I appreciate the way you explore the flattening of the experience through political rhetoric. We get so caught in blame we forget what's in question: human beings, suffering. I wonder if this abstract, categorical thinking is a way of cutting us off from our hearts. Also: I'd never seen the image of the officers in the "I can breathe" shirts...literally sickening. Please keep writing, your work is powerful.
Thanks so much Isabel, and yes. There's so much hand-wringing about politics, and rhetoric, many of us are intellectualizing our way out of acknowledging that there is extreme human suffering taking place. Thank you so much for always reading my work and encouraging me!
I appreciated the nuance behind this essay, and for the call back to why Black and Palestinian liberation have long been interwoven. When I look at how people are consuming media around Gaza, I often think back to the flood of “trauma porn” that surrounds police brutality and how difficult the bombardment of those images are for me and other Black people I love. And in the same ways, like you mentioned, I had to be careful about how I showed or discussed that grief.
Thanks for reading, this is something that has been on my mind a lot recently. I struggled to find the right words to say, so I'm really happy that its landing well.
Great essay weaving oppressions together. I think back to how Nat Turner and freed black men were such a threat to American society. There were laws that criminalized freedom. Being alive and black was a liability in America. Now we have students making demands on behalf of oppressed people in Palestine and the elite cannot stand for it. They criminalize free speech and label people antisemites, when in fact the institutional response is violent and out of proportion.
Thank you for reading. I see so much of myself in the faces of the Palestinian people, and I have felt like a coward for not speaking up on behalf of people I believe to be my sisters and brothers. If one of us aren't free, none of us are free.
I agree with almost all of your sentiments here - but *some* students are actually espousing anti-Semitic rhetoric and bullying Jewish students and Jewish people globally are dealing with massive up-tic in hate crimes...we must keep this in mind...i have jewish friends who have experienced being called Anti-Semitic (!) AND have experienced anti-semitism...it is such a tough spot...we need to keep it real.
First, thank you for being willing to read and push back some, we don't get anywhere without dialogue. Secondly, you're absolutely right about that, I have seen it myself in some spaces. Some of it is from people who really do mean harm, and some of it is from what I call "Strategic agitators" either way, it needs to be addressed. its sad that this is the state of affairs that we're in. But our leaders need to be able to call out the anti-Semitism without throwing away the very real demands for peace.
I remember during one of the Mike Brown protest in New York, there were undercover cops in the crowd who were purposely doing things to try and agitate violence. I wish I had better answers for the challenges we're facing. I'm grateful that you're willing to engage with me.
I agree we don't get anywhere without dialogue. As the world watches Palestine burn down, and the IDF continues to post pictures of how pleased they are with their carnage, I'm confident that the love for Jewish people will not increase in the world, especially with the equation Jews = Israel. Maybe if we can disentangle the racist, hedgemonic, imperial state of Israel from the people of Jewish ancestry, there's hope and a long way to go towards peace. But unfortunately, most people don't consider the nuances. There is an oppressor and oppressed on the world's stage. That's it. People will make their judgements accordingly. From the scriptures -- maybe Pharaoh claims he's oppressed by Moses, but he's just threatened that Moses would dare question his status and power. Moses tried to get his people to stop worshipping the golden calf. I'd say the golden calf today is Israel. If you want people to not hate you, I'd say don't do hateful things. I hope I'm not being too direct here. Thanks for the space to think and feel out loud Stanley!!
You are not being too direct at all, a lot of people need to take a hard look in the mirror. Thank you for engaging and being willing to share your time and energy. I feel lucky that I get to engage with you
The rhetorical spin on justice seekers is chilling. How do we hold the tension where two things can be true at the same time. Hamas committed horrible crimes and the Israeli government is committing genocide. Jewish people need a safe place in the world and the extreme zionists have been settling on land that is not theirs. The police in the US have a history of abusing black men and need to be held accountable and the police are often asked to do jobs that maybe a network of professionals could support them better.
You're asking all of the right questions. I think we have to start with seeing ourselves in each other. It's hard to do harm to someone you know. Then again, that answer feels so simple when we're dealing with situations that sometimes feel bigger than all of us.
