Category: 2017

Respect!

Yes, Respect for the Kneelers! Respect for the Raised Fists! Respect for Peaceful Protests! Respect for all those who are Oppressed!

Whether it is Gandhi, or Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Mohammad Ali, or the hundreds of others across the world and throughout history who have rejected Oppression and Injustice, been persecuted, incarcerated and killed for their Rightful Cause: Respect! Yes, Respect and plenty of it!

And did that Awesome Kneeling Phenomenon begin with Colin Kaepernick in August of 2016 when the footballer knelt during the National Anthem in Protest for all the Injustice and Oppression being daily perpetrated on Black Lives? Or, did it begin when Mohammad Ali refused to fight in Vietnam and got stripped of his title for daring to say that he had no quarrel with the Vietnamese? Or, was it when America’s winning Sprinters raised their fists in the now famous Black Power Salute during the 1968 Olympics? Or, was it in 2014 when Derrick Rose wore a shirt that said: “I Can’t Breathe” after the hapless Eric Garner was killed when he was held in an unnecessary chokehold by NY Police? Or was it after Fergusson, Trayvon Martin, Black Lives Matter and . . . we can go back to the lynching era when white Christian men, women and children coming out of their churches, during all the years since slavery began and  up to the early Fifties (yes, Fifties, not Centuries ago!) stood around the trees and watched black men being strung up, and then had the audacity to clap . . . or do we go as far back as that first ship when its cargo of Black Slaves landed on our shores . . . yes, the Oppression began then, and it hasn’t Stopped!

Some inherently Racist White Americans smugly point to Oprah, Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Barack Obama and the hundreds of other, known and unknown, successful – some, very successful – and prosperous Black Americans and say: where’s the Oppression? If the US was Oppressing Black Lives would these examples have made it this far? My answer to that is that successful Black People made it in spite of and despite the Oppression! Some in this nation simply cannot see, do not want to see, or do not understand the issues of Racism and Colonialism because they have never been in our shoes, and that’s precisely why we Kneel and Raise our fists in the admirable Black Power Salute! And, No, this has nothing to do with disrespecting the anthem or the flag, except as a deflection from the real question, especially that the anthem was introduced onto game fields only as a result of the jingoism of 9/11. Such utter nonsense!

However, Oppression is Universal. Today in our world there are more and more Indigenous Struggles going on than ever before. Struggles against a Colonialism that is still rampant and insidious; the aftermaths of that Imperialism, just like the aftershocks of earthquakes, persist and did not end when the armies withdrew leaving behind them Oppressive Rulers to do their bidding; Constitutions, laws and regulations that the Colonists dictated; torture methods and incessant injustice as tools with which to continue their devouring of resources; and, whether it is Black Lives Matter, Native Americans, Catalans,  Rohingya (and the list goes on) the Oppressed Human Beings of the world persevere in Protesting and demanding Equality and Justice. Short of that, they are rightfully demanding Secession!

Do you remember when Margaret Thatcher sent her Armada bobbing across the ocean for weeks in order to wage a war against the two and a half people (so to speak, facetiously) of the Falklands? Or, when Ronald Reagan waged his war on the two and a half people of Grenada? What were these two insane wars all about if not re-affirming White, Colonialist and Military Superiority? How utterly sickening! And this is just one example of how White Supremacy continues to wield its power and to intimidate. It is appalling!

I, a Palestinian woman, whose people have been Oppressed by a Criminal Occupation since 1948 and the establishment of Israel on our lands, feel the Oppression being inflicted on Black Lives in these United States much more poignantly! The Suffering is the same. The arbitrary Incarcerations, Confrontations, Humiliations, Blatant Aggression, Intimidations and Extrajudicial Killings that have been going on against the Palestinian people for almost seventy years leave me with much the same Pain, Frustration and Anger that my Black sisters and brothers witness on a daily basis. And, of course, the Oppressor’s disregard of our plight, whether it is the US, Europe, or Israel, is imbued with Racism and feelings of Superiority. And as long as the majority of White people in America and Europe remain silent in the face of this abhorrent behavior towards Black Lives and Minorities, and as long as the majority of Jews remain on the sidelines in the face of the repugnant conduct of the Israeli Government towards the Palestinian people, we will continue to Kneel, to Raise our Fists, to Protest, to Resist and to Condemn the Injustice.

