CW for the topic: self-harm
"Many of us like to ask ourselves, “What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?” The answer is, you’re doing it.
CW for the topic: self-harm
"Many of us like to ask ourselves, “What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?” The answer is, you’re doing it.
Whatever you do, don’t self-immolate. Sadly, this guy will get 2-3 days media attention, and then be forgotten, having accomplished nothing. We can all put our energy to better use.
You’re only accountable for the things you can control. For most people, that’s not very much, sadly. Think about what you can do within your ability, for example, speaking out, attending protests, donating to causes or volunteering for causes that support the people of palestine, etc. Someone might come along and say you’re not doing enough, but doing something is always better than doing nothing, no matter how small.
And I know this not be the best thing to say in this context but you individually also can’t do much about what’s happening in Palestine. Unless you’re in the military, high politics, or some corporate ghoul—you’re just a body on the street that’ll probably get ignored.
If that frustrates you more, then focus on other things. Build up or get involved at your Union at work, volunteer at an unrelated org like Food Not Bombs, or get involved tutoring or mentoring some kids. Anything you can.
And I’m not trying to dissuade people from getting involved in Palestinian solidarity actions, but if you’re prone to take it really hard on yourself if you get involved in them and things just get worse then it may be best to be involved with things you can better control. We don’t need comrades self-immolating, in whatever form it takes.
Even on state media TV they’re trying their best not to say WHY he did it… they kinda make it sound like he was just nuts and just did it but without any particular reason.