#like what right do you have to speak over a palestinian woman

[fairuzfan]

[cooking-with-hailstones]

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A post shared by Bisan Owda (@wizard_bisan1)

In case you were wondering: are the campus protests even important? Do they matter? Are they making a difference?

Yes, yes. They are making a difference.

Video description: Bisan, a young Palestinian woman, is speaking directly to the camera. She is wearing a black shirt and a keffiyeh.

Video transcript (I did my best but missed a few words)

I’m 25 years old. I’ve lived my whole life in Gaza Strip. I’ve never felt hope like now. Never. I mean it’s magical feelings running in my veins right now. In my head, I’m in Gaza city, in the north of Gaza Strip rebuilding my city after this genocide has ended. Even started to dream that my friends from Yafa, Haifa (unsure), majdal, are returning to their cities after being displaced for 75 years. These young heroes in universities at America and around the world are stronger than the last occupation in history. And for the first time in our lives as Palestinians, we hear a voice louder than their voices and the sound of their bombs and even stronger than their control in all aspects of our lives. 

In the 70s, the occupation, Prime Minister said, after decades of killing Palestinians, stealing the lands, establishing the state of Israel over the lands that “the adults will die, and children will definitely forget.” 

Wait. Is that the greatest (unsure) in history? Because it’s children and youth who are leading the movement for a free Palestine. everything they have on the line to demand justice and end of the genocide, and a new era of the world, not based on oppression, exploitation or colonialism. 

Do you know what the best part is? demonstrations and calls for boycott in the academic institutions are not limited to a certain people from certain religion, culture, color, religion, race, or maybe economic level. We are all different so we can no longer be accused of anti-Semitism, serving some agendas from outside, we are just different people calling for the same thing. People to people and people to justice. 

200 days I’ve spent escaping death every single minute were not in vain. And those 40,000 innocent souls were killed during these days were not also in vain. And this is the first time to feel and tell you this. 

Keep going because you are our only hope and we promise we will hold our ground and tell you the truth always. And please, don’t let their violence scare you. In Arabic, we say (Arabic phrase). In English, that means “they don’t have other options, but trying to terrify and silence you” because you are demolishing decades of brainwashing. You are making the change. The real change. Their violence means that we’ve begun to affect them deeply. Believe me, we are in the bottom of this bottle and we’re very very close to the end of this genocide. Maybe even closer than anytime before. Thank you. Thank you for each one of you, because you made us, me and my people feel that we are free. We are heard. We’re going back to our homes, and land. 

(Through tears) I have spent the whole night thinking about every video I see, you shouting for Palestine, you protesting for Palestine, you are dancing, singing for Palestine I feel it here in my head that I am going back. And I am free, and one day, we will celebrate it in, in Gaza together. Keep going and we will too. Salaam. 

(if anyone can help with my transcript, it would be much appreciated!)

[matan4il]

I'm so disappointed in Susan Sarandon right now. How about never ever have a sentence in any context that includes "Jews getting a taste of".

Especially as a woman. Like how do all these women just dismiss the rape of moms. Murdering of children. Putting babies in ovens!!! Ignoring the hostages living in Hell right now. Just I need a sign of humanity right now.

What they did October 7th wasn't warfare. It wasn't against a military. It was barbaric, animal style torture. Anyone not talking about what they did that day is just a soulless monster to me.

Hi Nonnie!

I couldn't agree more. Her antisemitism really jumped out of her there, didn't it? If your response to the Jews of your country being persecuted and scared is, "Good!" I don't care what excuses you use, you're just an antisemite.

Also, saying that "Jews are getting a taste of what Muslims are in this country," like Jews had it coming, only makes sense if you're saying that Jews are somehow responsible for islamophobia in the US? Which is literally the opposite of the truth. An islamophobia Index study found Jews were the least prejudiced in the US against Muslims. But even if it were true, do two wrongs make a right? The very idea that she's using American Islamophobia to justify American antisemitism is also evidence of her just being an antisemite.

But there were many headlines saying she was fired for being pro-Palestinian. Here's a few examples:

Even many of the headlines who didn't call her comment "pro-Palestinian," stated that she was dumped by her agency for comments "at a pro-Palestinian rally" instead of just saying she was dropped for making antisemitic remarks.

It demonstrates exactly how this new antisemitism works. She can say anything antisemitic, no matter how morally wrong, no matter how factually inaccurate, and it just gets cloaked as being "pro-Palestinian." Will American Jews being scared in the US free a single Palestinian in Gaza? No. Did Sarandon speak for Palestinian protesters a few months ago, when they were being killed by Hamas? Also no. Because she doesn't really care about them, they're just a tool for her to be gleeful over Jews being persecuted.

I'm not even gonna talk about her circulating false information about the Jewish state (that Israeli soldiers are the ones responsible for killing Israeli civilians, not Hamas), and that to do so, she retweeted a right wing, white supremacist antisemite. Sarandon, supposedly a human rights, far left activist, amplified the voice of a right wing, white supremacist antisemite. There really is no end to what antisemites are willing to do, or what they think they can get away with under the guise of "just" being anti-Israel, not antisemitic.

I'm glad she got her comeuppance, I'm glad her talent agency dropped her. Not that her acting career has been relevant for decades. She had two iconic roles, which is two more than many actors, but I was looking at her acting credits, and the last time she had an acting role that really made waves at the time is a 1999 movie. And maybe that also explains why she's suddenly so vocally anti-Israeli since 2021, because that's the only way she's made headlines in recent years. IDK to what a degree this also plays a role, but I do think people like Sarandon and Roger Waters are, at least in part, also feeding their own ego, when suddenly their anti-Israel (and antisemitic) comments get them attention, and from certain factions, even praise.

That's a long winded way to say, I totally agree with you. About Sarandon, and about anyone dismissing, ignoring, and especially justifying Oct 7. It was barbaric on levels that are hard to comprehend. I think it's especially telling when hearing forensic examiners, first responders and morgue workers saying that Oct 7 was like none of the other horrors they had witnessed over decades of gruesome work.

I hope you're doing good, lovely, despite how infuriating all of this is. Sending you hugs! xoxox

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[scarz-xo]

It's hard to write to a world that doesn't listen, a world that lives with double standards, I try to write but I just stare at the screen in utter disbelief to what humanity has come to.

Israel has bombed South Lebanon many times yet no one hears about it like at all.

