The Coronation of Kamala Harris
and Palestinians go under the bus
Dear Friends,
My Facebook feed is filling up with posts uncritically anointing Kamala Harris as the "savior of our democracy." Or a feminist heroine. Or as the archetype of the compassionate, strong woman.
One post that came across my feed declared, “I absolutely support Kamala Harris' liberal, progressive, inclusive, harmonious, accepting, grace-filled, positive messaging, policies, and politics.”
I have to admit that I feel somewhat broken-hearted. I'm not telling anyone how to vote. I'm asking why some of you won't look with eyes wide open and pursue more skillful courses of action.
Harris and Israel are like this🤞🏼
The bottom line is that Kamala Harris is one of the main architects of the U.S. support of the genocide in Gaza. Her press secretary has said that on the matter of Israel, “there is no daylight between the President and Vice President nor has there been."
During her time in the senate combined with her time as Vice President, Harris has received more than five million dollars in pro-Israel contributions. She has called for an "outward display" of more empathy for Palestinians and has tended to sound more empathetic. However, she has never called for defunding Israel or cutting off military aid. She has never called what is happening a genocide or called Israel an apartheid state. And, along with Biden and others, she is in violation of international and national laws and in violation of the most recent order from the I.C.J. which requires all member nations of the U.N. to stop giving aid to Israel.
In short, Harris is slightly more empathetic than Biden toward Palestinians and ever-so-slightly more aggressive in pressuring Netanyahu, but still hand-in-glove with Israel and with Biden in giving ongoing military aid to support the genocide. And I'm not a lawyer, but it seems that along with others in the Biden administration, she could be charged with war crimes.
Let’s demand what’s actually right and build a future we can actually live in
Last time I checked, feminists and saviors aren't okay with materially supporting the genociding of nearly 200,000 people,1 the majority of them women and children. They don't give material aid and political cover to misogynistic, racist governments of apartheid states.
At a minimum, we need to be applying ourselves to letting Harris know that she won't have our vote unless she pledges to obey international and national law, respect the I.C.J.'s order, and bring a halt to arms shipments to Israel.
Now is the time when we can do this. Once we give her our vote, we won't have as much sway over her actions.
Take a long, hard look in the mirror, humans
Witnessing day after day the abject depravity being inflicted on Palestinians at the hands of the Israeli army has forced me to reexamine my concepts of human and humanity. It's been painful, but I don't believe we serve anyone by ignoring, hiding, or softening the reality of our circumstances. It's not a time for wishful thinking or just wanting to feel good about a candidate dammit!
And it’s never been a good time for handing over our lives to some fantasy of a savior. That’s part of the bad behavior that has got us into this mess.
What is called for is to engage our critical thinking and actually work toward a collective future that is, for once, collectively beneficial.
We humans are facing an extinction-level situation of our own making. We must look at ourselves in the mirror without blinking if we are to survive, and then take bold steps to move decisively in a different direction.
Both Israelis and Palestinians are live-streaming this genocide, one side with depraved glee, the other with desperate pleas for help. U.S. complicity is on naked display. All told, this has given us an opportunity to look and look hard. We look away at our own peril.
with infinite love,
Shambhavi
The Lancet, probably the most respected medical journal in the world, recently estimated the actual number of Palestinians who have been killed, either directly or indirectly (by dying of thirst, hunger, and disease) at 186,000 or more.
My initial response at the news was concern at the potential for scaling-up war crimes and fascist policies under the blessing and with the cover of a woman of color. Of course I want to live to see the meaningful and unhindered participation of women and other marginalized genders in politics. But girl boss imperialism is not a win. As always, appreciate your insights.
It's obvious, or should be, that ONLY people who have fully assimilated the values of Patriarchy and Empire are going to be allowed to play the game of government at the highest levels. If queer people, or women, or people of color - pumping their fists for "progress" - can be found to front for it, then what a nice PR win for the Empire!