In this blogpost, I talked about the reaction of world leaders, powerful people and famous people, to the genocide in Gaza, in terms of “phases”:
Phase One: For the first approximately year and a half of the genocide, just keep deploying what I call the “Big Three” excuses, over, and over, and over, and over again.
“It’s complicated.” “We need to stay out of politics.”, and “Israel has a right to defend itself.”
And for a year and a half, that worked. If anyone ever questioned the genocide in Gaza, one of those in power would simply respond, “It’s okay, Israel has a right to complicatedly stay of politics, go back to sleep.”
But then, something changed. The fact that there was image, after image, after image of starving children, meant the “Israel has a right to defend itself” narrative completely fell apart, not that there was much holding it together to begin with. And then, Bono and Bob Geldof, everyone’s favourite celebrities who pretend to care about injustice, felt compelled to say something. For decades they’ve been telling us they care about starving children, and the hypocrisy of saying nothing about Gaza was just too clear for the world to see, so they felt compelled to say something.
And then it was like a floodgate opened. Generic Celebrity 185 said something about it. Generic Celebrity 1684 said something it. And then, to everyone’s surprise, Generic Celebrity 16859378504823-B-Z-270, who normally brands themselves as “good vibes, no politics” felt compelled to say something about it.
For a while, it seemed everyone was talking about Gaza. It seemed like the person who previously said, “You know, I’m all about me, and people in Gaza aren’t me, so they don’t interest me, because they’re not me,” would all of a sudden say, “Did you hear what happened in Giza! Oh my God, I hope all those pyramids are alright! Free Panama!”
We even had people that previously did not budge, budging. Ireland finally pulled out of the Eurovision. Thom Yorke has stated he will no longer play Israel, it’s anyone’s guess whether he’ll stick to that, but even him saying that is significant given how he quadrupled down on his Israel support previously. However, it was ambiguous whether or not this new state of things, was the tipping point where the world would finally demand that Israel stop committing mass slaughter, or whether or not we had entered what I called at the time the “Calls For Moderation” phase. Martin Luther King, and while he was talking about black liberation, I think his point can be applied to any movement for liberation, warned us about how dangerous, “moderation” can be:
“First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.”
So, during the time, only a few weeks ago, when every celebrity, from celebrity 485037495 to celebrity 12, was talking about the tears they cried for Gaza, I speculated that we had left Phase One of the genocide, which was, “Keep repeating the same excuse over and over again” to Phase Two, which was “Calls for moderation.” Oh you know, I’m very sad for the people in Giza and the North Bank, but, we can’t be too extreme you know! Anything that might actually help them is a step too far, we need moderation!
I expected one of two things would happen. Firstly, and most hopefully, that we would enter “Phase Three”, where governments, big buisiness, and other powerful people would be so pressured to stop the genocide that they would, you know, stop the genocide. The other possibility was that we would be stuck in “Phase Two” for a very long time. The “calls for moderation” thing is very effective. Just think of how long people have known about human made climate change, and the powers that be are still getting away with saying literally anything that might be done to mitigate it is too extreme. Phase Two can last a long time. Phase Two could last long enough for there to be literally nothing left of Gaza.
So those were the two possibilities I expected. The genocide ending, or the calls for moderation excuse to be extremely effective. What actually happened was not what I expected at all, we are into “Phase Three”, but it’s a different, and horrifying Phase Three than I thought it would be.
Not “Phase Three: The Genocide Ends, but Phrase Three: Amnesia.
Somehow, Gaza went from something that celebrities almost had to talk about for clout, to something nobody was talking about. How did this happen?
I’ve written before about while comparisons to 1984 are very, very overdone, I couldn’t help but compare what was happening in Gaza to 1984, because it was so apt:
Comparisons to 1984 are so overused, and used so much in contexts where it doesn’t make sense, that it reached the point where you’d expect people to say, “Big Brother says we have to drive on the left side of the road, it’s Orwellian I tell you!” But now I feel compelled to compare the current situation to George Orwell’s masterpiece once more, because, it’s just, so so apt. It’s like if it was any more apt, the aptness would explode, or something.
Since about that time, war had been literally continuous,
though strictly speaking it had not always been the same war. For
several months during his childhood there had been confused
street fighting in London itself, some of which he remembered
vividly. But to trace out the history of the whole period, to say
who was fighting whom at any given moment, would have been
utterly impossible, since no written record, and no spoken word,
ever made mention of any other alignment than the existing one.
At this moment, for example, in 1984 (if it was 1984), Oceania
was at war with Eurasia and in alliance with Eastasia. In no public
or private utterance was it ever admitted that the three powers
had at any time been grouped along different lines. Actually, as
Winston well knew, it was only four years since Oceania had been
at war with Eastasia and in alliance with Eurasia. But that was
merely a piece of furtive knowledge which he happened to possess
because his memory was not satisfactorily under control.