The hatred & targeting of Palestinians all over the world right now just for being Palestinian.

Today Israel targeted & killed the 70 year old Palestinian woman who said she was older than the occupation.

No one is speaking, no one is talking, Biden came out in all his white saviour bullshit tweeting about Palestinian children who have cancer & about how he'll save them & get them proper help when he's the one funding the young children's displacement, the bombing of the hospitals & more

And of course we can't forget the Ukrainian president who should be on the side of Palestine cause they're both getting invaded yet he's with Israel going on & on about how the genocide in Palestine (which he didn't call genocide) takes the attention away from Ukraine.

Cause Apparently it's all about a fight for focus & attention not humanity & peace, but after all we can't forget he was an actor who did a photoshoot during the war so of course he's the best when it comes to having attention & focus on him.

Oh and let's not forget New York Times person Of The Year cause in 2022 it was Zelensky himself:

Cause yeah he's fighting a war against the Russian but this year we have mega pop star Taylor Swift, no Palestinians no, and before you attack me, I'm a major swiftie but this just shows the double standards cause as this year's person is not a Palestinian no, it's the same when people came out for Ukraine's support calling for actions against Russia yet no one is talking about Palestine like Selena Gomez who decided to take a break now but when it was Ukraine she was posting & talking about it.

All of this yet the result we get today is Starvation, no electricity, no water, bombing 24/7, hospitals out of control cause they no longer have the capacity for more, dismembered bodies, belongings getting stolen by the IDF & so so much more & what's worse is the Israeli posts their shit all over social media yet the world pretends it's blind!

Everyone have their eyes and ears covered, everyone is funding, some are not even doing the least as boycotting & you wanna see the result?

Here it is:

They took their clothes in December, tied them up, covered their eyes & preparing them for a mass execution, these are not Hamas or related to Hamas, these are Palestinian men, they're just men, just humans, like our own men, our guy friends, our boyfriends, our husbands, our brothers, out fathers, they're more than just "men" to their people.

But they're getting executed cause the world refuses to listen or see.

I'm so fucking tired over this.

[thegayhimbo]

Say "I know nothing about the history of Russia's treatment of Ukraine (the Holodomor being one such example) or what's currently going on between Russia and Ukraine" without saying it. 🙄😒

For those who can't access the video due to the "age restriction," here is a transcript of the 60 Minutes interview with Scott Pelley interviewing Freed Ukrainian Prisoners of War:

SPOILER ALERT: The following video/transcript contains descriptions of beatings, torture, rape, starvation, child deaths, and human rights violations.

As for "Russia is not continuously bombing all civilian infrastructure and committing a genocide," there have been multiple posts and articles over the past 2 years proving otherwise (including their recent attack on New Year's Eve). This also includes the Russian war crime of Ukrainian children being kidnapped by Russian soldiers, deported to Russian reeducation camps, getting brainwashed, and being used as Russian Propaganda tools:

Between the 2:27 and 2:37 mark, Isobel Yeung (the narrator) doesn't mince her words when she notes how Vladimir Putin and his cronies are accused of trying to "ethically cleanse a generation of young Ukrainians."

If you've read this far, you can probably come to the conclusion that imtryingsir did absolutely zero research, or even cared enough to follow the last 2 years of news about the Russian-Ukraine War, before making their abhorrently idiotic comment.

So why am I bothering to dignify this with a response when it's clear this person is being maliciously stupid? Because of this post. Specifically, the disgusting little remark they made where they tried to justify why a Jewish woman on social media deserved to be bullied/harassed (which eventually led to the Russia apologist comment above when they were called out on it by multiple Tumblr users):

Putting aside the gross victim-blaming and thinly-disguised antisemitism (which I'm sure my Jewish followers are deeply sick of at this point), what really gets me is how disingenuous this user is. They don't actually give a rat's ass about what's going on in Gaza: Someone who truly cares about genocide and the deaths/suffering of innocent people wouldn't be going out of their way to downplay/whitewash the genocidal actions of another country (Russia), or making comments dismissing another groups problems/trauma while dehumanizing them, or even straight up wishing for more death and destruction:

People like this (as well as the so-called "Pro-Palestine" users in the Jewish woman's post who were harassing her) are devoid of empathy. They relish in being cruel and condescending to others because they feel empowered in doing so, and they know they can get away with it without facing lasting consequences. They are doing nothing to help alleviate an already horrific situation, and are just making the world a worse place to live in. I'm sure they'll tell themselves the sweet little lies about how their bullying and antisemitism is really "activism" or "caring for Palestinians" or "Being antizionist; not antisemitic" (while continuing to spew the same bigoted rhetoric that Jews have been calling out as antisemitic for YEARS). At this point, I truly don't give a damn what their excuses are since they will grasp at anything, no matter how flimsy, to rationalize their behavior.

I never thought I'd see the day where a bunch of Leftist/Westerners would embody two of the most loathsome fictional characters in media (right down to their hateful, sadistic, vile attitudes), and yet that is the point we've currently reached:

To say this has been deeply unpleasant to witness is an understatement. 😒

I talked about this in a recent post about antisemitism from the Left, and I'm going to reiterate something I said: "There is a larger conversation that needs to be had about how selective Leftist empathy and compassion really is. By this, I’m talking about people on the Left who will a.) Only be compassionate/empathetic when it’s convenient for them, or b.) Only be compassionate/empathetic towards people they think are “deserving” of it."

People like imtryingsir only prove why it's important to have this conversation: If you're perfectly okay dismissing/downplaying the suffering of one group of people (be it Jews, Ukrainians, Palestinians, etc) so you can prop up your preferred group of people who are suffering because you think they are more "deserving" of empathy/compassion......................you need to do some serious self-reflection about the type of person you've become.

[walks-the-ages]

If you are in Michigan state's 12th District, please reach out to Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib to show your support!

https://tlaib.house.gov/posts/video-tlaib-speaks-on-censure-resolution

Like and share the original speech on twitter here .

