#Resist pinkwashing

[nando161mando]

Resist pinkwashing

[poetessinthepit]

Some facts for those who want to purplewash Palestinian society and portray it as anti-women:

- Palestine has one of the highest percentages of educated women in both the MENA region and the world. Palestinian culture encourages women to get university degrees, and this is not a recent development but something that has become the norm over the last 50 years.

- Women across Palestine have had active involvement in resistance movements for over a 100 years, and during the first Intifada, the women's liberation movement played a vital leadership role with women fighting both for their rights as women and as Palestinians. Palestinian women during the first intifada invented some pretty ingenious organizing strategies, such as disguising their political meetings as homemaking groups and hiding their political pamphlets in loaves of bread.

- There is no mandatory hjiab anywhere in Palestine aside from some high school dress codes in Gaza.

None of this is to say that Palestinian society is not a patriarchal society deserving of feminist critique, but it is to say the picture of Palestinian women painted by Israeli propaganda is not accurate, and any assumption that it is accurate is easily impressed upon ignorant westerners who see muslim majority nations as a total monolith.

[grindel-elf]

I’ve seen a lot of awesome people talking about this but it bears repeating. Don’t let rainbow capitalism distract you from what’s happening in Palestine. Don’t let pinkwashing pacify you into thinking queer people are accepted and safe. We’re not. Keep boycotting. Keep protesting and resisting. Don’t give corporations your money or “celebrate” state-sponsored pride events. There’s nothing to celebrate in this country regarding the rights of queer people. Pride 2024 should not be a party, it should be a rebellion. It should be about solidarity with Palestine, mutual aid in our communities, and resistance of the empire and its violence on the world.

[chaiaurchaandni]

"israel is the only place in the middle east where u can be openly gay" meanwhile the literal israeli defence minister kicking a trans individual in broad daylight in the middle of the street

also another minister:

[victusinveritas]

[noctomania]

Reminder for this pride month to not let any pinkwashing slide!

[scottishcommune]

Below the cut is a template email to send to Edinburgh Pride regarding sponsorship from Aegon, who have investments linked to the genocide in Palestine. Please feel free to use this text or edit it and make it your own and send it to contact@prideedinburgh.co.uk

Dear Edinburgh Pride,

As a queer person living in Edinburgh, I was deeply saddened to learn that the march partner for Edinburgh Pride 2024 is Aegon.

In December 2023 the ‘Don’t Buy Into Occupation Coalition’ published a report that showed Aegon have US$564million invested via shares and bonds in companies operating in illegal settlements in Occupied Palestinian Territories. Source: https://dontbuyintooccupation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2023_DBIO-III-Report_11-December-2023.pdf

We are watching a live-streamed genocide every day - over 36,000 people in Palestine have been murdered by Israeli forces, including at least 15,000 children. The brutality of these atrocities are unthinkable, with evidence of torture and targeting of hospitals, ambulances and refugee camps.

We all have a responsibility to do what we can to end this genocide. As queer people, we are part of a rich history of resisting oppression and dehumanisation - of both ourselves and those we stand in solidarity with. Pride started as a protest against homophobia, transphobia and police violence. It is an important moment to come together as a community to celebrate queer joy and resilience.

But how can we celebrate using profits stained with the blood of our siblings in Palestine?

Aegon has $564million invested in companies that have been listed by the UN as “raising human rights concerns” for their operations in illegal settlements in Occupied Palestinian Territories, In 1948, 750,000 Palestinian people were displaced from their homes and lands and since then, Israeli settlements have been used to spread this process of colonisation.

In addition to this figure, Aegon also has major investments in Eaton Corp Plc., who supply parts for helicopters and fighter jets to the Israeli military and have recently been the target of major protests at their factory in Dorset. They also invest in Amazon, who support the Israeli military with surveillance technology used against Palestians.

Israel has long used ‘pinkwashing’ as a tactic to justify the brutal repression of Palestinians, using queer people to legitimise this horrific violence. We refuse to allow this to be done in our name.

