Ah yes, but Chris Hedges and Martin Luther King would never be elected
President of the US. They have moral power and the power of speech and
prophecy. On The Real News, there is a set of interviews done with Hedges in
2013. It's amazing to hear those interviews in 2017, how prescient they were.
But the people who will have power in our current autocracy, are those who act
as symbols for the public's aspirations, but who are pliant and who are capable
of compromise, people like Obama or Harris or Corey Booker, people who look
like black people and talk like progressives, and take their orders from those
who fund them and from public relations experts. But if you think about it,
about what you've had to do in your own working life, as I think about what I
had to do in mine, it becomes evident that for most of us, financial survival
requires all sorts of compromises. I worked in the adoption field and some of
the agencies, adoption facilitators, and lawyers with whom I associated, were
rather questionable in what they did. I did have a line which I would not
cross, one of my own construction. But no one who is in business in the real
world, is pure. And politicians are in business.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Friday, December 29, 2017 10:45 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: By Clasping Hands with Netanyahu, Sen. Kamala
Harris Reveals Herself as Just Another 'Progressive Except For Palestine'
Frank, and all believers that we Humans are all the same under the skin...
Despite gender, color, place of birth, left handed or right handed, we are all
members of the Human Race. As such, we Humans are both Earth's greatest hope
for survival as we know it, and Earth's greatest threat to the existence of
Life as we know it.
We, the billions of average workers, must choose where to place our loyalties.
Do we endorse Violence and Greed? Living for the "Now"?
Willing to sacrifice all Earth's bounty, the world as we know it, Just to
emulate our ruthless Masters?
Or do we toss in with those masses of men, women and children struggling to
carve a life out of the mud left behind by the Master's loggers who cut away
all Earth' protection? Or those whose homes were blown away in the heaviest
winds ever recorded, and the land covered by foul flood waters, until there
will be nothing to return "home" to.
The choice is simple; turning to the needs of the many, or licking the boot of
the Master. But once each of us decides our road to travel, we must then put
action to our choice. So, don't say you support the desperate needs of the
billions, but still smile and ooze platitudes to the Ruling Butchers.
Senator Camala Harris is not our problem. Nor is she a Savior.
Camala Harris is a victim, just as each of us who waffles between choices, is.
Senator Camala Harris, just like President Barack Obama, represents what
happens when we try to serve two Masters at the same time. Sure, these are
good people, kind to their friends, loving and caring to their families, but I
would far rather stand beside Martin Luther King, Jr. and Paul Robeson and
Chris Hedges, and all those who put their lives on the line for what they
believed.
I understand that playing it safe is a tried and true method of survival.
Camala Harris is certainly a survivor, and I can even accept that. But not
when her survival is of more importance to her than the lives of the political
prisoners in Gaza Strip. Or those Brown faces in our own Racial Prisons. I
respect Harris and Obama for clawing their way to the top of a White Man's
Land, when they are colored Dark. But if all they did was to care for
themselves, and their families, then I don't want them watching my back, or
that of anyone I care for.
When we find ourselves nodding and agreeing that the likes of Camala Harris
would make a good candidate to run for president, then we need to find some way
to have an attitude adjustment. Because we, those who care for the Workers of
the World, have no Players in this Game.
Sure, there are those who we support because they do less harm than others, but
any who have the financial backing and the approval of the Ruling Class, are
tainted, and will turn on us when the chips are down. Even if they cry openly
as they do it.
Carl Jarvis
On 12/29/17, Frank Ventura <frank.ventura@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Carl, this is why I have always had a problem with the nuclear
disarmament movement. It is OK to wave the "no nukes" banner as long
as you never whisper a word about Israel.
Frank
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2017 8:26 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: By Clasping Hands with Netanyahu, Sen.
Kamala Harris Reveals Herself as Just Another 'Progressive Except For
Palestine'
Shame on Senator Kamala Harris. But if you remember only one point
from this article, forget Kamala Harris and recall the words of James
Baldwin who famously wrote that, "The state of Israel was not created
for the salvation of the Jews; it was created for the salvation of the
Western interests."
It seems to me that a large number of Black Politicians have
compromised their long standing social values in order to appear to be
unquestionable, Patriotic Americans. In so doing, they have been
rendered useless to the cause of Black Justice in America, or Human
Respect among the down trodden billions of the world.
Carl Jarvis
On 12/27/17, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Alternet
Published on Alternet (https://www.alternet.org)
Home > By Clasping Hands with Netanyahu, Sen. Kamala Harris Reveals
Herself as Just Another 'Progressive Except For Palestine'
By Clasping Hands with Netanyahu, Sen. Kamala Harris Reveals Herself
as Just Another 'Progressive Except For Palestine'
By Hamzah Raza [1] / AlterNet [2]
December 18, 2017, 10:43 AM GMT
As the second black female senator in American history, Kamala Harris
has been a pioneer in American politics. Many consider her to be a
serious contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.