Officially the change of partners had never happened. Oceania
was at war with Eurasia: therefore Oceania had always been at
war with Eurasia. The enemy of the moment always represented
absolute evil, and it followed that any past or future agreement
with him was impossible.
That’s a quote from 1984. What most people remember from the book, is the torturing of poor Winston Smith until he is forced to believe what the party is telling him to believe. But this part of the book shows that The Party didn’t always have to use torture to get people to comply. If a previous narrative wasn’t working for them, they simply destroyed that narrative, removed all traces of it, all record of it. So all that mattered was the current narrative. Oceania was at war with Eurasia and in alliance with Eastasia. Anything that was said previously, or if anyone witnessed anything previously that contradicted the current narrative, it didn’t matter. Oceania was at war with Eurasia and in alliance with Eastasia, and that was the end of it.
There is a ceasefire in Gaza.
But hang on, didn’t I hear something about Israel breaking the ceasefire?
There is a ceasefire in Gaza.
But what about all the images of people starving I saw just a few weeks ago, don’t they still need food?
There is a ceasefire in Gaza.
Regardless of whether the shooting and bombing has stopped, shouldn’t Nehenyahu and many other Israelis still be punished for their crimes?
THERE IS A CEASEFIRE IN GAZA.
But shouldn’t there still be….
THERE IS A CEASEFIRE IN GAZA!!!!!
It was the most absolutely terrifying outcome. Gaza has dropped out of media coverage, it is no longer a topic spoken about by previously “apolitical” celebrities, and I’ve even seen it being talked about less in conversation. And financial contributions to help the people of Gaza are also in freefall. Pro-Palestine activist Sim Kern anticipated this a few months ago, which they talk about in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADvb_mKfxz4
It’s truly terrifying. So much work, effort, and sacrifice, to bring us to the point where everyone was talking about Gaza, and all those in power had to do to reverse that, was to simply decide it wouldn’t be something talked about anymore. It was that simple.
I don’t understand how anyone could forget Gaza. I don’t understand how anyone could forget the last phone call of Hind Rajab. The images of people starving to death. The fact that in Gaza, entire extended families being wiped out, is normality as opposed to the exception to the rule. I don’t know how anyone could forget. And yet it’s been forgotten.
I wonder is what we’re experiencing now the most crushing blow to the pro-Palestine movement. It’s like the western governments were able to just use an amnesia ray on the population, and, they forgot. There’s no point in pretending it’s not demoralizing. Because it really is.
But we can’t give up. Not because fighting back against this is going to be easy, because it most certainly won’t be. But because we can’t let this precedent stand. This precedent where those in power just say “Forget!” and that’s all it takes. There is no stopping them if they can manage to pull this off. If they succeed in this, they can just make people forget all about how ICE is terrorizing the American population. If they succeed in this, those proved guilty by the Epstein files will walk away scot free, because all those in power have to do is just say, “Forget.”
Do not forget Gaza. If it’s that easy for those in power, then there is no restraint on their power, and that is absolutely terrifying.
“‘Do you remember,’ he went on, ‘writing in your diary, “Freedom is the freedom to say that there is no ceasefire in Gaza”?’
‘Yes,’ said Winston.
O’Brien held up a map, depicting Gaza.
‘Is there a ceasefire in Gaza, Winston?’
‘No. Even if the shooting and bombing had stopped, which it hasn’t, what would a ceasefire even mean given that people are still dying as a consequence of the horror that was inflicted on Gaza for over two years?’
‘And if the party says there is a ceasefire in Gaza, is there?’
‘No.’
The word ended in a gasp of pain. The needle of the dial had shot up to fifty-five. The sweat had sprung out all over Winston’s body. The air tore into his lungs and issued again in deep groans which even by clenching his teeth he could not stop. O’Brien watched him, the map of Gaza still extended. He drew back the lever. This time the pain was only slightly eased.
‘Is there a ceasefire in Gaza Winston?’
‘No. The ceasefire has been violated multiple times, there is no ceasefire.’
The needle went up to sixty.
‘Is there a ceasefire in Gaza?’
‘No! No! What else can I say? No!’
The needle must have risen again, but he did not look at it. The heavy, stern face and the map of Gaza filled his vision. The map stood up before his eyes like a pillar, enormous, blurry, and seeming to vibrate, but unmistakably depicting a place where there was no ceasefire.
‘Is there a ceasefire, Winston?’
‘No! Stop it, stop it! How can you go on? No! No!’
‘Is there a ceasefire, Winston?’
‘Yes! Yes! Yes!’
‘No, Winston, that is no use. You are lying. You still think there is no ceasefire. Is there a ceasefire, please?’
‘No! yes! No! Anything you like. Only stop it, stop the pain!’”
Ponderings Of An Autist 