Pat Taub
Caitlin Johnstone, the prophetic Australian blogger, lamented in a recent post that the genocide in Gaza has become normalized for most Americans who tend to react with a fleeting comment, like, “It’s horrible,” and then go about their lives, where Gaza is a mere footnote.
Johnstone challenges us to open our eyes to the propaganda that has normalized genocide and work to de-normalize it by doing all we can to raise awareness that Gazans are real people composed of loving families that are denied the time to bury murdered children, babies, and the elderly as they scramble to pick up their tents and limited possessions to move for the umpteenth time to a “safe zone,” which is a misnomer, as nowhere in Gaza is safe.
Gazans struggle to exist under unbearable conditions marked by extreme heat, a glaring absence of drinkable water, food, medical care and the threat of being bombed any minute.
A mother and daughter, with their few belongings, after being displaced.
Genocide has become so normalized that Kamala supporters, consumed with a fear of Trump, are willing to support a genocide enabler for President to stop Trump. Some supporters insist she will be toughter on Netanyahu than Biden, but there is little evidence to support this.
In Kamala’s acceptance speech at the DNC and in her first interview with CNN, she made it clear that she will continue to support Israel with the same fervor as Biden, translating into a nonstop supply of weapons, which are murdering children and infants at record numbers. To date, 14,000 children have been murdered with 12,000 wounded and 19,000 orphaned: all with American bombs paid for with your tax dollars.
Kamala Harris interview with Dana Bash, CNN, 8/30/24
The American government’s hardline commitment to Israel doesn’t stop at supporting the genocide. It extends to anyone or any group critical of Israel. As a result, freedom of the press is freshly under attack.
Pulitzer-prize winning journalist, Chris Hedge’s factual critique of Harris’ record on TikTok was removed without explanation. UK police detained reporter, Richard Medhurst at Heathrow for no apparent reason other than his support of Palestine. The same government, in the form of 16 (!) plain clothes policemen, raided the home of activist, Sarah Wilkerson and arrested her for “content online.” Wilkerson’s “content” was limited to reproducing news stories about Gaza. Translation: support for Gaza in any form is unacceptable.
Sarah Wilkerson in happier times. She has been ordered not to touch any electronic equipment until her trial
Another disturbing threat to free speech among Gaza supporters is evident in stringent new academic laws facing returning college students. NYU, once the bastion of academic freedom, released a plan last week that signals all students protesting for Palestine risk violating the school’s nondiscriminating policies. The intention is to shut down all forms of student protest.
We are living in dark times which will get darker if our government is not challenged. It’s high time to break our silence and stop normalizing Israel’s genocide. Genocide is not another policy issue like affordable housing or abortion rights. Genocide is the major moral and humanitarian choice facing us in this election. No matter how hard the corporate media tries to sideline it or erase it, genocide trumps every other issue.
Young activist Greta Thunberg
In the face of darkness, silence is complicity. Be a light in the darkness. Raise your voice.
Don’t allow Aaron Bushnell to have died in vain. Keep the peace torch alive for him. Let his last words be a beacon for us:
I will no longer be complicit in genocide. I’m about to engage in an extreme act of protest but, compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, it’s not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.”
Aaron Bushnell’s portrait and his image after setting himself on fire