[ID: Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, a brown-skinned Palestinian American woman, gives her speech to congress. She is wearing a dark purple suit with a traditional white kufiyah around her neck. Various members of congress are in the background, many of them tearing up as her speech goes on. Partway through the speech, a congresswoman in a green suit and green headscarf comes up to hug Rashida in support as she cries during her speech, holding a framed pictured of her grandmother. end ID]

Transcript: 

I’m the only Palestinian American serving in Congress, Mr. Chair, and my perspective is needed here now more than ever. I will not be silenced, and I will not let you distort my words. Folks forget I’m from the city of Detroit, the most beautiful, Blackest city in the country, where I learned to speak truth to power, even if my voice shakes. Trying to bully or censure me won’t work because this movement for a ceasefire is much bigger than one person. It’s growing every single day. There are millions of people across our country who oppose Netanyahu’s extremism and are done watching our government support collective punishment and the use of white phosphorous bombs that melt flesh to the bone. They are done watching our government, Mr. Chair, supporting cutting off food, water, electricity, and medical care to millions of people with nowhere to go. Like me, Mr. Chair, they don’t believe the answer to war crimes is more war crimes. The refusal of Congress and the Administration to acknowledge Palestinian lives is chipping away at my soul. Over 10,000 Palestinians have been killed—majority, majority were children.  But let me be clear: My criticism has always been of the Israeli government and Netanyahu’s actions. It is important to separate people and governments, Mr. Chair. No government is beyond criticism. The idea that criticizing the government of Israel is antisemitic sets a very dangerous precedent, and it’s being used to silence diverse voices speaking up for human rights across our nation. Do you realize what it’s like, Mr. Chair, for the people outside the chamber right now, listening in agony to their own government dehumanizing them? To hear the President of the United States, we helped elect, dispute death tolls, as we see video after video of dead children and parents under rubble? Mr. Chair, do you know what it’s like to fear rising hate crimes? To know how Islamophobia and antisemitism makes us all less safe? And worry that your own child might suffer the horrors that six-year-old Wadea did in Illinois.  I can’t believe I have to say this, but Palestinian people are not disposable. We are human beings just like anyone else. My Sity, my grandmother, like all Palestinians, just wants to live her life with freedom and human dignity we all deserve. Speaking up to save lives, Mr. Chair, no matter of faith, no matter ethnicity, should not be controversial in this chamber. The cries of the Palestinian and Israeli children sound no different to me. What I don’t understand is why the cries of Palestinians sound different to you all. We cannot lose our shared humanity, Mr. Chair. I hear the voices of advocates in Israel, in Palestine, across America, and around the world for peace. I am inspired by the courageous survivors in Israel who have lost loved ones, yet are calling for a ceasefire and the end to violence. I am grateful to the people in the streets, for the peace movement, with countless Jewish Americans across the country, standing up and lovingly saying “Not in Our Name.”  We will continue to call for a ceasefire, Mr. Chair, for the immediate delivery of critical humanitarian aid to Gaza, for the release of all hostages and those arbitrarily detained, and for every American to come home. We will continue to work for real lasting peace that upholds human rights and dignity of all people and centers peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians. And censures no one. And ensures that no person, no child has to suffer or live in fear of violence. 71% of Michigan Democrats support a ceasefire. So you can try to censure me, but you can’t silence their voices. I urge my colleagues to join with the majority of Americans and support a ceasefire now to save as many lives as possible. President Biden must listen to and represent all of us, not just some of us. I urge the President to have the courage to call for a ceasefire and the end of killings. Thank you. And I yield [the floor].

If you are outside her district, now's the time to start hounding your own representatives for supporting the punishment on Rashida for the 'crime' of speaking out against the genocide of her people

[antisemitism-us]

I posted about a Jewish woman who was abducted to Gaza

This is one of the answers:

(bold is mine)

To most people on this site these posts might feel like it's trying to make this (being made to do the dishes) to what is happening to Palestinan people (being bombed in their tents), so of course this causes most people to react against the comparison. Being kept against your will would absolutely be traumatic, but it doesn't compare in scale or gravity to what Palestinians go through, it would not "show both sides are as bad" as people bringing this up want

This deserves a longer answer.

If Israel would have attacked Gaza for no reason - you would be right.

How can you compare a girl doing dishes to people *dying*?!?!

But that's not what happened.

What happened is that a toxically antisemitic society, who is willing to do anything to murder Jews - went ahead and did it

The same kids that were taught for decades to murder Jews - grew up and actually did it. 

Children were murdered in their beds.  Tortured in their beds.

Children were forced to watch their parents being tortured.

Children were abducted and branded.

Young people - like the people here on Tumblr who support Hamas - were raped, then gunned down.  

And people like you want Israel to stop attacking the people who want to kill them and wait for the next time.

Because there will be a next time

People like you are encouraging a next time.

If you really care about young Gazans being "killed in their tents", then you will go out into the streets to demand Hamas surrender now.

You will demand that a society that turns its hospitals into military bases be stopped

You will demand that a society that teaches its children to murder Jews be stopped

You will demand that they stop turning their water pipes into rockets aimed to kill Jews.

Did you know that even today they fire rockets at Jews?  Do you know they fire explosive drones to kill Jews?

Do you care?

Or is it easier for you to write about this girl who had to "just had to wash dishes"?

you should be shocked when people quote Hamas just as you would be shocked if anybody quotes David Duke figures 

Surprisingly, both of them say the Jews are committing genocide.

But you only believe one of them.

Why is that?

Maybe it's because over 40% of young Americans support Hamas

Does that bother you?

If I would say that over 40% of young Americans support the Nazis, would that bother you?

Why is that?

So, instead of making demands to a murderous antisemitic group, and a toxic antisemitic society, that even now, as we speak, plans to murder Jews - you're making demands on the people fighting for their lives.

In case anybody wondered who you would have supported in 1939.

[i-cant-sing]

I just want to take a moment as someone from Israel-in Israel. A woman in Israel.

I do not agree with what my country is doing. I do not agree with the violence and atrocities we commit. But just like Americans, we can be against a war our country is fighting.

Yes, if Israel stops this war, the war is over. It is not equal.

But we cannot ignore what Palestine has done, also. I have lost family. Many people I know have lost family. I am fortunate in that I was not ever taken, I am far from the border, but I know someone who lost a sister. When her body was recovered, she had been raped. This happens on both sides, as women are seen as property of the state. But it does not excuse it. There is no excuse in raping women. Not even for freedom, as how can you achieve freedom through violating women?

I understand it muddies waters to say that there is violence on both sides. There are atrocities on both sides. We like to pretend it is one sided as it makes it easier. But it isn't. You can be the country in the right and still commit war crimes.