Harris has even been branded [3] by the New York Times as a "'Top
Cop' in the era of Black Lives Matter," a tip of the hat to the
former California attorney general's progressive politics and support for
issues of social justice.
But
while Harris has been praised as someone who fights racism in the
United States, some critics feel she has failed to be consistent in
that approach abroad.
On November 20, California Sen. Kamala Harris met [4] with Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Through the meeting, Harris
ignored the avalanche of officially sanctioned [5] anti-black racism
in Israel, turned her back on historic black solidarity with the
Palestinian cause and ignored the human rights demands of
Palestinians living under apartheid. She revealed herself as the
latest in a long line of "Progressives Except for Palestine," and one
of the most egregious examples given her personal and political
background.
The day before Netanyahu's meeting with Harris, the Israeli prime
minister announced [9] a plan to expel 40,000 non-Jewish African
migrants, branding the asylum seekers as "infiltrators" whose
existence poses a threat to Israel's "Jewish character." This came
after years of anti-black protests in Israel where Israeli
politicians across the political spectrum, including those from
Netanyahu's own party, made statements referring [10] to African
immigrants as a "cancer" and "emitting a bad stench" and "likely to
cause all kinds of diseases."
Historical black solidarity with Palestine
For over half a century, black Americans have stood in solidarity
with the Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation. The Student
Nonviolent Coordinating Committee [11], the Black Panther Party [12],
and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference [13] were all groups
that consistently stood in solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
Malcolm X [14], Angela Davis [15] and Stokely Carmichael [11] were
passionate opponents of Zionism and James Baldwin famously wrote [16]
that, "The state of Israel was not created for the salvation of the
Jews; it was created for the salvation of the Western interests."
In the present day, black intellectuals such as Michelle Alexander
[17], Eddie Glaude [18], Alice Walker [19] and Cornel West have all
endorsed a movement of boycott, divestment and sanctions, or BDS, to
pressure the state of Israel to comply with international human
rights conventions. West has referred [20] to the dire humanitarian
crisis in Gaza as "the hood on steroids." Athlete Colin Kaepernick
has endorsed [21] the BDS movement.
The
Movement for Black Lives platform supported the BDS movement and
condemned Israel as an apartheid state. Black Lives Matter activists
have been taking yearly solidarity trips to Palestine since 2014. The
most recent trip included [22] rapper Vic Mensa, who is currently on
tour with Jay Z.
Black
artists such as Snoop Dogg, Future and Lauryn Hill have refused [23]
to perform in Israel, in cooperation with the BDS movement's call for
cultural boycott of Israel.
Black American solidarity with Palestine has been accompanied by a
broader international black solidarity with Palestine. The African
Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, ratified by 53 of 54 African
nations, calls [24] for the elimination of Zionism as necessary to
bringing about an end to racism.
A week after Harris' meeting with Netanyahu, Mandla Mandela, the
grandson of Nelson Mandela and Member of Parliament in South Africa,
visited occupied Palestine and stated [25] that "Palestinians are
being subjected to the worst version of apartheid." Mandela cited the
words of his grandfather, who said that, "Our freedom is incomplete
without the freedom of the Palestinians."
Israel's racist demographic engineering
At a speech at AIPAC in 2016, Harris cited [26] her biracial
background as her inspiration for supporting the US sending tens of
billions of dollars in aid to the Israeli military. Yet the Israeli
government demands its right to engineer demographic purity through
violence, walls and laws that have forbidden Palestinian residency in
certain areas and even restrict marriages between Palestinian
residents of the West Bank and Gaza and Israeli citizens.
Her opportunism mirrors that of another Democratic black senator in
Congress, Cory Booker. Last December, I attended [27] a town hall
with Booker. After the town hall, a constituent asked Booker about
illegal settlements in the West Bank that were destroying his
family's village in Palestine. In response, Booker brought the
conversation around to Israel's "right to defend herself." When I
asked Booker if he considered Israel to be an apartheid state, he
responded "no."
Booker is one of the leading recipients of pro-Israel cash, which
goes a long way toward explaining how he can so shamelessly square
his pro-Israel politics with rhetorical support for civil rights in
America.
Progressive Democrats rally for Palestinian human rights while Harris
turns her back
By clasping hands with Netanyahu, Harris stood against the historical
momentum for justice that is even sweeping through the halls of Congress.
This past June, 35 members of Congress wrote [28] a letter in support
of Issa Amro, an activist from the occupied city of Hebron who has
been lauded as the Palestinian Gandhi for his nonviolent approach to
confronting Israeli occupation. Israel's occupation authorities had
put Amro on trial for 18 trumped-up charges, ranging from "insulting
a soldier" to "assault."
