pinkwashing from zionists is well known by this point and so is the weaponization of antiblackness among arabs to dissuade black people (particularly americans) from supporting palestinian liberation.
in response, however, is a similar tokenization of queer and black palestinians in passing mentions of centuries old afro-palestinian communities, screenshots from queeringthemap, or reposts of cishet gazans being nice to western queer activists. it's as if there mere image of these communities and moments of solidarity is supposed to erase the real ways black and queer gazans are marginalized, or worse, "prove" that palestinians deserve to live because they aren't bigoted.
lost in the discussion of hypothetical genocide victims' personal bigotry are the lives of the real victims themselves. we have to realize that we've been centering cishet and nonblack gazans in our discourse and this has bled into our solidarity efforts.
in the pity economy (coined by yazan mohammed), black people are not worthy of compassion, so people scroll by when black gazans ask for donations. i swear i have never seen a single black gazan gofundme account without at least one post talking about how nobody wants to donate to them because of their race.
this is not a new thing either. we just passed the 20th anniversary of hurricane katrina where displaced black people were demonized and prevented from receiving aid, and even now black fundraisers on tumblr frequently go months without a donation even as white people (and ao3) double and triple their donation goals.
in the pity economy, queer people in the global south cannot even participate. there is a certain mold of a pitiable queer person on the internet, and it's usually a white trans midwesterner. it's not a queer palestinian of any kind.
westerners don't even know how to conceptualize a queer person of color outside of hypotheticals. queerness itself is still seen as a western concept, so the existence of queer gazans frustrates the pitiable image of themselves gazans otherwise have to advertise online in order to survive.
people shouldn't have to deal with this shit online just to avoid death.
don't just talk about black and queer palestinians - donate to them!
bridge of solidarity, a project started by an 18 year old poet that has gained popularity for its anti-capitalist refusal to participate in the pity economy, sees through the bullshit. it recently started a dedicated fund for black and queer gazans to receive a monthly stipend. this is going to be huge for queer people who cannot out themselves on the internet and for black families who are being systemically ignored, even by the broader palestine solidarity movement.
if you want to contribute to this fund, DM @bridge.of.solidarity on instagram and tell them you specifically want to support queer and black community members. as of right now, they are 10% of the way to their $22,000 goal for this project.
to fund their projects in general, donate here. ("what's chuffed?")
theartofmadeline
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