(I dance this dance in defiance of my government who suggest that wanting equal support and assistance for Palestinian people, that even waving a Palestinian flag will be seen as supporting Hamas. I could not be there at the rally in London, so instead I did my dance practice wearing Palestinian colours to some beautiful pro Palestinian songs of Freedom. This is Ounadikum by Ahmad Kaabour)
And here is a piece I wrote a few days ago...
ARE ALL LIVES EQUAL, OR NOT?
Yesterday, on my way into work, I witnessed something so horrific that it made me want to vomit in my mouth and resulted in an interesting train of thought that I feel a need to share.
Trigger warning because it is an unpleasant description, so don't read on if you're not feeling able to think about the fragility of life and the reality of death...
I saw a bird, a pigeon to be exact, sat on the road, about 9am in city centre. I could see buses and cars and stopped, freeze frame in shock and horror of what I knew was probably about to occur. It got hit - by the front and back wheels of us bus - but not square on either time. Just clipped either side rendering it seriously injured and flailing around in a terrified fashion. I was frozen to the spot with my hand over my mouth but shouting no!!! As it proceeded to be hit by 2 cars (both doing the same as the bus), leaving it flapping and flailing and panicking - knowing perhaps that it would soon die, until finally another bus came and hit it full on, ending its 20 seconds or so of terror, pain, and fear.
I hadn't eaten but I dry retched at the side of the road and I had to sit down for a while before going into work. It was shocking to see and I felt really emotional for the rest of the day. It wasn't simply the fact it had been killed - it was a) the fact that it was drawn out and I could only imagine how utterly terrifying it was for the poor thing and b) the fact that really, no one cares because it is just a bird - no, scratch that, quite specifically it's a pigeon - one of the lowest ranks of bird we have here in the UK, so they are just viewed as pests. Personally, I don't particularly like them because they scavenge: nick the chips from your take out box or beg constantly in big, somethings threatening groups. Many folks here don't like them because of this about them.
It made me think firstly about the hierarchy we have, societally, amongst animals. I say this with a large dose of guilt because I eat meat. I want to add into this as a way of lessening my guilt that, probably 2/3 of my diet is plant based now. I don't consume dairy and eat meat much less than I used to, but the truth is I'm still a part of that industry. I do my bit - for the sake of the planet, my health and because I agree that the meat industry is cruel, but I'm still a part of it.
Would it not be like saying, I'm not racist - I aim to not use racist language or engage in racial discrimination 2/3 of the time. Better than nothing but doesn't quite hit, does it?
The thought occurred to me, if that had been a dog or a cat on the road not only would more people have noticed but someone might have done something... Stopped the traffic. Removed it from the road. Called the authorities perhaps. And not just because it was bigger than a pigeon (although not all cats and dogs are bigger than pigeons tbf, my cat isn't). And not just because it may possibly be a pet and 'belong' to someone. But because socially, we have decided that cats and dogs are more important. More deserving of life: love and care than pigeons. And beyond that, we've decided that a whole host of different animals may not deserve to be hit by a bus, but that it is perfectly acceptable for us to kill and eat them.
I'll stop here for a second because I can hear the many vegans and vegetarians out there rolling their eyes and internally or externally shouting "have you only just realised that?" No would be the answer. I haven't. But there was something about seeing that bird yesterday that bought those thoughts, and many others into sharp focus.
If it was my cat, I'd hope someone treated her with some respect and either buried her somewhere or called whatever number one calls when they see a dead animal by the roadside that is socially given some importance because either it is domesticated and BELONGS to a human or is bred for the purposes of food and therefore BELONGS to someone.
It has made me feel quite sick thinking about all of this today (my own faulty perspective and culpability perhaps) and I am going to look at cutting my animal products back more significantly, with a view to moving towards being completely plant based. It will be my journey though and I'm not seeking criticism over this please.
Another thing this made me reflect upon is how we as human beings, as societies, create hierarchies amongst ourselves too and the catastrophic effects that has.
If we can, as a society, do speciesism, then racism is surely a mere hop, a skip, and a jump away and really, do those 2 isms not come from a similar place - notions of entitlement?
Racism just feels, unfortunately, like part of humanity right now, as in it crosses all nations and arenas of life. The current crisis in Gaza is unfortunately a prime example of how devastating it is when we create hierarchies amongst humans. Because right now, we have the leaders of 2 of the most powerful nations on the planet: Biden for US and Sunak for UK, both giving their unequivocal support for not simply Israeli citizens but for the State of Israel AND not giving the same support or compassion to Palestinian people. We have a British media that is so obviously biased in its empathy towards Israel because regardless of the overwhelming statistics that show that more Palestinian people have been murdered than Israeli. Despite knowing that the IDF is so much more powerful than Hamas. It has been decided, somehow, that the lives of Israeli people are more worthy than those of Palestinians. That aggression and terror from Hamas is entirely unacceptable yet aggression and terror from IDF is supported, funded even.
I could write about the political backdrop and context of the conflict. Talk about how there seems to be some level of amnesia going on because although I do not support terrorism, Hamas developed as a REACTION to the terrorism perpetuated, for decades, on Palestinian people by the State of Israel. But I'm not going to get into that. If you know. You know. If you choose not to see that, I have no energy to force that learning upon people and really, it no longer is the main point because Hamas and the State of Israel do not represent the wishes of their people, they are both engaged in terrorism and that cannot be justified. My main point of focus here is that no one should have to live in fear. No mother should have to grieve the death of a child or children. No child should be orphaned, frightened, and alone because 2 terrorist groups are fighting it out. And it should not matter which God they pray to or what colour their skin is but unfortunately, for the brown, Muslim, Palestinians the Rhetoric coming out of Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak's mouths casts them in the light of that pigeon flailing around under the bus. As simply less deserving of not only their protection but also their basic empathy and compassion. And what does that say to their respective nations? And where does that leave them?
Saying Israel has the right to defend itself, including utilising methods that break international law (collective punishment) is like saying that we as humans have the right to kill a fly that annoys us, because, you know, it's just a fly and we are superior, no? Bad analogy perhaps (because that IS completely socially acceptable) but it feels like we have reached a point where Palestinian lives are being discussed in terms that removes their humanity and value. In the eyes of Rishi and Joe they are simply collateral and in the minds of the brainless public who follow this rhetoric without unpicking it, they are just numbers, the other, some random brown people who do not deserve to be seen as human. Basically flies. Or pigeons.
When I shout Free Palestine and Solidarity with Palestinians, that is NOT because I have no empathy or compassion for the Israeli civilians that have also suffered over the years and in this recent episode of violence. I do. I want a ceasefire (as many Israeli Jewish people I see coming out and pleading for also). I want an end to the bloodshed, regardless of the colour of body that blood is coming from, it needs to stop. But the reality is, the Israeli people have a very powerful government, they have the UK and US government backing them (the latter financially and with weapons) and it is not that I do not support their right to live free of fear and terror, I am simply supporting those who on the world stage appear to have been left alone and defenseless. Because I do not want to stand by and just watch the potential ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people in Gaza, which is where we are headed unless this is turned around soon. I will not be one of those people in the distant future saying
"well, how could we have known better? We were made to view them as pigeons - it wasn't our fault..."
Please, please, please. This is a matter of urgency. We must push as a united front on an international level for a ceasefire now. And no, it's not as simple as being on the right side of history, it is about what that will do to our global consciousness if we allow this to unfold to its natural end. Natural as in, if we do not intervene we will witness the final stage in the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from this region. Murdered or displaced, but gone.
