"Why is ContraPoints saying [advocating for Palestine] is totally futile? Because ContraPoints doesn't want to do anything about it... She feels that the only reasonable way to live is to accept that things are bad and not going to change. Even though that is actually unreasonable. Even though it is actually also morally quite bankrupt. You are the one who is experiencing doom. That is the thing that you feel. That does not mean other people are supporting a doomed cause. It means that you feel doom about their cause. Examine why you might feel that way. They thought Vietnam was a doomed cause, too. Cuban revolution was a doomed cause. Chinese revolution was a doomed cause... "Zero Palestinian lives were saved"... I don't think this is true. For instance, think about the vast amount of fundraising campaigns that have tangibly helped, even as aid is blockaded in Israel, that has tangibly helped Palestinians. They have gained support as a result of this activism. So saying "zero Palestinian lives were saved" again, this is not true. This is not true. But second of all, even if it was true, you're going to blame people for speaking out against things that are actually wrong because it wasn't effective enough instead of just like offering better ways to do it? Does something have to be done or not? Does something have to be done or not?"
-elliot sang again, "BreadTube is over"
I wanted to share these quotes from Sang's video because I think he is really getting at something central I notice all the time on tumblr.
So many people from the global north on this website (including the ones who quickly distanced themselves from liberals like ContraPoints), still cling to this unfounded belief in their own supposed powerlessness.
You are not powerless. Your decisions matter and have tangible impact on other people. You are in this world with the rest of us. Whether you want to accept responsibility for your behavior or not, it still meaningfully influences other people's lives.
Take stock of your actual, current impact. What are you already spending your days doing? How can you use your daily life to oppose genocide in Palestine?
If you're reading this you probably spend some of your time on tumblr. So use that to help people in Gaza to get food and medicine.
Last week after writing a post encouraging others to donate to my friend @fadel-dani's campaign (vetted by @gazavetters (#197) and 90-ghost) a lot of you actually did send funds.
Do you realize how much that tangibly improved his life last week?
He told me that he was able to buy flour and eat bread after previously having none for over a week. He was able to get painkillers and experience some small relief from his constant pain.
Your decision whether or not to donate (or whether or not to encourage other people to donate) is power. You are actually very powerful, and your decisions have a big influence on his family's life. You are deciding how to use that power right now.
My name is Fadel Al-Dany, a 23-year-old third-year IT student. My life hasn't … Fadel Aldany needs your support for Help the injured Fadel a
It is a blessing that we have the ability to relieve others' pain.
Send some money to Fadel and know you are using what power you have to help someone. You are a lifeline.
You are inextricably connected to other people. Your presence can be felt as a comfort by other people. Please embrace this.
I have told you time and time and time again.!!! that my family and I are in dire need of your help, and everyone is ignoring us and bypassing us. I hope that you will help me so that I can buy my medicine as soon as possible, and so that we can buy some food so that we do not die of hunger or be killed when we go for help. Please have mercy on us and help us by donating so that I can buy my medicine and some food. Please donate. Stand by us. Please help us by donating.