The tide is turning on companies like Aegon that profit from investments in the companies complicit in genocide. Recently, both Hay and Edinburgh Book Festival have dropped Baillie Gifford as a sponsor after over 800 authors called on them to divest from companies involved in Israel and the fossil fuel industry.

I ask that Edinburgh Pride:

Calls on Aegon to commit to divest from companies involved in supplying technology to Israel and operating in illegal settlements.

Drop Aegon as a sponsor until they are able to show evidence of divestment.

Publicly call for a ceasefire and a free Palestine.

There is no pride in genocide.

I look forward to hearing your response.

XX

Sources:

Investments in companies operating in illegal settlements https://dontbuyintooccupation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2023_DBIO-III-Report_11-December-2023.pdf

Investments in Eaton https://extranet.secure.aegon.co.uk/static/sxhub/pdf/client-pen-distribution.pdf

Investments in Amazon https://www.aegon.co.uk/content/dam/auk/assets/publication/fund-factsheet/standard_bkj9zs0.pdf

Israel’s pinkwashing: https://bdsmovement.net/pinkwashing

War on Gaza statistics: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2023/10/9/israel-hamas-war-in-maps-and-charts-live-tracker

Edinburgh book festival ends Baillie Gifford sponsorship: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm553zrr3e4o

[queer-geordie-nerd]

This has been said ad nauseum, I know, but the thing I just *cannot* get over is how very quickly and easily the left as a movement abandoned its most basic principles:

“Rape is an abhorrent, violating crime and we must believe and uplift survivors” - until it is done to Jewish women and girls in the name of ‘resistance’ then it’s just fine and dandy, or we might not even believe you at all.

“An armed force invading and mass murdering civilians is a war crime” - until the victims are Jews and you’ve decided it’s ‘resistance’ and ‘you don’t get to criticise how they fight back.’ No, mate, the word you’re looking for is ‘pogrom.’

“Slavery is bad” - until it is Jews being held hostage in Palestinian homes and forced to work then it’s ‘they were treated well and fed, what more do you want?’

“Indigenous peoples regaining their ancestral homelands is a key part of decolonisation and is a worthy endeavour” - until it is Jews regaining the land of Israel after centuries of disenfranchisement then it’s ‘white supremacy’ and ‘colonialism’ and the most evil thing in the world.

“Collective punishment is bad, citizens aren’t responsible for the actions of their government” - until we can treat every single Israeli like evil incarnate and deserving of the worst abuse and treatment simply for existing.

“Oppressed people know their own oppression better than you do. Listen to them and don’t presume to know better about the issues they face” - until it’s Jews talking about antisemitism and then it’s ignoring them, talking over them and accusing them of weaponising their oppression to silence criticism.

“Abuse and violence against an oppressed group must be condemned wholeheartedly and we must stand with the persecuted” - until it is Jews facing a 400% increase in antisemitism - being spat at, beaten, raped, ostracised from public spaces, having their schools and synagogues targeted, and then it’s shut our eyes and ears and pretend none of it is happening.

“Queer rights for all” - until Israel dares to be a beacon of queer rights in the Middle East and then it’s ‘pinkwashing.’

Do you even hear yourselves? Do you even care that you are being breathtaking hypocrites? How do you expect anyone to ever take you seriously ever again?

[gaylenin]

stuff like 'pinkwashing', and the laser focus on hamas and the narrative of palestinian resistance being regressive is very imperative to liberal zionism btw. we see this a lot in how western powers will portray foreign countries that they want to manufacture consent to seize/invade - that the indigenous population are despotic and far-right

it's an evolution of the white savior civilization narrative most seen with the british empire, but this one wins over more 'left-leaning' and liberal minds who want to support the 'progressive' cause. and its a tactic that makes anti-imperialism out to be something regressive. dont fall for it

[tamamita]

im genuinely curious if you have any thoughts on mahmoud ishtiwi? not an argument, i hate zionists and pinkwashing. xoxo

