BDS and the detractors

On the old Facebook machine, I posted this bit below in italics. I'll expand it a bit to include a major objection to BDS by several real life people that I think represent a lot of the neoliberal/centrist take on this. I still don't completely understand, but I'm trying to wrap my head around this pervasive point of view rather than just dismiss it out of hand.

So I saw this site pop up, We Are Not Numbers, and thought it would be possibly a way to explore the humanity of Palestinians in a way the media refuses to portray them. I mean, maybe one reason why neoliberals shy away from supporting Palestinian rights is that the only articles they read, stories they hear, or pictures they see are of Palestinian militant groups, suicide vests, and a guy who tries to blow up a bus. It's no wonder they think there are two sides to this human rights catastrophe called the occupation. There is a perpetrator and it is our dear friend, Israel. It isn't like this is a war or a tsunami where we don't know how we got here or how to get out. Israel is blockading and only allowing enough calories for bare bones survival, destroying schools and power plants, and killing children. Israel refers to Palestinian births, little babies, if you will, as demographic threat to justify ethnic cleansing. We know what is wrong and who is perpetrating the crimes and why. But we refuse to name the criminal or do anything to stop it.

This was my post:

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Probably a site to bookmark to understand the Palestinian struggle under Israeli occupation.

Why BDS is necessary and the peaceful way to deal with this. I love how Palestinian rocket attacks and things get called terrorism, but then peaceful protests and BDS also get shut down as too dangerous (because Israel murders people) or as affecting too many not involved. It's not too much to ask to economically pressure people to have a conscience. It becomes "intractable" only because Palestinians are allowed NO legitimate response to their oppression, a solution impossible and unknowable only because any response is considered wrong by the International community. No. By Americans mostly. Not the world.

We Are Not Numbers: Palestinian youth tell the human stories behind the numbers in the news
https://wearenotnumbers.org/home/Story/Palestinian_weeps_displaced_by_settlers

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Before I list some links to further information, I will say that I don't deny there could be a bit of collateral "damage" from, say, a protest or a boycott. Maybe a protest about abolishing ICE or for racial equality will block a street and cause the firing of a woman in one of these very groups to be late and get fired. This is entirely hypothetical, but it could happen. Yes, Palestinians work at companies that are boycotted. I find it rather funny that neoliberals really really want to dig out these hypotheticals and lay them out as serious objections to their well-considered position on Palestine when they will gladly carpet bomb Iraq or Venezuela in the name of "democracy," killing thousands of innocents who had nothing to do with the conflict. Plus, they know it's all for oil, so the killing is entirely for financial gain and US hegemony, not for human rights or equality. But that killing and collateral damage is just fine. Necessary, in fact, in that ideology. Conservatives and neoliberals alike have no qualms there, but the BDS movement, THAT is a serious threat to someone's livelihood and we should slow down and consider the consequences, young lady.

Let's see what we have, here.
So, clearly, as I have seen, acts of violence and armed resistance are cause to call Palestinians terrorists and respond with extra judicial assassinations and/or disproportionate acts of violence aimed at sending Palestinians to the stone age. There is no call to examine both sides and see why Palestinians are rising up, only a call to murder and assassinate them. Okay. That's off the table. Are we going to put some boots on the ground and stop Israel from planting themselves in Palestinian territory and just calling it and an ever growing security area around it theirs? Are we going to send our troops to tear down the wall and give back the land Israel stole to build it? Are we going to invade Israel and install a leader that's a little more amenable to peace? No? Really? Oh. Okay. So nonviolent protest is okay, right? We, under the expertise of Nikki Haley, vetoed a UN resolution that would have condemned and or looked into the deaths of scores of non-violent protesters in Gaza. 

So both armed and unarmed protest are out. Weeell, African Americans in the Southern US and the world in the fight against apartheid in South Africa used boycotts to great effect! That must be the answer! Make it painful on the pocketbook and through intellectual opportunity and the arts to support massive human rights abuses and ethnic cleansing. That must be the answer. NOPE, say many "reasonable" progressive and not so progressive people in the US who blindly support Israel.

People don't want Palestinians to respond violently to their open air imprisonment. That's sort of understandable. A bit of a double standard, but okay, I get it. AND people are against non-violent opposition to occupation of their land?? What on earth is left? The status quo? Keep begging them to come to this imaginary table that is entirely a mirage. It disappears as soon as they arrive! The only option ever given to them is give up and let Israel have everything, including their life. This is not any kind of choice. I don't understand how denying Palestinians all options to resist and object to unfair treatment is going to lead to any kind of solution in any time frame on any "roadmap" at any negotiating table.

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😕 BDS – RIGHT TACTIC, WRONG TARGET: Our true friends know this, but BDS supporters are not interested in the truth because their movement is built on lies.  BY ZIONA GREENWALD  
https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/BDS-right-tactic-wrong-target-572883

😠 Ten Reasons Why BDS Is Immoral and Hinders Peace:The Israel boycott movement threatens the peace process by promoting extortion rather than negotiation, and discourages Palestinians from agreeing to any reasonable peace offer.  By Alan M. Dershowitz 💢
https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-ten-reasons-why-bds-is-immoral-1.5321568

(And you should definitely listen to the Dersh, because he knows all about immorality...)

😕 How BDS Hurts Palestinians and Hinders Peace
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/how-bds-hurts-palestinians-and-hinders-peace/
(The Times of Israel. Now, that sounds like a friendly non-partisan place for news. Or not.)