The Silencing of Dissent coupled with the propaganda that falsifies the sordid reality and envelops it in a mantle of white-washed lies and distortions that make the Victims seem like they are the Aggressors is not acceptable to us anymore. The innocent Black Lives being wasted by some in the racist police culture where the murderers receive no punishment, and the young Palestinian lives being wasted by an Israeli Army that is never found wrong are purely evil actions that cannot be tolerated by any person who calls themselves Human, or Compassionate; by any person who knows the true meaning of Justice and Legality; by Anyone calling themselves Fair-minded. Decent people anywhere and everywhere should take a Knee and Raise a Fist.

I alienated some of my friends when I refused to go along with the drum beats pounding against President Trump since even before his inauguration. I felt that my sense of Justice and Fairness compelled me to give him and his administration time and a fair chance, especially that he had no previous political experience. I gave him all the space. No more, because the exchange of infantile, bombastic, braggadocio being hurled across the oceans is taking us where no one wants to go! Is it because the President doesn’t get it, or is it deliberate? In either case, it is very dangerous and irresponsible. Daring North Korea to ignite a war with reckless taunts, name-calling and insidious challenges; lying about Iran as Israel goads us either to start a war over there, or to give them the green light to do so themselves is plain folly; inciting violence against Venezuela because we want to monopolize the oil resource is plain criminal! Everything that’s being said and done is debasing these United States and its people. Shameful! Disrespectful!

So, Yes, we will continue to Kneel, to Raise our Fists in Defiance and to Oppose Inequality!

Yes, we will!

And it will not stop until we defeat Racism, Oppression, Injustice and Colonialism!

We, the Oppressed, will stand together in Support and with Respect!

Yes, we will!

We have many uber-serious issues to grapple with in these United States nowadays, don’t we? We have raging forest fires, vicious hurricanes, the tragic opioid epidemic, our own version of fascism and “antifa,” guns galore that are causing senseless murders, let alone all our wars and mischief throughout the world. Yes, there is more than enough on our American plate, and a deafening din of arguments accompanied by inane actions and reactions that are pretty dangerous to all of us!

One of the ridiculous arguments going around has to do with Identity and Identity Politics. How is that a problem some of you might ask? And what is this balderdash talk really all about? So, in order for my sometimes slow brains to try and understand, I began by looking up definitions.

“Google”-d Definitions:

Identity: who a person is, or the qualities of a person or group that makes them different from others.

Identity Politics: refers to political positions based on the interests and perspectives of social groups with which people identify.

Based on the above, some of the qualities that make me different from others, and thus form my Identity (which is not static and evolves with age) are that I am:

a female
a mother
a grandmother
old and retired
Palestinian-born

Whatever are its attributes, we cannot easily alter our Identity, but we always have the choice of changing our Identity Politics, examples of which, in my case, would be that I am:

Progressive

Anti-war

Writer

Independent Voter

Armchair Activist

There are numerous groups/organizations/associations with whom I share each of these social characteristics, and I can identify with many different political groups that address each, or some, of them. Hence, as a Progressive female, I could choose, as examples, to belong to a women’s political group fighting for women’s rights; a feminist organization fighting for anti-discrimination and equal pay; an anti-rape association etc. etc.

The above mentioned Identity Politics definitions can be altered depending on my will and inclinations. They can do so at any given time and based on any set of circumstances. Unlike my Identity, they are all theoretically more flexible, negotiable and changeable.

And this brings me to what the political “Right” in these United States is now saying about how the “Left” has been the cause of dividing us up based on the fact that they espoused Identity Politics i.e.: supporting organizations such as Black Lives Matter, for instance; or Muslim, Native American and/or other minority parties and their issues. Instead, they are calling for all of us to be united by being “Americans” first.