Nobody is saying Hamas is perfect; far from it, nobody is either saying that Hamas is the ideal government for Palestine, this goes for the Houthis or Hezbollah in their respective countries. We support Hamas primarily through their act of resistance against an occupying force, that is the Settler state. Keep in mind that even Palestinian Marxist resistance groups, such as the DFLP, PFLP, and other secular progressive groups had to put their differences aside in order to fight off a common enemy. Second, for a group to become more progressive, there is also a need for socio-economic development to take place, much of which the settler colonial state has taken away. Critical support for resistance groups is vital from a material perspective, and their liberation of a people against an oppressive force is necessary for there to be any progress.

[apas-95]

'Oh, go tell Hamas you're gay, then, and see what happens!' is a very funny response towards opposing the Israeli occupation - the biggest threat to the life of a gay person in Gaza is the same as the biggest threat to anyone in Gaza: the constant, indiscriminate airstrikes and chemical weapons dropped by the occupation.

Gay Palestinians are still Palestinians, and the single greatest improvement to their quality of life wouldn't be legalising gay marriage, it would be ending the genocide against them. I'm sure the antifascist resistance fighters of history were largely homophobic, too, and yet it wouldn't deter me even a second from taking up arms alongside them against fascism wherever it stands.

Ultimately, this is all a farce - the people saying this don't care about gay people (and neither does the occupation), they're just playing with words to attack opponents of their genocidal project. In the reactionary mind, their position is pure self-interest in their essential dominance and supremacy, and any argumentation is just in support of that pre-determined position. Often, they don't even really believe their opponents are lesser than them, they just know that's a good argument. What they do believe is that it's a dog-eat-dog world, in which one race, ethnicity, religion, nation - whatever essential characteristic, will always be dominant over others, and they are terrified of not being the one on top.

Obviously, this isn't how the world works - though national and racial oppression do exist, they are neither the basis of history nor anything more than social systems constructed in support of the actual drivers of history, political-economic classes. Pinkwashing and whatever other types of whitewashing not only ignore the intersections between these categories, but are arguments fundamentally made without belief in them at all.

[probablyasocialecologist]

Below is our translation of an article by Canyu (惭语 “Shameful Words”). The author is a communist from mainland China who works with the cross-border network of internationalist activists whose collective piece “Against Pinkwashing: Sinophone Queers and Feminists for Palestine” we published in March. According to the author, this piece was written out of political concern, and they are not a professional researcher. Instead, Canyu hopes the article will contribute to the development of sympathy among “the Chinese pan-dissent community” for the conditions and struggles of both Palestinians and Uyghurs, and that it will also help to short-circuit the political frameworks of pro-Western Chinese liberals, on the one hand, and anti-Western Chinese nationalists, on the other, who normally position themselves in one “camp” against another when it comes to discussions of these two oppressed groups. Like the earlier piece produced by their collective, Canyu’s article offers valuable insights into a strong desire among Chinese comrades to extend the critique of Israel’s horrific war on Gaza to the PRC’s subjugation of Turkic Muslims. In this case, the author focuses on the way that both colonial states have controlled the labor of the colonized. We present this text as a way to better understand and support internationalist currents emerging from the Chinese left, and as a contribution to the ongoing wave of global resistance to the genocide in Gaza.

Link

16 July 2024

[communistkenobi]

I think a large problem with how we got to this stage of "man is gender neutral" discourse is that a lot of queer people refuse to engage with feminism. I've been seeing it brought up a lot recently, but it's true. Someone who doesn't see a problem with referring to a trans woman as "dude" probably also doesn't believe in patriarchy to begin with. We need to start doing feminism 101 on tumblr again.