I understand if my words are seen as unwelcome here. But I wished to see it acknowledged, the pain that has been brought, not always justly. War is simple, but it is also complex. Trauma goes back generations, it grows roots and takes hold. The fear of the Israeli people for another holocaust is perhaps not well founded, but it is real in our minds. It will always be. The hatred we faced for something not of our doing by Palestinians was real. Our response does not become justified, an overreaction is not justified. But it was real. Their hatred for their land being taken was real-but their reaction to us was not justified. Not in the beginning.

I suppose i am trying to point out the suffering we face as a reminder that we are not our country. I do not enjoy seeing myself and my family and friends vilified in media because of where we live-where we were uprooted to because our family was murdered and our homes taken from us. But I understand our government does evil, now. But we are not our government. Even if we wished to speak up for Palestine, we would be branded terrorists. The things done to innocents is never justified, on either side.

This isn't a war because for a war, both countries should be able to have somewhat similar resources to defend themselves. It's a fucking massacre, a genocide, a cold blooded murder.

Look at Israel's military budget, that gets US aid. Now compare it with Palestine.

Your suffering, the death of your loved ones, your pain, its not invalidated, but it certainly will never compare to the pain of Palestinians.

I understand that this is Israel's government that's behind all this, but you guys are the ones who voted for them. So you should come out and begin protesting for Palestine, even at the cost of being labelled as "antisemitic" or "hamas sympathiser". If Holocaust survivors were to be here, do you think they'd stay silent? People of Israel chose and voted their government officials who now don't even consider Palestinians as humans, so... sorry to say honey, but yall are also responsible for this genocide.

Water, food, fuel, electricity, even donations and trucks carrying MEDICAL supplies have been cut off or prevented from reaching Palestinians. Is that happening in Israel rn? Didn't McDonald's just promise to supply food to the Israle armed forces??

Now, anon, imagine this-

Your country is being bombed, what for? You're not even sure exactly at this point. You've been kicked out of your home, which was then bombarded. your dad's business? All gone, his money, tears sweat, were all for naught. You've been shifted to a refugee camp, and you've been moving from one camp to another for many years because you're constantly hearing airstrikes. You've lost many of your siblings, family, friends. Every night that you go to sleep, with your mother making sure that all of remaining family members are sleeping together, so that in case something happens, you're all dead and no one has to live in pain to mourn for others. Your entire childhood is gone now because you've witnessed such horrible conditions, death is almost always a certainty, and you're struggling for basic necessities such as drinking water, food, etc. Almost all of your family is dead, you were one of the "lucky" ones who didn't die under a pile of rubble. You're grown up now, and you're thinking of leaving this hell by educating yourself and applying to a university outside of Palestine but oh oh! Well, the passing rate is incredibly low, less than 1% of students pass a test which is graded by an occupying force. The doctor who onec treated you is now breaking down becase she lost her entore family in the airstrike while she was helping victims of the same airstrikes, but she doesnt have time to mourn them or wven bury them because the hospital is understaffed nd theres way too many trauma patients in the triage that need her. Oh and look, your best friend was just shot in the back of the head. What for? He was just walking down the street. And the little kid you saw yesterday? Well he was body slammed to the ground by the occupying force's police and taken into custody where he was forced to confess to a crime he never committed, WAS TRAUMATISED AND TORTURED and was never even given a fair trial before he was locked up for more than 2 decades, after which this kid, now an adult has developed schizophrenia. As for you, you thank your lucky stars because you passed your test somehow but oh no. You're suddenly being taken into custody by the occupying force for "suspicious activity and links to a terrorist organisation".

Shall I go on?

[ts1989fanatic]

Taylor’s advocacy for Palestinian relief.

I see so much vitriol on SM because Taylor has not spoken out about Palestine and the deaths and has not donated to the relief efforts there including some outright hatred over this.

First let me say fuck all of you, we have no fucking clue if or how much Taylor may have donated, this is not something she would boast about neither would she post links for her fans to donate as she knows damn well that doing so would fracture this fandom like hitting it with a massive hammer.

You can deny this all you want but it’s the truth and anyone with two brain cells knows it. As for Taylor speaking out on the subject this is by far the worst thing she could do.

I am certain she has an opinion on the matter but voicing that opinion one way or the other would get her attacked from all sides, if she comes out on the Palestinian side she would be attacked for too little to late and why didn’t she speak out sooner. If she donates to the relief efforts no matter the amount it will never be enough.

Because she’s that rich white woman that could give more, fuck that go chase the rest of the celebrity class who have said nothing and donated the same.

If she came out on Israel’s side because they were attacked first but speaks out about the response being over the top she would get killed for it figuratively speaking (one hopes).

No matter what she does or says she can’t win, she knows it we know it even those who are calling her out over this know it but they just want to get there 15 minutes of TikTok fame bitching her out so they can show how woke they are.

TBPH Taylor like the majority of celebrities is perfectly within her/their rights to stay silent or do what she can behind the scenes without fanfare that would just get her attacked.

Finally I want to add that Taylor Swift is a singer songwriter and entertainer, she is not a politician she can’t and should not be expected to solve the problems of this world. She tries in her own way by donating her money to worthy causes like every food bank the era’s tour showed up at and has been one of the most generous celebrities in years. However asking her to make herself a target for hate is just a little much.

Personally this fan would prefer to see her and those lucky enough to attend the era’s tour be safe and not have some nut job take offence at something Taylor says and use it as an excuse to cause mayhem in a crowded stadium.

[evansbby]

I was there too with my older brothers and cousins, it warmed my heart seeing so many people in support of Palestine. I also saw a lot of Jews there and I think people forget that there’s a difference between a zionist and a Jew. As a Palestinian muslim woman myself I spoke to a few of them and they explained that they do not support the actions of Israel and that it’s against their religion. When I was younger I was always mad at the ‘jews’ for taking over my country and that I got called a terrorist and they didn’t when they clearly killed many innocent lives. I also tried to talk to Israeli people but when I told them everything Israel did to Palestine and how it was wrong they would call me antisemitic and get mad. I was like 16/17 when I finally realized that I should leave the faith of Palestine in Allahs hands and not get kind of mad when people tell me they’re jewish, because I always thought that automatically meant that they were zionists😭 I always felt this survivors guilt, I was born in Palestine but my parents moved us to London when I was 2, but I still have some family there and it’s awful for them. Like why do I get to live in a safe environment when they can’t? I’m 20 years old now and my cousin had it way harder growing up than I did, thankfully she also made it out, but I just feel bad when she talks about her childhood knowing that I didn’t have to worry if there would be Israeli soldiers outside on my streets. I’ve seen pictures of our neighborhood before it got destroyed and it was so beautiful, my grandma would tell me stories about how she and my grandpa would walk to the markets and now it’s all gone. Alhamdulillah they’re safe now.

