". Gale's response was telling. He said: "Safe to do what? Starve? Work like slaves? Send their kids to the reaping?"
Consider this: If a woman is being raped, things would be a lot more "peaceful" if she didn't resist. But, asking her not to resist--just because her attacker is physically stronger--is asking her to accept her own abuse and oppression for the sake of "peace". This is what the world is asking Palestinians to do.
And sometimes what seems to the world as just ineffective tactics, like throwing a rock at a tank, is in fact an act of resistance. It is a powerful statement to the oppressor--and the world--that they refuse to be enslaved. That dignity and self-respect are even more beloved to them than their own lives.
It is a statement that you can take their lives. But not their freedom."
~ Yasmin Mogahed
I was reminded of a part in "The Hunger Games" when Katniss considers abandoning the resistance against the oppressor, in exchange for "safety". Gale's response was telling. He said: "Safe to do what? Starve? Work like slaves? Send their kids to the reaping?"
Consider this: If a woman is being raped, things would be a lot more "peaceful" if she didn't resist. But, asking her not to resist--just because her attacker is physically stronger--is asking her to accept her own abuse and oppression for the sake of "peace". This is what the world is asking Palestinians to do.
And sometimes what seems to the world as just ineffective tactics, like throwing a rock at a tank, is in fact an act of resistance. It is a powerful statement to the oppressor--and the world--that they refuse to be enslaved. That dignity and self-respect are even more beloved to them than their own lives.
It is a statement that you can take their lives. But not their freedom."
~ Yasmin Mogahed
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Comments
I don't think currently resisting by firing rockets is helping Gaza. They are not successfully defending themselves and they are providing the Israelis with an excuse to keep up the onslaught. The smart move seems to be to hold fire, announce to the world they are doing so, and then dare the Israelis to do the same.
I'm not saying the Palestinians don't have a right to defend themselves. They do. But what they are doing now is not resisting or defending themselves. They need a new tactic.
"...I changed by not changing at all..."
hamas is firing rockets because nobody is helping them. nobody with an army will fight on their behalf. nobody with an air force will fight on their behalf. they are fighting back with the best weapons they have, which are useless against idf, which is armed directly and indirectly by the united states. when the palestinians do nothing, their story and struggle falls out of the news cycle and everybody in the world forgets about it. when they lob rockets, it is HUGE news and brings international attention to their plight. public opinion is being swayed to the palestinians side right now. i am thinking that their rationale is "why stop now? the eyes of the world are upon us. we would rather die fighting than live as slaves."
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
where are all of the israel supporters on amt now? where is yosi, and ogre, and raifi, and the others that staunchly defend israel's policies on here?? there is a wealth of evidence against the israeli government. so much so, that they can not deny it anymore. they can not make excuses for it anymore. they can not justify it anymore.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
"...I changed by not changing at all..."
Who violates ceasefires more, Israelis or Palestinians?:
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/infographic-who-violates-ceasefires-more-israelis-or-palestinians
The United States and other governments have harshly blamed Hamas for the ongoing slaughter in Gaza because they refused a unilateral “ceasefire” declared by Israel on 14 July through its Egyptian proxy.
But as dozens of prominent figures in Gaza civil society write, “Hamas represented the sentiment of the vast majority of residents when it rejected the unilateral ceasefire proposed by Egypt and Israel without consulting anyone in Gaza.”
“We share the broadly held public sentiment that it is unacceptable to merely return to the status quo” of devastating Israeli siege on Gaza, the civil society leaders said. “To do so would mean a return to a living death.”
To put the situation in context, Visualizing Palestine (visualizingpalestine.org) created this infographic that charts the routine violations of the last Egyptian-brokered ceasefire from 22 November 2012 until 7 July 2014.
http://community.pearljam.com/discussion/235555/gaza/p25
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Can we not assign motives to people? Here, at the least?
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
If I were Israeli I dont know that I would post here at this time. Skin is only so thick.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
The point in the op is well taken. One thing I've noticed with this latest aggression from Israel...they're creating a huge number of Hamas sympathizers. When this began, not many people were willing to defend Hamas actions. Now, most people I speak to say things like 'what would you do in their situation? I don't blame them one bit'...
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
I've said it before and I'll say it again though: a government's first obligation is to protect its citizens, and in the eventuality of a two-state solution (which I keep my fingers crossed for each day), Israel's citizens most definitely will be targeted with hatred which began out of oppression, and will likely exist after oppression. So, to send rockets into Israel, from my perspective, is counter-productive from Hamas' perspective if their goal is a two-state solution, as it legitimizes hatred ("you threw rockets at me, so I hate you" - though, of course, that's not the full story). I have the exact same feeling about Israel's horrendous aggression towards the Palestinian regions, and think that Netanyahu's insistence that there will never be a two-state solution is actually CAUSED by his own government's aggression and imposed oppression. How's that for circular logic?
PS, I realized that was mildly confusing, hope I expressed myself properly there.
EV
Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
8-}
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
"...I changed by not changing at all..."
It's really interesting, but the parallelisms are really hitting home... Look at the birth of modern Canada, America, Australia as major examples of lands where people were already there, and a group comes along and says "yeah, this is ours now, so would you mind leaving? No? Okay, we'll exert our force then". This seems to be the similar to Israel's birth story. The only major perceivable difference to me is the power dynamic, where the natives residing in these three destinations were largely isolated, and quite powerless compared to the newcomers to the land. In this situation, you had Palestinians surrounded by sympathetic Arab nations who would not have the notion of a Jewish state - and ESPECIALLY not when it meant that Arabs themselves would be displaced from their homes. While it seems unreasonable to say "we adamantly oppose the existence of a home for Jews" from neighbouring countries (as well as Palestinian non-Jews), that becomes incredibly reasonable when you add the suffix "because Jews and Arabs alike have coexisted here for years and we should not be forced to live any differently in the interest of a Jewish home". Would it be incredibly difficult at this point to say that Israel should cease to exist? Certainly. What's shocking, however, is that at least in Canada's modern conception where natives were displaced, over time, reparations were insisted upon. Native reserves here (which natives are allowed to leave when ever they please) are only inhabitable by natives. Natives receive funds to obtain an education. See what I'm getting at? Where are the reparations? Instead of reparations and special privileges going above and beyond to make right by wrongs done by inappropriate seizure of land, Israel seems to have granted Palestinians unhappy with their situation the right to their own demise.
What's my conclusion at the end of all of this? As I always have (I was suspended from Jewish day school for telling my teacher that Judaism was a load of crap in the sixth grade), I oppose religion more than ever. This is a country which exists solely because of a massive demonstration of religion-based hatred, used to justify further hatred and elitism by one religion unto another. If we cared about each other half as much as we cared about the words given to us by our personal version of the invisible man, this world would be a much better place. You could fill small oceans full with the blood that has been spilt in the name of religion, and it is a horrific tragedy. Be spiritual - but let the summation of the universe at large be your god, and understand that if god is everything, you are acting in self-destructive ways with every living thing which you harm. /rant concluded. My apologies in advance for anyone I've offended.
EV
Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
Definitely, the idea that Palestinians have the right to defend themselves is gaining a greater foothold here than ever before. More than that though is the growing consensus that Israel's current offensive is a slaughter. All of that though stops well short of support for Hamas.
"...I changed by not changing at all..."
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14