Amnesty
International has stated that "the deluge of charges against Issa
Amro do not stand up to any scrutiny," describing the charges as
"baseless and politically motivated." In the letter, the 35 House
Democrats defended Amro's right to peacefully protest.
On November 14, 10 House Democrats co-sponsored [29] the Promoting
Human Rights by Ending Military Detention of Palestinian Children
Act, which requires the Secretary of State to annually certify that
no American tax dollars given in the form of military aid to Israel
are used to "support military detention, interrogation, abuse, or
ill-treatment of Palestinian children."
In an unprecedented move on November 29, 10 Democratic senators wrote
[30] a letter to Benjamin Netanyahu urging him to put a halt to the
Israeli government's planned demolition of the Palestinian village of
Susiya, in order to create yet another illegal settlement. Cory
Booker and Kamala Harris did not sign the letter.
As activists, intellectuals, entertainers, and progressive forces
within the Democratic Party began to advocate for Palestinians living
under occupation, Harris remains a prisoner of her own opportunism.
Desperate to remain in good standing with the powerful pro-Israel
lobby, Harris has attempted to reconcile her progressive politics at
home with her support for an apartheid regime that is responsible for
racism and violence against communities of color abroad.
Hamzah Raza is a sophomore at Vanderbilt University in Nashville,
Tennessee.
Follow him on Twitter @hr609.
Share on Facebook Share
Share on Twitter Tweet
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Source URL:
https://www.alternet.org/grayzone-project/kamala-harris-progressive-except-p
alestine
Links:
[1] https://www.alternet.org/authors/hamzah-raza
[2] http://alternet.org
[3]
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/29/magazine/kamala-harris-a-top-cop-in-the-e
ra-of-black-lives-matter.html
[4] https://twitter.com/netanyahu/status/932684579097534465?lang=en
[5]
https://www.alternet.org/grayzone-project/israel-white-supremacy-anti-black-
racism-african-refugees-ethiopian-jews
[6] https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[7] https://t.co/L5qdcgwWG0
[8]
https://twitter.com/netanyahu/status/932684579097534465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[9]
http://www.dw.com/en/israel-to-deport-40000-african-refugees-without-their-c
onsent/a-41443084
[10]
https://www.thenation.com/article/israels-new-racism-persecution-african-mig
rants-holy-land/
[11] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z0Etv9BPE4
[12]
http://blacklivesmatteralliancebroward.org/why-the-black-panther-party-pales
tine-solidarity-is-still-relevant-today/
[13]
http://www.nytimes.com/1979/08/21/archives/civil-rights-leader-backs-cause-o
f-plo-after-meeting-at-un.html
[14] http://www.malcolm-x.org/docs/gen_zion.htm
[15]
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora-barrows-friedman/angela-davis-supp
ort-bds-and-palestine-will-be-free
[16] https://www.thenation.com/article/open-letter-born-again/
[17] http://fpif.org/gaza-ferguson-exposing-toolbox-racist-repression/
[18]
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/usaama-alazami/princetons-faculty-petiti_b_61
29440.html
[19]
https://www.democracynow.org/2012/9/28/palestine_conditions_more_brutal_than
_in
[20]
http://portside.org/2015-03-09/cornel-west-gaza-hood-steroids-thanks-israel
[21]
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/michael-f-brown/colin-kaepernick-pays-p
rice-standing-justice
[22]
https://www.facebook.com/PalestineInAmerica/photos/pcb.1510906112332666/1510
905985666012/?type=3
[23]
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20171030-growing-number-of-hip-hop-artists
-cancel-gigs-in-israel-report/
[24] http://www.achpr.org/instruments/achpr/
[25]
https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Mandla-Mandela-Israel-Imposing-Worst-
Version-of-Apartheid-20171129-0003.html
[26] https://twitter.com/zaidjilani/status/862028753433702400
[27]
https://www.alternet.org/grayzone-project/meet-cory-bookers-top-donor-group-
right-wing-islamophobic-pro-israel-outfit-backs
[28]
https://www.fcnl.org/updates/35-reps-stand-up-for-palestinian-human-rights-9
10
[29] http://mondoweiss.net/2017/11/palestinian-introduced-congress/
[30]
https://theintercept.com/2017/11/29/in-unprecedented-move-ten-democratic-sen
ators-write-to-israeli-leader-netanyahu-and-demand-he-halt-demolition-of-pal
estinian-village/
[31] mailto:corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=Typo on By Clasping Hands
with
Netanyahu, Sen. Kamala Harris Reveals Herself as Just Another
'Progressive Except For
Palestine'&body=URL:http://www.alternet.org/grayzone-project/kamala-har
ris-progressive-except-palestine
[32] https://www.alternet.org/
[33] https://www.alternet.org/%2Bnew_src%2B