This begs the question: which Americans? Republicans? Democrats? Libertarians? Greens? Protestants? Catholics? Methodists? War-mongers? Capitalists? Confederate-flag-waving Rightists? Bernie Sanders Leftists? The list can go on and on. And aren’t these “divisive” in, and of, themselves according to the definition of the Right-ists? Moreover, aren’t Blacks, Native Americans and Muslim citizens inherently Americans? So what are they talking about when they say that we should all be Americans, or Americans first? Does my supporting Black Lives Matter, or Native American rights, or defending Muslims against those who wish to label them all as our “enemies” and “terrorists” make me un-American? How is that rational? And would there even have been such movements/organizations were it not for the absolute fact that flagrant discrimination and injustice exist in this country? Of course not!

What some in the US really want is for us to be the perfect “sheeple” and to simply go along with the agenda and hype of the current ruling class and with the platform of the ruling party, as well as to be constantly preoccupied with emotional side-issues that detract us from the real political shenanigans going on. And should we perchance criticize, protest, or dissent, then we are being divisive and disobedient and, therefore, not good “American” citizens. Isn’t this, then, the very description of an autocracy?

I finished reading an interesting book recently that my grandson passed on to me.

How to Read Literature Like a Professor by: Thomas C Foster.

I enjoyed the book, and Foster has an interesting, laid-back style. After I was done though, I began thinking of the approach he took on how to read between the lines of any book. He posits that All our literature stories are based on two sources: The Bible and Shakespeare. Hmm! And what a perfectly White, Christian, Colonist outlook that is (though the author might not have thought of it in this way at all)! I first recalled in my mind the “Biblical” stories: these have their counterparts in almost every culture and religion on the planet, and whether we look at Greek or Roman myths, Koranic stories, Indian, Chinese, African or other religious, mythological, cultural, folk or other texts. The same goes for all of Shakespeare’s tales. Their story-line follows hundreds of years of stories preceding those of The Bard and sharing the same characteristics. However, the White, Christian, Colonist outlook has consistently, consciously, or subliminally, sought to portray its literature as the basis of all civilization. Totally untrue, and historically inaccurate, of course! Yet, the unknowledgeable, inexperienced, manipulate-able brains of the non-thinking can easily accept this propaganda. Is it, therefore, divisive for me to be looking at this only through the prism of Identity Politics due to the fact that I am of that very old Middle Eastern civilization? The answer to that question is: of course, I am looking at this through my own prism, and whether it is the American Left, or the Right, they both look at things through their own prism of Identity Politics, and, therefore, picking on this topic (amongst others that are equally frivolous) in order to prove what has caused our “divisive” politics is quite absurd. Moreover, it removes the onus from the corrupt politicians themselves who are the primary cause of this “divisiveness, and lays it on “us” the diverse multitudes that make up these United States!

At the end of the day, none of us, not on the Left, or on the Right, not those in the Middle, and not Any American, or, for that matter, any decent human being accepts to be taunted, diminished, marginalized or berated for espousing the Identity Politics of our choice. We all came from somewhere, we are proud of our culture, history and ancestry, and in this country, especially, and per our Constitution, it is our right to do so, and it is a quintessentially American virtue.

We need to stop ranting and raving about our Personal or Political Identities, Skin Colors, Religious Affiliations, Sexual Inclinations and all such matters. We simply need to accept and respect the Other-ness of all our citizens, hear their grievances out, and reserve our individual right to support those individual Identities, and/or those Political Identities of our choosing. Perhaps that’s when we can all become real Americans!

Being simply a “sheeple!” and allowing the dishonest political parties and the corrupt mainstream media to herd us into thinking this, or that, or the other regarding the trivial drivel that they’re so good at disseminating is pathetic. So, can we be both “different and diverse,” as well as American? Definitely we can! And, are we capable of thinking independently and intelligently, or aren’t we??!!