I’m honestly so happy to see many people support Palestine, thank you to all who protested and constantly donate to help the people in Gaza🇵🇸🩷

Also so real for that Rishi Sunak comment because who told him to open his mouth😭😭😭 Every time I see him I get so mad omg💀

Thank you so much for sharing your story with me 🥺🙏🏼🇵🇸

Sooo many people from different religions are conditioned to hate other religions. I know so many people who were raised to hate Muslims, who were raised to hate Jewish people etc etc. It’s just up to us, as we grow up, to combat these views and stereotypes, speak to more people, understand situations and see that there is good and bad in every religion.

I can’t even begin to imagine how you feel, with Palestine being your homeland and yet you moved away so you are safe from the war and yet your people are suffering so much 🥺🥺🥺 It’s heartbreaking and I can’t even imagine, the fact you have family there as well, going through such atrocities.

I just watched a video on tiktok of a man from Palestine who said that a dog in Europe lives a better life than a Palestinian human being in Palestine. Because at his camp, they are waiting for water. A dog on Europe has access to water and the Palestinians do not because Israel cut access bc of course “they have the right to defend themselves!1!1” How a nuclear state cutting water and electricity access from innocent people is helping Israel defend itself, I won’t understand lmfao.

Honestly, this is at the end of the day not a war based on religion at all. No one cares what religion the Zionist alt right government of Israel are… we only care about the 28282992 war crimes they are committing as we speak.

But it’s still great to see Jewish people supporting the Palestinian cause—and the fact there is so many of them! ALSO a lot of Israeli people supporting Palestine shows that there is hope.

I hate Rishi Sunak. This man went to Israel and said “I hope you win” and “the uk stands with Israel” meanwhile there are protests pro Palestine protests here every other day.

[macksting]

2-12-24 00:33 - Nuances that won't stop annoying me tonight

This is personal opinions and should be taken as potentially garbage. I don't particularly have as a vice that need to always be right about things, much less authoritative. I'm just getting these out in writing because they're bothering me a lot.

The oversexualization of trans women is definitely a thing, we are not sexual just for existing. But as a... non-passing trans woman with moral scrupulosity OCD and a high libido, I don't particularly like being admonished not to... speak really sexily, I guess. It's difficult for me to do so at all, and is not made easier by admonishing me for... for talking about it. I don't... talk a lot about it, especially not here, I figure folks wouldn't necessarily be comfortable with it, so I have this really sparse sideblog devoted to sexy stuff but I just. don't engage with it much because I'm afraid of myself, for no good reasons. ... My dash is full of trans people, women and men and neither and both, sex workers and just plain libertines, who are sexy and allow themselves to be sexy, and I am grateful for that. It's difficult to talk to others about sex for me. I don't think by being openly sexual and horny I am contributing to my own oppression. And I do have transmasc friends who do talk sexy with me, and others who do not, depending in no small part on their interests and our established rapport. Iunno. It just feels bad being admonished for... being horny and wanting to be sexualized a bit. A bit. Respectfully, or a particular kind of disrespectfully with a lotta aftercare. It's hard to come by. uh, so to speak.

Vote, vote, vote, you gotta vote, if you don't vote you're giving up your only power to change things, vote vote vote if you don't vote you're as bad as Hitler, in a race between Mussolini and Hitler I'd be very concerned if you didn't vote for Mussolini, yadda yadda yadda, HOLY SHIT how do you people do it. I get it kinda, the idea that voting for one genocidal piece of work is maybe a little better than voting for the other, but... when you put that pen to paper or however you do it, how do you not feel hesitation? Sickness? How does it not plague you? How do you not feel just a little complicit? I'm not saying don't! I don't actually have an opinion on that. Maybe I should have an opinion on that. But do you just... fill in that arrow or bubble and say "I did a good thing"? or something? That man who still owes me over a thousand dollars that I could really use right now because we are homeless is personally responsible for countless dead Palestinians right now, and I know that Trump would have done the same, perhaps worse, but -- but voting for him makes me feel like I'm condoning it, worse it makes me feel like I am personally a little responsible for him being there to do this. And not just this. The expansion of the pipelines, the -- shit I don't even remember any of the good or bad he's done right now, just the continuing construction of the border wall, just the fuckin' shit he's doing to indigenous peoples all over the world including here in the States. I know, I know, Trump would do it too and prolly worse I don't care because what bothers me is the endorsement, the filling in the little arrow bubble thing that says Yes Daddy Go For It Kill In My Name. It's directly contributing to someone being in that genocidal seat doing genocidal things! It's pulling the lever on the fucking trolley track to hit what I hope is fewer than five people but it never is. It never is. It's five people on either side of the track, and if I don't pull the lever, I am not personally responsible for turning the trolley to kill *those* five people, and it really does take something out of me. It inflicts moral fucking injury on me to ... to say Yeah This One Not The Other One. I'm not doing enough. I don't know how to do enough. I am self-isolating because I may have COVID and be asymptomatic, but I can't really self-isolate because we are in a homeless shelter that consists of little Pallet-branded pods and I am inflicting the same poverty traumas on my kid that I had growing up and they're gonna grow up as fucked up as I am and that may literally kill them. I feel like I am killing my child. I am sending them to school during a fucking pandemic that's killing thousands a day. I just don't know how to do the right thing. I know it involves direct action, but every time I try to do that, my whole brain screams and freezes up because it always goes so wrong, nobody likes me, they see how I fidget and how I speak out against useless gossip (I now know particularly what bothers me is what's called lashon hara), they see me trying to volunteer for tasks like cleaning or bean-counting and call me toxic. I know I must be doing things wrong, I know I must be. But they never agree on what. It's always something different. My presence is disruptive, I can't help anybody, I can't help myself, I can't help my family, I can't I can't talk about sex, I can't talk about how much it hurts to pretend for a moment to support genocide, I can't talk about being so poor that our whole worldly possessions are about to go up for auction including every possession my child owns because it's *venting*, I can't talk about my childhood even when I think I'm telling a funny story because it's *venting*, I can't do anything without causing someone some injury and I don't know what to do about it. Um. Maybe ignore everything I just wrote. I just needed to get it off my chest. Please forgive me for putting this out there. I need to, but you don't need to care. There's an artist in the Philippines I'm rather fond of, maybe go check out his work.

