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guinea pigs are iconic tbh

"Sweet Cheeks" the guinea pig appreciation post! ABBOTT ELEMENTARY | 4.03

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Mural in Dublin, Ireland, in memory of the journalists killed by the IDF in Gaza over the past year

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another thing that saddens me is I’m now so used to not having joy/celebrations due to the ongoing daily witnessing of genocide that it didn’t even occur to me to decorate for the seasons this year, something I used to love doing. by now I would’ve already set up my christmas tree. but it’s looking like there won’t be a christmas again this year. I used to love christmastime. it breaks my heart that I’m unable to celebrate it for another year. it breaks my heart that we’re here yet again. and it breaks my heart that I don’t know when any of us palestinians will be able to celebrate holidays with joy again

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I thought it was so strange when Taissa said it would get cold like the way death would feel like falling asleep…that was some crazy foreshadowing fr

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watching the votes coming in. the weight of how bad it is in the county no matter who wins has fully hit me. i’ve been masking sadness with anger I guess

last year we were in the streets chanting “in november we’ll remember” and yeah we remembered but what did that do? 190,000 have died in palestine since then. at least 60k in sudan.

and we keep repeating these numbers like it will wake people up and make them stop this but nothings changed

i hate it here

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they should make a love island but for winter like Love Log Cabin and they have to survive on their own

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the casting is unreal especially Shauna!?? i stg they’re related

the yellowjackets cast teen & adult counterparts

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is anyone else thinking why didn’t they just drive the little plane through the woods to find help instead of flying it? better than walking or flying right?

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highly recommend Yellowjackets but do not recommend binging it because I woke up in a panic about surviving in the wilderness this morning

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literally

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not just violence but expensive, advanced violence

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i’m sure someone’s invented this but why aren’t there places you can go to pay money and you just get a room full of kittens or puppies. not a cafe but literally like a lil room where i get all the animals to myself and we just chill and play. that’s all i want 😫

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as for my rant, ammar is sooo full of shit for that ultimatum. you can’t claim to be traditional and then go on a reality tv show where the goal is to get untraditionallly married?? being on this show is literally a performance, but you expect your partner to give up her own performing to marry you??? lol men are whack. karma is a boss bitch for saying no to him, much respect

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love is blind habibi is insane but there was one scene that was really sweet and cool to watch as an arab woman who’s never been apart of these kind of traditions before and that was the girls henna party before the wedding day. seeing arab women away from any men, happy together, celebrating, embracing tradition but also being themselves was really important and moving for me to see. arab women are so cool and strong and beautiful

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I need this election to be over i’m losing my fucking mind

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Why I Changed from Democrat to Unaffiliated

Preface because people still don’t get it: I’m not endorsing any candidate or telling you who to vote for. I think when people hear the question “why are you voting for genocide supporters” people assume they’re being shamed. and I’m sure many are asking this question for that reason and I definitely don’t fault them. Personally, that’s not my goal. I don’t think effective growth or change comes from shame. I ask it genuinely hoping you have an answer that you believe in. If you do, I can disagree but I can’t fault you for that. As we say in arabic: “khalus” it’s enough. If you don’t have an answer or if your answer makes you feel ashamed, that’s when I want you to think more on it.

If you follow my stories on Instagram you know I’ve been sharing about Palestine and current events every day for the past year. At this point I see how my inner circle is a bubble of people agreeing with each other and while that is important to have, lately it’s felt a little pointless. That feeling inspired me to start writing this and I hope sharing it might do some good.

If you don’t already know, I am Palestinian-American. Palestinian on my dad’s side and American with Eastern European Jewish ancestry on my mom’s side. The past year has been extremely difficult as I watch Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank being tortured and slaughtered with my tax dollars. There’s much more to be said on that but right now I want to share thoughts that have been weighing heavily on my mind as we near the presidential election. I’ll preface this by saying this was originally written with a blue audience in mind, mainly because I used to be a democrat and can speak on that experience. Still, no matter who you are I hope there’s something you can ponder or take away from this.