I think this is true and I also think this issue extends to the fact that white liberal queerness is the societally accepted conception of lgbtq issues broadly - the fact that pride flags litter the windowsills of small businesses and banks, that lgbtq merchandise is its own market, that western conceptions of gayness and especially transness are the internationally imposed norm (eg, we are pathological exceptions to cishetero society and should be accepted on the grounds that we are scientifically proven to be legitimate by medical and psychiatric institutions, presented with an awkward flair of “okay so we’re not saying being transgender is a mental illness, but it is caused by a mental illness” + framing of gay people as “they’re just like straight people! they can get married and have children just like you!”). Many many queer people of colour have pointed out how much this predominate western framing of lgbtq identity as a “white person thing” (partially because white queer people are just as racist as non-queer white people, also because of aforementioned western imperialism) puts them at odds with their own communities, giving people in those communities a “rational” reason to oppose lgbtq rights on the grounds of resisting western imperialism. Israel’s pinkwashing is a particularly instructive and stark example of this, positioning lgbtq freedom as being contingent on genociding and destroying Palestine - this doesn’t mean it’s okay to be homophobic obviously, but this sort of imperial imposition of queerness as part of the package of western domination creates the conditions for “rationally opposing” lgbtq rights and equality within colonized communities and ultimately causes intersecting levels of harm for lgbtq people in those communities. You can read decolonizing trans/gender 101 by b binaohan if you want more on the subject, I’ve only read the intro so far but it was very instructive (thank you @/molsno for spreading this link around! - she also has a post with a bunch of transfeminist writings if you want more of that). There's also this video by FD Signifier about Dave Chappelle's transphobia that talks about anti-Blackness in white trans/queer spaces and the intense homophobia and transphobia Black lgbtq people face as a result of this that I found insightful if you want to listen to something instead

ANYWAY, all to say - I think the larger problem is that queerness in western contexts (which tumblr is firmly situated in) is overwhelmingly white and liberal, which means that even if these spaces were to incorporate feminist frameworks in their analysis of oppression, they would be incorporated as liberal feminist frameworks, which are fundamentally transmisogynistic and racist, and fundamentally attached to the imperial project of the west (I recently read this article called Beyond the Coloniality of Gender by Alex Adamson discussing some of the problems with western feminism. they demonstrate this through a case study on western feminist objections to genital cutting in certain African countries + analysis of decolonial trans and intersex feminisms more broadly - if you click "show document" in the upper right hand corner of the page I linked it allows you to access the full article).

I’ve always struggled to articulate the exact issue we're discussing, because at a certain point a lack of knowledge is not to be blamed -the larger issue at hand is that the western political + economic apparatus has incorporated queer assimilation into its project. This does not mean that queer people in the west are safe from homophobia or transphobia (see: current transphobic hysteria across North America and UK in particular), but it does mean that white western queer people have incredible political and rhetorical leverage to dominate these conversations using white liberal analytical frameworks, which can only lead to transmisogynist and white supremacist conclusions about the nature of oppression. I think the only way out of these path-dependent "everyone is oppressed by patriarchy" conversations is a larger decolonial political and social project - part of which necessarily incorporates feminist analysis, but feminist analyses that are decolonial, marxist, and transfeminist in nature, and the only way these frameworks can be comprehensively adopted is through a larger decolonial turn

[bfpnola]

ID 1: “These are your reminders that:

Decolonization is not a metaphor or an abstract theory.

Every action/idea is born within context. This is not happening within a vacuum or the void.

It is not our place to dictate what the “proper response” is to 70+ years of occupation, genocide, and apartheid.

In 1923, even pioneering Zionist Ze’ev Jabotinksy acknowledged Zionism as a colonial project, impossible with the consent of natives.

Americans, your tax dollars (a planned $38 billion from 2017-2028) kill Palestinians. Contact your representatives.

The issue lies in settler-colonialism, not Jewish residents, as Palestine’s rich history demonstrates.

The two-state proposal is conceptually flawed, making it unsuitable for resolving conflict. How? It ignores the root issue of Zionist settler colonialism and the displacement of indigenous Palestinians. It offers solutions to symptoms.

This is not a fair fight. The resistance of indigenous people within the confines of an open-air prison ≠ the might of a nuclear-armed military superpower.