Location: Pallet shelter in the PNW, using mobile hotspot and laptop (Breq)

Music: Blues Run The Game, cover by Simon & Garfunkle

[papirouge]

Make no mistake Candace will embrace zionism again if Palestine falls and Palestinians are forgotten. She is by nature simply a contrarian - she will ALWAYS take the other side regardless of what that side is. If Tate suddenly becomes mainstream and accepted, she will inevitably speak out against him. If feminism goes underground, she will be a feminist. Her grift is to be loud and go against the popular for views and attention. Her husband from what I’ve seen is pretty submissive (very funny how ALL of the married “trad” girls I know of that pander to the right and claim they only love aggressive masculine and traditionally dominant men never marry them, they always find the quiet submissive men that are house husbands that don’t really work) so nothing he will say will matter to her either. Her running back or trying to run back to black spaces is because she doesn’t want to be attacked now for being a black woman now that she’s vulnerable. Yet she still wants to bring white peoples feelings in those spaces too so she can stay on racist white people’s good graces because that’s her nature - to always to be the opposite. Black spaces are for black feelings, she knows this yet she will do the opposite anyway. All for attention. Just a pathetic person

She reminds me of an old friend I had. My friends and I started a gaming group for just ourselves, just black girls gaming and having fun without any worries. It was so much fun except when my ex friend tried to invite and get her white male friend involved. We told her no, this space was for black women only. She called us racist and sexist while her white friend just moved on He never cared about joining since he wasn’t even a gamer, it was all her idea. We had to block her and move on too 💀

Wait a minute- are you talking about the black gamer girl discord group drama ? Are you aware this drama came over tiktok?? 👀 Why am i only half surprised that a fellow black girl shoved this white dude there though ? 💀 Not that white men trying to invade black (female) space is unprecedented, but as I always said, Black women are EXTREMELY male identified (probably more than any other race) so I'm not shocked this black woman did the most for her White male friend.. TRAGIC.

YOU ARE SO SPOT ON FOR CANDACE 🎯

It's so confusing to see her talk about her husband and how she chose him because he was her match intellectually speaking when he doesn't strike as such 💀 He's definitely not stupid, but I feel like there's a major dissonance between how she "sells" him, and reality. Their dynamic is very loopsided : he only talks about her, while she's -very publicly- taking all the attention. Sorry but there's nothing less submissive or traditional in this marriage dynamic. Even the way her own camp talks about her doesn't reflect any idea of feminity - they talk about her like an attack dog. A smart, eloquent one, but still a dog. When Shapiro and his Daily Wire clique turned against then dumped her, nobody felt sorry for her. Even those who defended her knew she was the Strong Black Woman™️ and would ultimately get back on her feet. Candace herself is so energyetically masculine she didn't remotely think about leveraging her femininity to grasp some sympathy (emotions) by saying how she felt betrayed or left out. Nope. Like a soldier, she got back on her feet and started campaigning to fund her next venture.... If anything, Candace is the posterchild of feminism. Nothing about her screams traditional or feminine.

And it makes sense bc Candace is so bigger than life that she would hardly be able to find someone to match her level - especially among conservative men who absolutely don't come off as the intellectual type.... To reach that goal, she would've had more chance with Asian men since she said before her boyfriend all her earlier boyfriends were Asians (Korean and Japanese) lol

And yeah, that's exactly it : she's a contrarian. That's why her opinions have no consistency whatsoever. Like, you can't blame feminism and try to reinforce traditional gender roles onto society......while defending a lover boy/pimp/porn producer/fornicator aka Andrew Tate.

That's why contrarian are so politically stupid btw. They're often lumped with the right, but rightoids at least have a set of value tenants that won't change depending on whether they're popular or not. But contrarians? They'll hate things to the point of cognitive dissonance. We witnessed it A LOT these last few years. For example, tpeople who were against the c0vid shot and (rightfully) called out the msm propaganda and lies to push it, often used the fact of being against the "popular opinion" (=getting the vaccine) as a proof they were right. Well it was pretty shocking to see a lot of them turned out to be big supporters of Israel/Zionism, and sided with the very same msm they bitched against non stop a few years before. Their primitive contrarian mindset made them believe that because they were against Palestine (= the popular opinion) they were right once again..... And they have the same pattern with Musk, Trump, Take and every problematic/controversial figure they think unabashedly supporting means they're doing right against the MatRix - or whatever it is.

And this issue isn't only with right leaning people : it was extremely disappointing and disgraceful to see people support the TikTok ban in some wack intellectual superiority move, and (indirectly) campaign for the same US government they were shitting on FOR MONTHS over what it's been doing in Palestine. Mind you, they are the same crowd saying shit like "yOu aRe nOt iMmuNe tO prOpagAndA uwu" when anyone with a IQ higher than room temperature would grasp that this ban was a way to CONTROL TikTok which is the least biased media platform when it comes to social commentary or news coverage (especially with what's going on Palestine right now). But nooooo, those idiots refuse to look at the bigger picture and want it shut down because of a handful of dumb tradwives and pro ana mentally ill girls. PLEASE.

I've said it and I'll say it again : nothing you see on TikTok is unique to TikTok or happens because of TikTok. I'm a millennial, I'm old enough to remember that social contagion/reproduction the most destructive trends always happened since the drawn of the internet. In 2002 it was on message board, forum, etc...in 2024 it happens on social media - not only TikTok. If anything, those big SNS corporation centralizing the lot of internet communication help having a better outlook on social trends. Instead of having to patrol gazillions of obscure group chat with no mail adresssed required to post shit, the special services only have to lurk on social media 🤷🏾‍♀️

Oh and one last thing: 99% of the shit ppl complain about TikTok I never see it on my dash. TikTok algorithm is INSANE and manages to spoon fed you what you like 9 times out of 10. So there's 2 possibilities : either 1) they're the problem and should stop entertaining content that harms their peace 2) they're lying and just rehash the stuff other people say without checking by themselves if that content is *that* pervasive on that app.

