#torontoprotest

[shorm]

Hey #toronto (and #Canada in general) -- we're not some shining beacon of light when it comes to police racism and brutality. Stop acting like we are. #justiceforregis #blacklivesmatter #torontoprotest https://www.instagram.com/p/CA6HqhGnxRf/?igshid=s6qscnn0rim

[therestofcanada]

Protest against Islamaphobia and the rise of white supremacy- US Embassy Toronto, Anah Shabbar 2017

[itwasonlyandeverlove]

“Genocide [jenəˌsīd]”

— 

noun

noun: genocide; plural noun: genocides

the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation.

synonyms: mass murder, mass homicide, massacre; annihilation, extermination, elimination, liquidation, eradication, decimation, butchery, bloodletting; pogrom, ethnic cleansing, holocaust."

Today was...something. Today evoked all kinds of awe, and tears, and churnings of stomachs, and questionings of fact and fiction, and ponderings of right and wrong, and simultaneous blurrings and solidifications of the lines between black and white where the gray area both shrunk and expanded. My mother and I along with a few family friends did end up going to that protest today and it was...inexplicable. In that moment, I was so grateful to be living in Toronto, and so fiercely proud to be a part of something that monumental. On Saturday, we made history, being the largest protest for Palestinians to have taken place in all of North America. It really was an inexplicable sense of solidarity, and oneness, and support, and a united call for justice, and a united voice against oppression. It wasn't just rhetoric. It wasn't empty facebook statuses and completely apathetic "likes" when someone posts an article online. It was real, tangible action. It was hoards and hoards of people being transported on school buses from all across the Greater Toronto Area and beyond to congregate at Queen's Park in support of those halfway across the world. The more and more I gradually come to know about the conflict, the more I question the way that information is presented to me, the way that I am taught to think, and the way that hypocrisy is glazed over in a sugary coating of excuses, lies, and loopholes to justify the unjust. It becomes more and more evident to me how much bullshit is fed down our throats through the mainstream media. All of this has really left me in a state of dazed contemplation. How much of what I know is actually even legit? Where can I find real facts that aren't couched in the bias of politics and money? 

While we had initially gotten off at the wrong subway station to attend the protest, the booming female voice emanating from a microphone several streets away had caught our ears and gave us direction. Eventually, the microphone was taken over by a deep voice, presumably an older male activist, but by the time we had joined the masses, the third booming voice caused us all to instantly turn to each other in absolute shock and astonishment. We stared wide eyed at one another upon realizing that a young boy (definitely young as puberty had yet to crack his voice) had taken over the microphone and began to chant with conviction and purpose, "USA you decide, justice or genocide!" I was baffled. That was an incredibly bold thing to be yelling with such unwavering confidence. At first, I had issues with it being called a genocide, because genocide implies certain things, as indicated by the brief definition above. But the more I learn, the more I read, the more I am able to slowly discern between "official" positions and "official" reports, and covert agendas. What is the end game? What was the end game from the beginning? Perhaps the implications behind yelling such an audacious chant are not at all that contentious, because the facts substantiate the chant. I will continue to learn, and read, and analyze with a careful and critical eye. 

Why is Israel giving Ethiopian Jews doses of contraceptives that they are unaware of? What is the agenda? 

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/feb/28/ethiopian-women-given-contraceptives-israel

Whatever the situation, we will not sit idly by and watch injustice happen. 

http://www.cp24.com/news/protesters-converge-on-queen-s-park-over-gaza-conflict-1.1933500

*Sorry for how lame this was. It was written in a sleep deprived stupor at 1 am but I'm trying to keep up with this daily thing! I feel like it's helping me already! I know you weren't able to today, but maybe write two things tomorrow, morning and night to keep this up!! We can do it Allayna!* 

Love,

Naveeda