Stanley, thank you for writing this piece. I have reread it a few times, and always come back to the same thought — the commitment to our personal struggles requires commitment to each other’s struggles. I see a lot of “we aren’t free until we all are free”, but in practice, there is real work in witnessing, protesting, and doing whatever necessary to keep each other safe. To keep each other alive. Grateful and proud to do this along side you.
Does anyone actually remember what happened when they brought the National Guard in at Kent State.. it did not end well as i'm sure you know...this is not the first time politicized students are fighting back -
I appreciated you naming the pain of witnessing murder and genocide and those feelings of helplessness and shame that come up. and how you end up having to compartmentalize. I feel those too. and this kind of sadness/anger/ disgust at the world mix of feelings always makes me think about a past job that I had working as a therapist for people who had experienced sexual assault, intimate partner and family violence, and human trafficking. I can see so clearly how 'we' as a country, as a society, could do better so those things don't continue to happen. instead we get politicians passing laws & policies to cause further harm to people with the least power under these systems, rather than protecting people and trying to make the world a mess violent place. the thing that gets me through, more or less, is keeping my focus on the things that I can do for my neighbors, my community. but there's really no fix as long as these systems continue to exist. ugh. thank you again for your words.
Tim, we don't know each other. If you disagree with what I'm saying, that's fine. But please don't accuse me or others of being Nazi's, and don't come here to curse on my post. Substack provides the ability to block and mute. If my content offends you, feel free to take advantage of it.
I appreciate the way you explore the flattening of the experience through political rhetoric. We get so caught in blame we forget what's in question: human beings, suffering. I wonder if this abstract, categorical thinking is a way of cutting us off from our hearts. Also: I'd never seen the image of the officers in the "I can breathe" shirts...literally sickening. Please keep writing, your work is powerful.
Thanks so much Isabel, and yes. There's so much hand-wringing about politics, and rhetoric, many of us are intellectualizing our way out of acknowledging that there is extreme human suffering taking place. Thank you so much for always reading my work and encouraging me!
And yes I love Stanley's humanist world view, thank you for speaking up.
Incredibly disgusting to see the “I can breathe” signs. Didn’t know that was out there.
Poor people are being murdered and we should always stand up for the oppressed.
If one of us aint free, none of us are free.
I appreciated the nuance behind this essay, and for the call back to why Black and Palestinian liberation have long been interwoven. When I look at how people are consuming media around Gaza, I often think back to the flood of “trauma porn” that surrounds police brutality and how difficult the bombardment of those images are for me and other Black people I love. And in the same ways, like you mentioned, I had to be careful about how I showed or discussed that grief.
Thanks for reading, this is something that has been on my mind a lot recently. I struggled to find the right words to say, so I'm really happy that its landing well.
You came out on the side of nazis and people who thought that ictober 7 was a great idea.
You might as well be one of those cops.
It seems the point of this essay went entirely over your head.
Black jews were murdered on october 7.
You weren't on their side. You don't love black people any more than you love gaza.
You're just an opportunist. Using black people to prop up hamas
Hi Tim, I’m a Black person discussing my experience, and replying because this is a solid example of what I referred to in my initial comment.
Great essay weaving oppressions together. I think back to how Nat Turner and freed black men were such a threat to American society. There were laws that criminalized freedom. Being alive and black was a liability in America. Now we have students making demands on behalf of oppressed people in Palestine and the elite cannot stand for it. They criminalize free speech and label people antisemites, when in fact the institutional response is violent and out of proportion.
Thank you for reading. I see so much of myself in the faces of the Palestinian people, and I have felt like a coward for not speaking up on behalf of people I believe to be my sisters and brothers. If one of us aren't free, none of us are free.
I agree with almost all of your sentiments here - but *some* students are actually espousing anti-Semitic rhetoric and bullying Jewish students and Jewish people globally are dealing with massive up-tic in hate crimes...we must keep this in mind...i have jewish friends who have experienced being called Anti-Semitic (!) AND have experienced anti-semitism...it is such a tough spot...we need to keep it real.