🔎🔎🔎

There are whole books on this issue, but here are a few short articles:

💭 Boycotts Are Supposed to Hurt --  from Whatever: This Machine Mocks Fascists
https://whatever.scalzi.com/2016/04/14/boycotts-are-supposed-to-hurt/

💭 BDS: how a controversial non-violent movement has transformed the Israeli-Palestinian debate
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/aug/14/bds-boycott-divestment-sanctions-movement-transformed-israeli-palestinian-debate

💭 Rashida Tlaib And Ilhan Omar Support Palestine And The BDS Movement In A First For Congress
https://www.bustle.com/p/rashida-tlaib-ilhan-omar-support-palestine-the-bds-movement-in-a-first-for-congress-13604364
My hope for women in Congress - bringing a more accurate picture of what needs to be done and that facts aren't owned by rich white men anymore.

💭 Ilhan Omar Owes No Apologies, Apologies Are Owed Her
https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/02/22/ilhan-omar-owes-no-apologies-apologies-are-owed-her/
She tweeted some variation on politicians being bought by AIPAC, which is true, but it started a bit of a firestorm due to the anti-Semitic trope of Jews having lots of money and ruling the world, which isn't true. The fact that AIPAC is the first or second most successful lobby group in Congress and influences US policy in scary, unprecedented and unseen ways is a huge problem that needs exposure to the light. Demonizing Jews is neither the object or result of this. Most smart people can separate Israel from Jews and those who can't should read a book... or talk to a Jewish person. Anyway, she capitulated a bit when she should have stood behind her remarks like Marc Lamont Hill, sort of, or Angela Davis.

💭 Ilhan Omar Was Right
https://jacobinmag.com/2019/02/ilhan-omar-israel-tweet-antisemitism-bds

💭 Non-violent BDS Should Be Welcomed, Not Condemned by Ramzy Baroud
https://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2016/04/08/non-violent-bds-should-be-welcomed-not-condemned/
This one goes into Obama and HRC's enti-BDS stance from 2016.

Millenials, the hustle, and the economy

I came across these two articles in the space of a day or two. Both kind of miss the mark in that they kind of revolve around the millennials being a distinct group. And they are in a way, but just not the very specific way either of these articles is saying. In both cases, they need to pan out and get the whole picture. Find another thesis.

The hustle. That's what the kids are calling it these days. 

Can Just-for-Fun Hobbies Survive the Era of “the Hustle”?
https://slate.com/human-interest/2019/02/hobbies-hustle-era-leisure-time-coins.html

I don't know if this difference is generational. I get that they're advocating for hobbies being for pleasure and I agree! I just think there is a bit more to it than a generational shift or that it needs more than someone saying -- look! You'd have more fun if you didn't make it capitalistic! Just try! 

The hustle and monetizing hobbies is likely due to the wealth gap, rather than a cute gen x versus millennial mindset. It's a product of the recession that made itself known in 2008, which affected more than only millennials to be sure. There was then a recovery that wasn't. The economy is broken. I got advice from baby boomers about working hard at one job, not taking too much time off and lived moderately well (-ish) as a kid with one parent who worked outside the home. Now, we look at our time to see if we could squeeze in a part time job, a way to get ahead of the student loans and debt incurred in college that was supposed to be the KEY. Our ticket. While Republicans were rolling back still more taxes on the rich and getting corporations breaks and screwing us on our loans, we were incurring a mountain of debt before we even started living that we would still be working to outrun somehow by making money on hobbies or opting for third and fourth jobs over much needed sleep. When the economy is broken, the hustle is the result and it'll take A LOT more to fix it.

Here's a bit more on the post-employment economy... "we live in the tunnel at the end of the light," the author says. Enjoy.

Surviving the post-employment economy
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/11/surviving-post-employment-economy-201311373243740811.html

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Office Space Exposed the Lies Millennials Are Taught About Work
https://themuse.jezebel.com/office-space-exposed-the-lies-millennials-are-taught-ab-1832813150

For the second time in the last day or so - this phenomenon in an article is NOT specific to millennials... this is what we're ALL told about work, that's why it was funny when some millennials were in diapers.

People have been saying case of the Mondays and other things from that movie since before some millennials were born. The youngest were 18? - it came out before (most) millennials even had actual full-time work experience. It was as relevant then as when millennials realized it was relevant to them also.

Maybe since more millennials are watching old movies or more are at an age to write and get published, that's why I'm seeing so many references to millennials do this and millennials think that? Millennials should look for broader trends. Maybe think/write something about capitalism instead of a narrow group that doesn't really mean much unless you're writing a newsletter for a high school reunion or something.

For the political/economic events, I'd recommend this. It's a book. It has more than 280 characters, so watch out! Seriously, it's well worth the time. -- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25437695-the-view-from-flyover-country

There was a time after WWII where rich people paid taxes (94% marginal tax rate) and there were regulations and programs and so boomers naturally got this funny idea about doing what you love and hard work paying off and all those things that became lies as these regulations and programs were rolled back. Minimum wage stayed the same and "America" (1%, bosses, etc) got richer by some measures, but the middle class got poorer and less upwardly mobile. It happened to the generation before you and we talked about it - even if we only knew the effects - but they just called us lazy...

Also, I would submit that the end of the movie and the article refers to what most of us call growing up, not so much a recovery from a particular lie told to millennials: “Peter, most people don’t like their jobs,” she says. “But you go out there, and you find something that makes you happy.” Try to pay the bills with that job(s) and then after work, fit in things that tiny space that make life worth living.