It's been a few weeks since Israel's deadly bombardment of Gaza. Similar to the last few cycles of devastation, there is plenty of talk about lifting certain parts of the blockade, bringing in a slew of international aid donors to come and do some face-lifting to parts of the Strip. The old chorus is playing again, circa 2008 and 2012, talks of political unity between Palestinian factions, bringing Israel to the Hague, and some Gulf state cash for rebuilding Gaza neighbourhood by neighbourhood. We've heard it all before, and it all seems a precursor for another round of savage assault by Israel to level Gaza back to the ground, God forbid. Don't get me wrong though, the scale of the destruction this time has been unprecedented, look at the video below to get an idea:
US Secretary of State John Kerry is also going through the motions. At a recent Gaza Donors Conference, he had the temerity to praise the enabler President Sisi of Egypt, and describe the conditions in Gaza as 'difficult'. Conveniently left out of his speech is why Gaza needs to be rebuilt in the first place, as if the entire area was hit by a meteorite from outer space.
Another disturbing aspect of this whole scenario is the rather muted response of the online community, particular the Muslim community, now that the bombs have stopped dropping. Its fairly predictable but disappointing nonetheless. In the midst of the massacre, all you could see posted by the army of Facebook warriors was pictures of Israeli barbarism and dead Palestinians, along with pledges to boycott this brand or that as a way to cause a financial pinch to the oppressor. Now that the rockets and gunfire have temporarily abated, its back to selfie mode or the occasional post about ISIS or Ebola. The seeming strong sense of solidarity for the Palestinian cause has lost much of its sting, at a time when sustained engagement can actually make more of a difference.
It is a natural reaction to feel a sense of empathy and outrage when we see a people besieged. If we didn't feel that, we could have justification to question our humanity. But beyond the necessary prayers and pain, we need to train ourselves to think beyond the online medium.
This problem cuts to a larger topic beyond just Israel-Palestine. The delivery of the modern mass media is geared for the scatterbrain whose attention span lasts only as long as the news stays on the headlines. It tends to arouse our emotions when it needs to, and drop us back to complacency when it needs to. As if by remote control, Muslims especially seem so easily manipulable and taken for a ride when the situation serves it. We need to move beyond this and channel our passions to effective action. Otherwise, we risk being a dilettante.
The vast majority of online commentators are not by by any stretch activists or committed to a cause. Their commentary is more informed by opposition to something rather than true support of a higher goal. But for a small minority, their commitment to a cause is genuine, and they are able to sustain the momentum in keeping informed. To this few, it is critical that they understand that being an armchair critic is of little value.
Activism implies feet-on-the-ground work. It implies dedicating time for research to understand an issue in depth. It implies feeling the true human ramifications of a problem rather than mouthing platitudes. It implies organising oneself, then your friends and your community. It implies putting your heart and soul in what you do to be sincere. It implies a whole lot more than just a post or a Tweet, which are supplementary at best.
This is not to suggest that online spreading of information is not a vital part of modern activism. Instant access to facts on the ground has tremendous potential. Information wars now occur outside the mainstream TV and radio media, and it is important that counter arguments are presented to propaganda that is proliferated online. Just in this recent Gaza conflict, for example, Israel army reservists actively took part in an online Hasbara campaign (translated as 'explaining' but in reality just pure propaganda) to effectively sell their war. This sort of deliberate misinformation has to be responded to.
But activism should not end there. It is healthy to be dedicated towards a cause beyond oneself. But try and emphasize the 'active' in activism and get off the keyboard once in a while. Not only does it save yourself from being a seasonal hypocrite but you will find yourself so much more effective at what you do. Listen to some lecture, organise an event, collect some donations, talk to your community...just put some power behind the words you type. And I say this to myself before others.
US Secretary of State John Kerry is also going through the motions. At a recent Gaza Donors Conference, he had the temerity to praise the enabler President Sisi of Egypt, and describe the conditions in Gaza as 'difficult'. Conveniently left out of his speech is why Gaza needs to be rebuilt in the first place, as if the entire area was hit by a meteorite from outer space.
Another disturbing aspect of this whole scenario is the rather muted response of the online community, particular the Muslim community, now that the bombs have stopped dropping. Its fairly predictable but disappointing nonetheless. In the midst of the massacre, all you could see posted by the army of Facebook warriors was pictures of Israeli barbarism and dead Palestinians, along with pledges to boycott this brand or that as a way to cause a financial pinch to the oppressor. Now that the rockets and gunfire have temporarily abated, its back to selfie mode or the occasional post about ISIS or Ebola. The seeming strong sense of solidarity for the Palestinian cause has lost much of its sting, at a time when sustained engagement can actually make more of a difference.
It is a natural reaction to feel a sense of empathy and outrage when we see a people besieged. If we didn't feel that, we could have justification to question our humanity. But beyond the necessary prayers and pain, we need to train ourselves to think beyond the online medium.
This problem cuts to a larger topic beyond just Israel-Palestine. The delivery of the modern mass media is geared for the scatterbrain whose attention span lasts only as long as the news stays on the headlines. It tends to arouse our emotions when it needs to, and drop us back to complacency when it needs to. As if by remote control, Muslims especially seem so easily manipulable and taken for a ride when the situation serves it. We need to move beyond this and channel our passions to effective action. Otherwise, we risk being a dilettante.
The vast majority of online commentators are not by by any stretch activists or committed to a cause. Their commentary is more informed by opposition to something rather than true support of a higher goal. But for a small minority, their commitment to a cause is genuine, and they are able to sustain the momentum in keeping informed. To this few, it is critical that they understand that being an armchair critic is of little value.
Activism implies feet-on-the-ground work. It implies dedicating time for research to understand an issue in depth. It implies feeling the true human ramifications of a problem rather than mouthing platitudes. It implies organising oneself, then your friends and your community. It implies putting your heart and soul in what you do to be sincere. It implies a whole lot more than just a post or a Tweet, which are supplementary at best.
This is not to suggest that online spreading of information is not a vital part of modern activism. Instant access to facts on the ground has tremendous potential. Information wars now occur outside the mainstream TV and radio media, and it is important that counter arguments are presented to propaganda that is proliferated online. Just in this recent Gaza conflict, for example, Israel army reservists actively took part in an online Hasbara campaign (translated as 'explaining' but in reality just pure propaganda) to effectively sell their war. This sort of deliberate misinformation has to be responded to.
But activism should not end there. It is healthy to be dedicated towards a cause beyond oneself. But try and emphasize the 'active' in activism and get off the keyboard once in a while. Not only does it save yourself from being a seasonal hypocrite but you will find yourself so much more effective at what you do. Listen to some lecture, organise an event, collect some donations, talk to your community...just put some power behind the words you type. And I say this to myself before others.
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