[the1975attheirverybest]

I’m not bending over backwards to defend her, I’m just trying to understand why you are being so critical of her in particular all the sudden when it’s not like anyone in the band has talked about it at all. It’s just rubs me the wrong way that you’re calling her not compassionate when she is truly so kind and nice to her fans when she doesn’t have to be??

Kind and nice to her fans is the bare fuckin minimum? What do you mean “she doesn’t have to be” yeah let her throw tantrums and be rude and disrespectful for people?

1. Please stop bringing up the band. I have discussed my position on Matty and the boys not speaking up endlesslllyyyy and I’m tired of having to justify my VALIF AND REASONABLE critiques of unethical millionaires by being told that if I condemn one I must condemn all. That’s bullshit.

2. So fuckin what if nobody in the band has spoken???? So like if everyone’s a hypocrite she’s allowed to be a hypocrite too? She only gets her moral cues from other people? She doesn’t have a spine or a moral compass? Guess they take that away from you at Person of The Year parties lmao.

3. I have not been critical of her “all of the sudden” I have always disliked the way she exercises her fame and power. I have become more vocal about it in the last few days because it’s become a topic of discussion when her fans literally post a Palestinian woman’s private information and tell the IDF to “take care of her” because she dared to criticize the Person of year choice, I’m gonna have an opinion about it.

4. Let me help you here. Compassion: sympathy or concern for thr suffering of others. If she’s nice to her fans (which we have already establish doesn’t even constitute the bare fuckin minimum) it’s cuz it’s about HER. It’s easy to like the people who worship the ground that you walk on or find it in your heart to give a shit shout them. Because they give her their money. The people of Palestine can’t do anything good for her so she doesn’t care that our blood is being spilled left and right and soon there won’t be any more Palestinians left. Why should she care? She does care to sell her fuckin movie in fuckin Israel though. Cuz THAT brings her money.

[rachelsfav-queer]

Btw are you from Palestine 🇵🇸? Or is the flag in your boi just in support? Or...??

Hi, thanks for asking!

I won’t talk about this much cause I’m not good with arguments and this whole thing is just a perfect mix for arguments. But I’ll give my opinion now, just to let it be known.

I am not from Palestine but I am in full support of the Palestinian people. Not because of any reason other than the fact that I despise the cold, heartless mass murder of innocent civilians. Aka, literally war crimes.

There’s a lot of discussions going on about the conflict, which is why I only just now added the flag to my bio. I was mostly in support of Palestine the whole time, but I wanted to make sure I knew as much as possible about the conflict. It’s a topic that I am almost entirely disconnected from and so I have quite a bit of privilege here that I refuse to misuse.

Now, just because I’ve learned a lot more about the conflict, does not make me an expert or anywhere near qualified to speak on it. I have my opinion and I will stick to it as is my right. But I won’t be talking about it here anymore. Not just because of my mental health reasons, but also because there are so many people talking about this and therefore there’s so much misinformation. So if I were to add my voice, I’d only be speaking over the people who are knowledgeable and properly qualified to speak about it. And that would only do more harm.

So, if you’re looking for proper links and information for what to do and how to support, this blog isn’t the place to look. Please go do some research and find that info yourself. I am currently unable to support in any meaningful way as I legitimately do not have any money, I don’t have a credit card, I don’t even have a drivers license. If I did have the ability to donate money, I would.

Now, that’s the end of me talking about this. I do not care what it is, if I see anyone trying to message me about this anymore, whether in my inbox or through dms, it’s an immediate block. Like I’ve said, I don’t handle arguments well, and that’s a fucking understatement if there ever was one. So please, respect my wishes to be left alone about this. I do what little I can as a white, autistic, trans woman living hundreds of miles away from the conflict. But beyond that, my mind is legitimately not equipped to handle it.

Thank you for the ask and thank you in advance for respecting my boundaries.

Much love, Rachel ❤️

(I will also only be putting my own tags instead of all the related tags cause, again, privileged white person)

[nataliesnews]

Let it now be said that I am all gloom and misery. Last night I went to see Julius Casear done by the Theatre in the Rough in the park near the King David. It is always great fun though you have to run from place to place and up and down over the grass. I take my accordion  chair which I carry in my rucksack but once I have taken it out I have to run with my stick and the bag as suit as it takes time. Sometimes people help me. Otherwise I just sukkel.It was very funny and I will show you who was Brutus and who was Caesar. It is very funny as they make Caesar into a woman, Brutus the absolute antithesis of what you would imagine hime to be, a small slight woman, Cassius is a big black gentleman who would have been more likely to have been Brutus.

This is Calpurnia.

This is Caesar

This is the choir which has been introduced by the producer of the play

The woman in the burgundy...do I have the colour right...is Brutus

Can anyone tell me what this flag actually is. I saw it at the Saturday demonstration last week and it was held by a group of religious youth and also be this man who looks more Haredi. They saw they are active in Hebron against the occupation and the flat as psalms on it and has been hung for years in synagogues.

 Well and back to politics

An Israeli settler woman is shot. I grieve for her family but I will not go with Tag Maier when they go to shiva. I will go to Tag Maier when the evening news does not deal for almost the full hour with the grief of the family and what a wonderful woman she was. I wonder, a;ways,  if she and her family have been active in actions against the Palestinians. Maybe she is one of the settlers who do not take part in any such actions against the shepherds or the villages. But if not then when does she not speak up against it? 

Also as I saw the grief of the family of the woman who had been killed I wondered why we were not shown, if only for a fleeting moment, the mourning family of a young Palestinian whom I had seen shot in the back as he was running back to a group and  was  shot in the back although he was unarmed and not attacking anyone. Up  to now the soldiers who carved a magen davied on the face of a Palestinian have been praised by members of the government and Ben Gvir wants to give them a medal. Another family group has fled their homes because of attacks by settlers........so   I grieve for her family but  I grieve more for the Palestinians who know that they will never find the justice they seek. In a few days time we will hear the the perpetrators have been found...those responsible hpr her death....but the soldier who shot a man in the back, the soldiers who carved a magen david, the settlers who at this every moment are harassing and stealing from the Palestinians? 

I went today to hear Yischa Harani lecturing on part of the New Testament at a new center which I did not know at all. A meeting ground for pilgrims and then too  a church which I only realised at the end was so there was this beautiful altar.