I understand why people fear a Trump presidency and believe that Harris will be better. I can see that many people who feel this way are well-intended and at their core want what they think is best for people in this country. I get it - I’ve voted blue since I was 18, over a decade ago. I voted for Biden in 2020 even though I didn’t fully approve because I thought (and still think) Trump would be a horrible president and I was convinced it was the lesser evil/good strategy vote. Ultimately, the only thing that got me was the genocide of my people. From what I’ve learned over the last year, it seems to me that this unwavering support for Harris/democrats is due to chronic misinformation/propaganda and a serious lack of perspective. So if you’re voting blue, I ask you to consider why you’re willing to vote for an administration that is actively committing genocide by continuously arming and funding it and refusing to use any power they wield over “Israel” to force them to stop. Constantly I hear liberals say to anyone who criticizes Biden/Harris for this complicity “so you think Trump will be better?” or “Trump will be worse for Palestine” or “There’s too much at stake here to not vote blue.” I reject those statements. Many other Palestinians, Arab-Americans, and anti-zionist do as well. To ask those questions of us is saying that our lives don’t matter. It’s pretending that Palestinian-Americans don’t exist. It says that you value American life more than any other life. And I think people are becoming desensitized to the word “genocide” so let me remind you what it currently entails: 2 million people forcibly displaced from their homes, deprived of food, water, electricity, and necessary medical care, at least 200,000 dead - half of them children, thousands missing or stuck under the rubble, 100k severely or permanently injured, thousands of children missing at least one limb, the creation of the term WCNSF (wounded child no surviving family), and that is only some of it. So what is worse than committing genocide? What could be worse for the nearly 200k and climbing dead Palestinians? There is nothing worse than the continuous murder of our people, families, and friends, the destruction of our ancestral homelands, and the inability for our families to live safely and freely in their homes. If Biden/Harris were committing genocide against your family and people, would you still vote for them?

By now, chances are you have already voted and if not, I don’t presume to think I can change your mind. But in any case, I ask you to consider what you are so scared of by a Trump presidency (one that we have already gone through and come out of) and why that means you’re ok with allowing people committing genocide to stay in power. I too fear the loss of rights for women/queer/trans/houseless/disabled/POC, etc. I also fear fascism. What I’m most afraid of is that fascism is already happening in this country and the majority refuse to see it. We’ve put so much faith into democrats “saving democracy” but the way I see it, their interests only lie in their own power and greed. They didn’t forgive student loan debt, make healthcare, food, or housing more affordable, codify Roe v Wade, stop the increasing amount of school shootings or police killings, raise the federal minimum wage, protect union rights, etc etc etc. They haven’t done an arms embargo even though doing so would gain them the votes needed to beat Trump. No politician has delivered enough on their promises in my entire adulthood. We are constantly in a cycle of voting for the “lesser evil” and this year it’s clear to me that there is no lesser evil with these two parties, only evil. They’re different sides of the same coin. A party that supposedly stands for democracy but shames you for and actively prevents you from voting for anyone else isn’t actually democratic. We’ve been here before and it failed. Now I’m voting third party because to get out of this cycle I believe we need to do things differently. Ultimately though, I’ve learned not to put much faith into any party. Maybe more effective change can start to take place with a third party and that is my hope, but overall I believe it’s not them who will make our lives better, it’s us.

No matter who wins, what is your plan for after the election? If you take anything away from my ramblings let it be that voting in November is not the one and only thing you should do for yourself and your community. If Trump wins will you throw your hands up and wait until 2028? I think people need to start actively participating in community building so when shit hits the fan in the government, you have a support system to rely on and power in your own life. This way we won’t feel like everything depends on the beliefs of a select few in power. Strengthening community is the only real way forward. During my time organizing the union at Starbucks, I learned so much about the power of the people but most importantly that people do have power. There will always be more of us than there is of them. There is so much we can do in our own neighborhoods. I live in Philadelphia so I can specifically name a few Philly actions like: contact your local rep about not supporting the 76Place arena in Center City/Chinatown, tell Mayor Parker that her plan for Kensington is immoral, money-wasting, and ultimately dangerous, tell Philly council that you disapprove of Philadelphia giving 23 million dollars to “Israel” every year - money that could be used for our schools and roads and resources. Go to a protest, any protest for whatever you support. Join a tenants rights group. Vote in local elections. Unionize your job and support local unions (ie boycotting Aramark at Philly sports games). All of these actions would more directly impact your day to day life than whoever is president.

All this to say, I’m still learning too. I’m nowhere near the perfect community member and I’m nowhere near fluent in the nuances of politics, but I’m trying. I’m not sharing this to start debates in the comments or tell you what to do, but rather to present questions/thoughts that you may have never considered before. This is the post I wish I read when I was younger. Just think about it, that’s how change starts. Thanks for reading. Free Falasteen.