I knew this would be a good read! Stanley, you’ve done it again my friend! The thoughts are racing through my mind. I agree that the word “safety” holds a different definition depending on who we are talking to. The part that frustrates me is when it comes to the black community, when police are fearful of their safety, who serves and protects us from them? The answer has been no one for decades and stories like the one you shared are proof. I think about the cities Durham and Wilmington in NC that were also burnt down because black folk had power with results and whites felt “unsafe.” It seems they only feel unsafe when their agenda is threatened. The rebellion in me wants us to continue threatening the agenda but this time break that shit! Don’t get me fired up I almost joined a Black Panther party in NC last year! I love these discussions!
Haha, stay fired up and stay a truth teller. The key thing in what happens to our people, and the motivation behind our support of the atrocities in the middle east is Racial Capitalism. But I'll save that for another essay.
This makes me think about Cop Cities and how they are connected back to the Middle East specifically the country acting as a bully. Unfortunately, we let the cop cities be built with no pushback until now. They have tested the waters and we blindly sent the message that we accept the control. I won’t say it’s too late but that Racial Capitalism you speak of is just as much on our homebase as it is miles away. But I agree, save that for another essay lol! wink wink
Thank you Noha, and thank you for always inspiring me to speak up. I'm trying to be a voice in my own way, and I'm glad I could teach you something new.
Stanley, I always appreciate how you make time to sit with the heavy moments in our history and refuse to let them collect dust. We hear over and over how all of our struggles are connected, and this is a clear example of that. Sitting with this and you as we continue trying to build the world we want to live in.
I didn’t know about this specific story but I’m aware of similar stories, so thanks for bringing this to light!
On a side note, I’ll never understand why the state of Israel is conflated with Semitism. This is not how a state is defined as a political unit…it does not have a religious quality. So one can oppose the policies of the state of Israel and this opposition has nothing at all to do with one’s feelings about Judaism on any level.
There are certainly governments that have created a religious state, such as Saudi Arabia or Iran. But again, this is not how the state is defined as a political unit — as a member of the United Nations, which is the organization that confers statehood.
How has this conflation been so successfully disseminated? I used to think it was an individual misunderstanding, but I increasingly think this conflation is advanced by the Israeli government simply because it benefits from the confusion of state/people.
Something similar is going on when it comes to the US government advancing “safety” as a justification for its behaviour.
Thanks for reading @Leah, and I think you're asking a good question. I'm feeling particularly cynical about politics these days so my answer is that its being done on purpose to gaslight the world from bad behavior.
If all criticism can be dismissed with anti-Semitism, we don't have to answer for the thousands of dead.
I knew this would be a good read! Stanley, you’ve done it again my friend! The thoughts are racing through my mind. I agree that the word “safety” holds a different definition depending on who we are talking to. The part that frustrates me is when it comes to the black community, when police are fearful of their safety, who serves and protects us from them? The answer has been no one for decades and stories like the one you shared are proof. I think about the cities Durham and Wilmington in NC that were also burnt down because black folk had power with results and whites felt “unsafe.” It seems they only feel unsafe when their agenda is threatened. The rebellion in me wants us to continue threatening the agenda but this time break that shit! Don’t get me fired up I almost joined a Black Panther party in NC last year! I love these discussions!
Haha, stay fired up and stay a truth teller. The key thing in what happens to our people, and the motivation behind our support of the atrocities in the middle east is Racial Capitalism. But I'll save that for another essay.
This makes me think about Cop Cities and how they are connected back to the Middle East specifically the country acting as a bully. Unfortunately, we let the cop cities be built with no pushback until now. They have tested the waters and we blindly sent the message that we accept the control. I won’t say it’s too late but that Racial Capitalism you speak of is just as much on our homebase as it is miles away. But I agree, save that for another essay lol! wink wink
I didn't know this story, Stanley. My God, how utterly horrific.
Excellent analysis, as always. Who is a threat and who deserves to be safe?
Thank you Noha, and thank you for always inspiring me to speak up. I'm trying to be a voice in my own way, and I'm glad I could teach you something new.
You, Sir, are a gentleman and a scholar.
Stanley, I always appreciate how you make time to sit with the heavy moments in our history and refuse to let them collect dust. We hear over and over how all of our struggles are connected, and this is a clear example of that. Sitting with this and you as we continue trying to build the world we want to live in.
I didn’t know about this specific story but I’m aware of similar stories, so thanks for bringing this to light!
On a side note, I’ll never understand why the state of Israel is conflated with Semitism. This is not how a state is defined as a political unit…it does not have a religious quality. So one can oppose the policies of the state of Israel and this opposition has nothing at all to do with one’s feelings about Judaism on any level.
There are certainly governments that have created a religious state, such as Saudi Arabia or Iran. But again, this is not how the state is defined as a political unit — as a member of the United Nations, which is the organization that confers statehood.
How has this conflation been so successfully disseminated? I used to think it was an individual misunderstanding, but I increasingly think this conflation is advanced by the Israeli government simply because it benefits from the confusion of state/people.
Something similar is going on when it comes to the US government advancing “safety” as a justification for its behaviour.
Thanks for reading @Leah, and I think you're asking a good question. I'm feeling particularly cynical about politics these days so my answer is that its being done on purpose to gaslight the world from bad behavior.
If all criticism can be dismissed with anti-Semitism, we don't have to answer for the thousands of dead.