In the evening I went with Yehuda and Anat to see Oppenbeimer. I found the first  part  boring but when the bomb went off and I saw people screaming and backslapping I thought of the drowning of the Egyptians and the angels singing in joy and God admonishing them. I probably would have felt different seeing the movie at the end of the war itself. I wonder how much of this was shown on the television at that time....maybe most houses did not have television.

As a result I did not go to the demonstration in the morning against Ben Gvir in Hebron and also not to Sheikh Jarrah...maybe just as well as I heard there was police violence in both places. This evening I am also not going to the demonstration as I woke up feeling very weak. I had six visitors for brunch and was worried that I would be too tired as I did not sleep well either but it must have been enjoyable to all as they came at 13.00 and only left towards 4. There were four of  of us from Machsomwatch and my friend Gioia from Sheikh Jarrah and as Andrea, her husband, is from the UN I think both sides found it interesting. Andrea and Gioia next to me.   Yehduit who live at Nofim, Hanna Barag whom I often write about and I who am going on diet.  

But if you want to know what is happening with the Christians in Israel here are two examples:

Christians unwanted in Israel https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/editorial/2023-08-21/ty-article-opinion/.premium/the-damaging-rejection-of-christians-under-israels-far-right-religious-government/0000018a-1455-debf-afba-9cfff8210000?utm_source=App_Share&utm_medium=iOS_Native

At a Haifa church, Jewish pilgrims test coexistence strained by painful history

Haredi visitors outside Stella Maris say they want to pray near the presumed burial site of Prophet Elisha; churchgoers say it's just another attempt to intimidate Christians

This is what the Rabbis for Human Rights wrote about the above

The Stella Maris Monastery and Church in Haifa continues to face threats from a small Hasidic sect known as Berland Hasidim. The group continues to come to the monastery and harass the clergy and worshippers and has now received permission from the Police to hold prayer services close to the church.  Rabbis for Human Rights continues to support the Stella Maris community and this week submitted a letter signed by over 200 Rabbis to the President of the State of Israel, the Chief of Israel's Police and the Attorney General, demanding that the State safeguard this community from the threats they are facing. We were proud that the letter was signed by leading Rabbis from all streams of Judaism in Israel, and are committed to continuing and increasing our actions to protect religious practice of minorities in Israel. 

[youmighthatemebutihateyoumore]

Are Lover Boys in Music Rated?

Recently, Saint Levant released his single "Very Few Friends" which now has millions of streams on Spotify and over 10 million views on TikTok. Like others, I instantly became obsessed with this man's music after he came up on my For You Page, for the variety of languages he could rap/sing in and his versatility in musical genres. However, I've seen many videos of women saying that Marwan is raising the standard for men and how boys of our generation are changing the level of respect they have towards women. And as far as I know Saint Levant seems like a really nice guy. But in no way does that mean that we as women have to claim that what Marwan Abdelhamid is doing is exceeding our expectations; if anything, he is doing the bare minimum. Furthermore, accepting ideas of being "spoiled" and "enjoyed" can be quite problematic. Marwan is suggesting that he can splash out on a woman and that his money is a tool to her happiness. I believe that Saint Levant wrote this with the intention of building his Lover Boy image, however, the lyricism hasn't had enough thought.

Nevertheless, what Saint Levant is doing is changing the music scene and we should appreciate his art as well as all his other attributes, not just his level of respect towards women and his charming attitude; as a young, trilingual Palestinian he is speaking out for his people and usually creates recurring ideas of freedom for Palestinians, suggested by the idea of '2048' and his past songs like "Haifa in a Tesla" or the "Jerusalem Freestyle" that evidently express themes of the apartheid in Jerusalem. His artistry could continue these themes in future songs as well as the Lover Boy trope he likes to pursue. Perhaps the Lover Boy image is also a marketing technique, to vary his listeners and appeal to women as well as men.

Marwan is not the only artist that does this however. In fact, Lover Boy music has been around for a while. I am an RnB girl and love the 2000s RnB Lover Boys, from Mario to Joe. Artists like Mario and Joe have always been praised for their attractive lyricism that describes respecting women and treating your woman right; this should be the bare minimum for all men, respect is the most basic attribute a man could have towards a woman. For example in Mario's "Let Me Love You" he proposes that women who aren't being treated right by their current partner could do better and be with him; to "Let me(Mario) love you".

I also believe Lover Boys make their songs quite sexual suggesting that a relationship is about sex and how a Lover Boy wants to physically enjoy his partner. For example "Every night, doin' you right" is a direct quote from 'Let Me Love You', where Mario expresses his sexual potential and abilities that he claims to be better than the current partner of the woman in this scenario. Joe also, like many other Lover Boy artists, create multiple sexual images within his art. I want to clarify that there is absolutely nothing wrong with sexual imagery in music, however, I think it paints an artist in a toxic light, if a relationship is solely based on sexual contact. What many male artists aren't doing is respecting all types of women- they aren't being inclusive enough- and they aren't praising the personality or attributes of a woman unless it is sexual. For example, Saint Levant sings "I want the neighbors to hear you yell /Told me she's a CEO, I can tell" where he is exalting a woman for her sexual abilities and not qualities she could have like intelligence or wit. However he does commend her being a business woman and boss bitch: "Self-made, now you're self-paid with your own plans". Although the Lover Boy is meant to fulfill the sexual fantasises of a woman, being in a relationship whether its serious or not should be built on respect for each other, not based on sexual desires; such a relationship is just infatuation.

Of course, Saint Levant, Joe and Mario aren't the only artists that make Lover Boy music. They also don't express violence and toxicity towards women, something that a lot of other male artists do. In fact, this piece is appreciating Saint Levant for his musicality and unique artistry; I have never seen other artists create pieces like his. Additionally Levant's amalgamation of his multi-lingual abilities, cultural pride and Western styles should be applauded. I love Saint Levant's passion for Palestine and how his music is representing a ethnic minority that are often misunderstood by the Western world. I just want this article to communicate my feelings of Lover Boy music and how respecting a woman is a modicum of the level of admiration you should have for the person you are in a relationship with. Finally, women shouldn't alter their standards for a man doing the bare minimum or expect any less than respect from their partner; you deserve the very best.

Therefore, do we rate Lover Boys? Or are they just doing what all men should be expected to do?