First, thank you for being willing to read and push back some, we don't get anywhere without dialogue. Secondly, you're absolutely right about that, I have seen it myself in some spaces. Some of it is from people who really do mean harm, and some of it is from what I call "Strategic agitators" either way, it needs to be addressed. its sad that this is the state of affairs that we're in. But our leaders need to be able to call out the anti-Semitism without throwing away the very real demands for peace.
I remember during one of the Mike Brown protest in New York, there were undercover cops in the crowd who were purposely doing things to try and agitate violence. I wish I had better answers for the challenges we're facing. I'm grateful that you're willing to engage with me.
I agree we don't get anywhere without dialogue. As the world watches Palestine burn down, and the IDF continues to post pictures of how pleased they are with their carnage, I'm confident that the love for Jewish people will not increase in the world, especially with the equation Jews = Israel. Maybe if we can disentangle the racist, hedgemonic, imperial state of Israel from the people of Jewish ancestry, there's hope and a long way to go towards peace. But unfortunately, most people don't consider the nuances. There is an oppressor and oppressed on the world's stage. That's it. People will make their judgements accordingly. From the scriptures -- maybe Pharaoh claims he's oppressed by Moses, but he's just threatened that Moses would dare question his status and power. Moses tried to get his people to stop worshipping the golden calf. I'd say the golden calf today is Israel. If you want people to not hate you, I'd say don't do hateful things. I hope I'm not being too direct here. Thanks for the space to think and feel out loud Stanley!!
You are not being too direct at all, a lot of people need to take a hard look in the mirror. Thank you for engaging and being willing to share your time and energy. I feel lucky that I get to engage with you
The rhetorical spin on justice seekers is chilling. How do we hold the tension where two things can be true at the same time. Hamas committed horrible crimes and the Israeli government is committing genocide. Jewish people need a safe place in the world and the extreme zionists have been settling on land that is not theirs. The police in the US have a history of abusing black men and need to be held accountable and the police are often asked to do jobs that maybe a network of professionals could support them better.
You're asking all of the right questions. I think we have to start with seeing ourselves in each other. It's hard to do harm to someone you know. Then again, that answer feels so simple when we're dealing with situations that sometimes feel bigger than all of us.
Stanley, thank you for writing this piece. I have reread it a few times, and always come back to the same thought — the commitment to our personal struggles requires commitment to each other’s struggles. I see a lot of “we aren’t free until we all are free”, but in practice, there is real work in witnessing, protesting, and doing whatever necessary to keep each other safe. To keep each other alive. Grateful and proud to do this along side you.
Does anyone actually remember what happened when they brought the National Guard in at Kent State.. it did not end well as i'm sure you know...this is not the first time politicized students are fighting back -
I appreciated you naming the pain of witnessing murder and genocide and those feelings of helplessness and shame that come up. and how you end up having to compartmentalize. I feel those too. and this kind of sadness/anger/ disgust at the world mix of feelings always makes me think about a past job that I had working as a therapist for people who had experienced sexual assault, intimate partner and family violence, and human trafficking. I can see so clearly how 'we' as a country, as a society, could do better so those things don't continue to happen. instead we get politicians passing laws & policies to cause further harm to people with the least power under these systems, rather than protecting people and trying to make the world a mess violent place. the thing that gets me through, more or less, is keeping my focus on the things that I can do for my neighbors, my community. but there's really no fix as long as these systems continue to exist. ugh. thank you again for your words.
There was acceptance that october 7 was an atrocity? Acceptance? Hahahaha.
What the fuck were you reading? Because I saw the same columbia university naxis who are currently having a party for hamas celebrating.
I saw almost all my leftwing friends tien against me.
And I now see the same bullshit genocide accusations I've seen every time Israel has had to fight against hamas.
Don't be a useful idiot for nazis and hamas fans.
Or do you have a better plan concerning what israel should do to prevent hamas from murdering more jews?
If you don't, thrn kindly shut the fuck up.
Else your blather about sympathizing with israelis means nothing
Tim, we don't know each other. If you disagree with what I'm saying, that's fine. But please don't accuse me or others of being Nazi's, and don't come here to curse on my post. Substack provides the ability to block and mute. If my content offends you, feel free to take advantage of it.