there's actually so much we can do
so look... everything is depressing af. i get it. i'm reading emails from environmental organizations listing all the foul shit rich people are doing that harms us all, trying to keep up with each new act of genocide Israel commits against Palestinians, and watching the lead up to the least democratic u.s. election of my lifetime. this is bad.
there's so much i wish i could do.
i wish i could give Hind every one of my sweaters. i wish Bisan could get a good night's sleep on the mattress i am still paying off. i wish i could get Mosab all his books so he could put them back in their order.
my romantic heart yearns to provide and protect and comfort. there's nothing wrong with this, it's just not possible or what's most necessary from me right now.
i have been reading "In Pursuit of Revolutionary Love" by Joy James as part of yétúndé ọlágbajú's book club and have been buoyed by the clarity with which James articulates the type of love that is necessary to transform this world. James writes:
"Revolutionary Love is difficult to define. Distinct from personal or familiar love, it originates from a desire for the greater good that entails radical risk-taking for justice. Revolutionary Love is not romantic or charming. It neither romanticizes nor projects celebrities or politicos as surrogates for radical activism. Worship within a "cult of personality" is not an expression of Revolutionary Love. Seeking equity and securing basic needs (housing, food, education, healthy environments), despite constant frustrations and betrayals is a sign of faithfulness. – Joy James, In Pursuit of Revolutionary Love
we who are safe and sleep soundly at night, we have so many risks we can still take.
Bisan has called for a global boycott 1/21-1/28
https://t.co/5dKXMbHYQx
— Puppo 🍉 🇵🇸 🇨🇩 🇸🇩 🇦🇫 🇾🇪 (@PSherikov) January 21, 2024
Bisan is alive! She is calling for a Global Strike Week from January 21-28! The strike is for:
-economic movements
-work
-living your normal life
Please direct your attention to what is happening in Palestine.
Strike what you can! Boycott! Protest! (1/2) pic.twitter.com/FqvO8GHXKG
to strike is a risk i understand we all cannot take, but a boycott costs us nothing.
if nothing else, do not buy any non essential items this week. it can wait.
especially refrain from ordering things online and from corporations. buy your essentials in person and from locally owned stores. if you're in New Orleans here's a list of Palestinian owned grocery stores and restaurants:
how do we start to risk more?
i'm thinking a lot about what it took for Seattle unions to pull off a general strike in 1919:
For four days, labor reigned. 65,000 walked off their jobs. Strikers served food, supplied hospitals and kept peace in the streets with astonishing organization and efficiency. But under pressure from the mayor, federal troops and unsupportive AFL internationals, the walkout collapsed. It left an ambivalent legacy. The failure of such a massive action to raise shipyard wages – let alone ward off the union-busting and red-hunting that followed – showed the limits of local labor’s power against state-supported, anti-union capital. Yet the memory of a moment when working people not only shut down an entire city, but ran a successful system of essential services along syndicalist lines, also offered hope. In the short run it fueled Seattle’s vibrant union-affiliated cooperative movement. In the long run it inspired generations who dreamed of building a labor-based social order.
what are we willing to risk now to build this type of solidarity? how are we allocating our time, energy, and resources to our local organizations that are, as James says, "seeking equity and securing basic needs"
i know i am not risking enough. not enough money, not enough time, not enough energy. i'm reflecting on what this means. for now, below is a collection of actions we can all take.
join / follow a local organization and participate in actions
if you're in New Orleans, follow @_noship on instagram and attend actions to support their demands:
buy eSim card to help folks in Palestine stay connected
call the people who so-called represent you
use Jewish Voices for Peace's phone zap script & call everyday. Louisiana info here:
as always, i hope this was useful.
free Palestine.
with hope,
katie wills evans