The colonial seeds of Zionism were planted nearly a century before the Holocaust.” End ID.

ID 2: “Statement from 09/08/23: Better Future Program has always, is always, and will always be a staunch ally of the Palestinian people.

Through this statement, BFP reaffirms its commitment to the Free Palestine movement, and stands in solidarity with the people of Palestine in the pursuit of their liberation from settler sovereignty, colonial dispossession, carceral culture, racial apartheid, and European/USAmerican imperialism.

BFP also denounces the Zionist agenda, which seeks to suppress the rightful claim of the Palestinian people to their ancestral homeland, and we reject the notion of a "two-state solution." This "solution" eclipses the fundamentally asymmetrical power difference between the settler-state of "israel" and the nation of Palestine.

Furthermore, BFP rejects the ideals of homonationalism and pinkwashing. For far too long, non-racialized members of the LGBTQ+ community have been complacent in the war crimes committed against Palestinians, all because of the alleged "modernity" of israeli queer life versus the "barbarity” of Palestine.” End ID.

ID 3: “It is time to reject the idea that queerness absolves whiteness/imperialism, and non-queerness justifies the abuse of generations of innocent people.

At BFP, we recognize the need to decolonize the narrative of "israel vs. Palestine" and endeavor to do so by elevating Palestinian scholarship and voices. It is wholly inappropriate to assume expertise where there is none, or to speak over Palestinian activists during dialogue regarding Palestinian liberation.

To summarize, BFP reaffirms that we will always defend Palestine and her people. BFP rejects the Zionist agenda, and its colonial, imperial, and racist trappings. Further, we reject all ideas of homonationalism and pinkwashing applied to israel's conquest of Palestine. Finally, and most importantly, BFP seeks to elevate the voices and expertise of actual Palestinians in this fight against a widespread colonial and genocidal mindset.

— BFP's Muslim + Decolonization Youth Advocate.” End ID.

ID 4: Excerpt from The Jewish Paradox by Nahum Goldman [former president of the World Zionist Organization], p. 99:

“I don't understand your optimism," Ben-Gurion [1st Prime Minister of israel] declared. "Why should the Arabs make peace? If I was an Arab leader I would never make terms with israel. That is natural: we have taken their country. Sure, God promised it to us, but what does that matter to them? Our God is not theirs. We come from israel, it's true, but two thousand years ago, and what is that to them? There has been anti-Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They only see one thing: we have come here and stolen their country. Why should they accept that? They may perhaps forget in one or two generations' time, but for the moment there is no chance. So it's simple: we have to stay strong and maintain a powerful army. Our whole policy is there. Otherwise the Arabs will wipes us out".

"But how can you sleep with that prospect in mind," I broke in, "and be Prime Minister of israel too?"

"Who says I sleep?" he answered simply.” End ID.

To make clear, BFP does not rejoice over the deaths of civilians. But in the words of Jewish director of ProjectLETS, Stefanie L. Kaufman-Mthimkhulu, “All death & loss is not the same. Violence in response to genocide & ethnic cleansing is NOT = violence for the sake of colonial land expansion. … Jewish people in Israel are not being targeted or killed because they are Jewish. This is the logical outcome of a colonized & dispossessed people's fight to EXIST and not be wiped off the fucking Earth or continue to live under a death-making apartheid state. Please understand."

No more band-aids or superficial fixes! We WOULD NOT be here if not for settler-colonialism, apartheid, genocide, occupation. We WOULD NOT be here if not for hundreds to thousands of Palestinian deaths at the hands of the IDF every year. The historical truths, even acknowledged by Zionist leaders and British records, cannot be hidden any longer. It is journalistic malpractice to continue to obscure the context that begets Palestinians’ desperately warranted responses.

And to those who may have forgotten, ALL OF OUR STRUGGLES ARE INTERCONNECTED. This has to do with YOU too. This is OUR struggle too. Open your eyes. Please.

