Minutemen – Fascist
Typical. I spent much longer than I wanted to trying to write a post about how fraught it is to open your mouth on a topic like Gaza/Israel, and the stupid app glitched and I lost the two carefully worded paragraphs I had agonized over. To sum up, in case it wasn’t clear, I don’t condone the terrorist attack nor the Israeli blockade and bombing of Gaza and I think it will only fan the flames of hatred. It feels like the rush to make someone pay for 9/11 and look how that turned out. I found this article by Abraham Josephine Riesman and S.I. Rosenbaum to be an informative plea to not go down that path. I can’t help but feel like whipping everyone into a frenzy is what people like Bibi are counting on. There will be no criticism. You are with us or against us. I don’t want to play into the hands of fascists. I want terror attacks, genocide, and hate crimes to stop.
I will also say that it is not helpful to demand that everyone participate in what is basically performative activism. I recognize silence is also a statement. But we should not be expecting people to be exposed to a constant barrage of bad news, then immediately turn around and declare an opinion. It’s a huge contributor to the mental health crisis our kids are facing. There is pressure to be aware of everything that’s happening and to be in a state of perpetual anger about it. Kids are bullied for saying the perceived wrong thing and they are bullied for saying nothing. The pressure to get it right and do it fast is wreaking havoc on society.
That’s two less well-written paragraphs and that’s going to be it. I now return you to the usual bullshit.