[hummussexual]

February 23, 2024

Excerpts:

Faced with Israel’s pinkwashing of its military campaign – think the Israeli soldier waving a rainbow flag on the ruins of Gaza – the Palestinian queer community has become more vocal in affirming its resistance. “We refuse colonial and imperialist tactics that seek to alienate us from our society, and alienate our society from us, on the basis of our queerness,” stated the Queers in Palestine collective in November 2023.

[courtana]

I’m mostly typing this for myself to help process and organize my thoughts but… feel free to read if you want, especially if you have been annoyed lately too.

I’m cutting my ties with Call of Duty as a fan of the games.

Prepare for my unsolicited thoughts under the cut:

This game has always had shady politics and racial discourses. This is known, lol. It has always depicted Arabs, Eastern Europeans, and Latin Americans as caricatures, even if sometimes they sometimes succeeded in portraying their countries as being the victims of European and U.S. imperialism. But in light of the rapid intensification of violence toward Palestinians with the genocide in Gaza, this tendency just leaves a worse taste in my mouth. While the gameplay and plot structure for the new BO game next year will probably be better than MWIII, I have low hopes with how they’ll portray the goddamn Gulf War. The fact they've added an Israeli operator called "Doc" to MWIII in this particular moment in history tells me all I have to know about where Activision stands as a company.

Furthermore, the last Modern Warfare campaign was so bad, it just signaled to me once and for all that Activision does not care about the future of their games or the legacy of any of their previous good games. I’ve mostly been playing Zombies, not even traditional MP / Warzone. But even then, it’s easy for me to get burnt out playing Zombies. And Zombies is not worth the 100 dollars I paid thinking the campaign would be more enjoyable. And season’s 1 battle pass that came with the 100-dollar edition of the game is awful in my opinion.

Not to mention, the voice actors of both the Modern Warfare and Black Ops series have been either totally racist or highly indifferent about the genocide in Gaza. First, Barry Sloane's tone-deaf Beatles post about "peace" he posted on October that he quickly deleted was more insensitive than I think he even realizes. Samuel Roukin liking a racist article that equates calls decolonization as a "false narrative" was despicable. Of course, that article targets Palestine specifically in its racism, but it also indirectly charges all Third World countries with its accusation of their independence and claims to sovereignty as being "a false narrative." As someone who is of both Latin American and Asian descent and whose countries of origins had to fight for independence more than twice (!!), I cannot accept that.

Then Claudia—a woman of Lebanese descent—and Elliot—a queer black man—encouraging and offering condolences to an ex-IOF soldier was downright evil. The IOF actively bombs Lebanon as part of their current genocidal campaign. It has waged brutal wars against the Lebanese people in the 1980s & 2000s [x] [x]. And it has carried out both anti-Black violence [x] and sexual violence—including against Palestinian men and women [x] [x], and it engages in its frequently-exposed pinkwashing [x]. Rather than allying with Lebanese, queer, and Black people who have been victims of Israeli/Zionist violence, Claudia & Elliot as people with major platforms instead are disappointingly choosing to legitimize Zionist propaganda.

I don't know a lot about Julian, Warren, Neil or Alain's stances on this genocide, but I never take silence in the face of genocide or war to be a good sign. Lastly, since Oct 7, María Elisa Camargo (more like caga'o) posted her support for Israel, equating Palestinian existence and resistance with "terrorism." I already did not like her for engaging in indigenista discourses and tropes and for seemingly being very nonchalant about playing the role of a narco-terrorist, trying to girl-bossify a very real source of fear & terror to contemporary Latin American and Mexican people's lives. This was not surprising for her, but it's still worth highlighting.

In terms of Black Ops actors, the former actor for Frank Woods also made incredibly shitty comments in a live stream about the genocide, talking about a so-called "Middle Eastern mentality," (essentializing all Middle Easterners, really), practically equating all Palestinians with Hamas, and roughly stating that people keep on going further back in history to justify their acts of violence—and I'm sure he was not just referring to Israelis weaponizing the Holocaust to commit atrocities against Palestinians. Like many other people, he gives the impression that he dismisses Palestinians and Arabs as incapable of producing a coherent political thought, and that they only resort to violence out of instinct or because of their religion (which is a gross idea—Islam is not a religion of violence at all!)

Again, I didn't have much expectations for Call of Duty to be anti-Zionist, let's be real. But I see these actors as creatives whose literal jobs are to empathize with other people's stories and experiences as part of their work. The fact that they're trained to put themselves in another person's shoes but are incapable of putting themselves in the shoes of Palestinian people right now, when nearly 20,000 have been recorded as killed—and many more injured or displaced—is very telling.

Anyone who knows this blog knows I have formed a lot of beef with other COD blogs for stuff like fanfic tropes, sexual politics, and about the idea of watching playthroughs vs. playing the game. For once, I'm actually relieved and oddly glad most of this fandom has rallied around the idea that Palestine is not the villain, and that we almost all understand that what Israel's doing is unacceptable, and that these actors and creative industry workers have a duty as humans to stand with victims of genocide and to call out crimes against humanity. For this, I actually have to commend this fandom. We're so trivial about shit like fanfic tropes and headcanons, but I'm glad we have our heads on straight for things that truly matter—like real life war and mass violence.

Honestly, the last straw today—although much minor in its gravity compared to genocide apologism—was Barry's childish behavior toward COD fans on twitter who expressed that they agreed with Christopher Judge's joke at The Game Awards last night that the MWIII campaign was too short. You do not get to talk down, mock, or be childish to your fans when they give you feedback on a public platform as an actor. Judge did not even attack the quality of the game or the VAs' performances—he only joked about the game's super short length. Yet, Barry chooses to act out on Twitter because of these harmless jokes. He seems to care more about protecting his ego as "Captain Price's actor" than about the quality of the game or story that fans are receiving and sometimes paying upwards of 100 dollars for.

I thought to myself, okay, this is just one actor letting his ego get to him. That's not that extraordinary. But the fact that COD devs on Twitter today also starting getting defensive about the jokes and trying to excuse the shitty game they produced? That truly showed me that the horrible launch of the campaign and of MP that happened with MWIII was not a learning opportunity for these studios or devs, but rather only made them stick their heads further up their own asses.

I have little faith in this franchise and honestly am not enjoying it, both in terms of game play and the political discourses coming from its creators. After the Season 1 BP is completed (because I fucking paid for it—sadly), I will be planning to uninstall and shelf the game. If I ever play a COD game in the future, it'll be after it goes on a sale because I won't be paying full price. But the thought of giving this company any more money turns me the fuck off right now.

I also realize I'm co-admin for @dailycallofduty and I will still be participating in running it. I'll be promoting the actors' signings less and promoting the game's new content less. Nonetheless, I'll still be reblogging posts that dailycallofduty is tagged in, like art, graphics, and gifs. On my personal blog, I'll still be reblogging COD gifs that I'm tagged in by friends & mutuals. Just don't be expecting more gifs from me. Not that there were many great scenes to make gifs from this new game anyway.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading.

Here are some useful ways to advocate for Palestinians:

Donate to Doctors Without Borders, where in Gaza they are providing medical and psychological assistance to people affected by the ongoing conflict.

Tell Congress: Support the Ceasefire Now Resolution (call now w/ a script)

Donate to Palestine Legal, an org dedicated to defending and advancing the civil rights and liberties of people in the US who speak out for Palestinian freedom.

Donate to National Students for Justice in Palestine, which supports over two hundred Palestine solidarity organizations on university campuses across occupied Turtle Island (U.S. and Canada).

Read DecolonizePalestine's Reading List to expand your knowledge on all things Palestine

Find a Palestine Protest near you.

Support the BDS Movement, a Palestinian-led movement for freedom, justice and equality that calls for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel until it complies with international law and universal principles of human rights.