Democrats argue that Trump, who was very in favor of Israel during his presidency, would be even worse for the people of Gaza than Biden, who has totally enabled Netanyahu to do whatever he wants. However, by the time the election rolls around, there won’t be anything left of Gaza for Trump to make worse.
What Will Be Left of Gaza for Trump To Make Worse?
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication, WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal, a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "The Stringer."
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The response in the U.S. to what’s being done in Gaza has been a few people being hauled off for disrupting some government meetings that almost no one cares about in the first place. That is, the standard non-response response that the left engages in — attack the appendix, the most vital organ in the entire body.
By the time Trump’s back in office, it’ll all be over but the condo-opening ceremonies. Biden will get the blame (rightly) for not simply telling Israel to stand down or kiss good-bye to all our aid packages. Trump will simply put that nice fresh coat of whitewash on the whole thing: “It wasn’t Israel. It was Biden. Now that all the Gazans have gone away, everything is awesome.”
It hardly seems fair to attack Code Pink for their admittedly largely symbolic efforts, Alex. What we are looking at here is that the US government is completely insulated from any feedback from those who object to its actions, and too big and well-guarded to be brought down by much of anything short of a barrage of Russian or Chinese missiles. I wish I knew what to do, but I don’t. Got anything better up your sleeve than snark about Medea Benjamin et al?
Oddly enough, I wasn’t even thinking of Code Pink specifically when I wrote that. I was thinking of the entire disjointed “protest movement.” From Occupy Wall Street to Greta Thunberg and all the people politely filing over to the “Freedom Zones” during Pres. Cheney’s reign. I was thinking of the tumbleweeds that rolled through the streets after Roe v. Wade was taken out back and shot in the face.
But, OK, let me focus on Code Pink. Remember Greto Garbo in “Two-Faced Woman”? The review of her performance? “It’s like seeing your mother drunk.” It is extraordinarily hard to use comedy to set up a dramatic point. One of the universals about what makes comedy bad? When the comedian tells the joke, doesn’t get a laugh, and then tells it again. That’s what the American left has been doing ESR (ever since Reagan). We’ve tried the prat fall, the cream pie in the face, the exploding cigar, the banana skin improbably resting on the I-beam being lifted through the air by a crane. All in the name of trying to wake people out of their lumpen stupor. Roe v. Wade is gone, and the people who’ve been trying the pink hat gimmick since 2002 are still telling the same joke, over and over and over.
What would I do? “Doctor, it hurts when I do this.”
“Then don’t do that.”
We need to try something else. Perhaps we start by looking at what worked in the past. The Montgomery Bus Boycott succeeded because the vast majority of riders were black. And when they all stopped taking the buses, the economic effect was immediate. It took a year, but money won. Money always wins. ACT UP was successful because they realized they had no other options — silence = death. ACT UP combined the dramatic with the economic cudgel of a boycott, too.
Okay, I’ll bite. What should I boycott? Not really for political reasons but for practical reasons, it is already the case that I don’t buy anything made in Palestine or Israel, and I don’t spend my tourist dollars in Alabama or Arizona. It is for save-the-planet reasons that I “boycott” fossil fuels by instead buying renewable fuels. But whether purposeful or not, these actions of mine have amounted to nada. (I’ll stick with renewables nonetheless.)
What should I boycott?
It doesn’t matter what you boycott, just so long as everyone puts aside their entire “NO! My Forspecial is more important!!!” mindset and boycotts it together. Boycott Pepperidge Farm. Boycott McDonald’s. Boycott Starbucks. Pick one and really put the screws to it. Let them know: You’ve got a million competitors. It’s the easiest thing in the world for us to shaft you but good. The demand? Doesn’t matter. Just as long as everyone picks the same one, even if it isn’t one they’re particularly keen on. Then, when everyone sees that it works, go after the next target. One by one until the businesses finally start caving as soon as the email goes out.
Well said…massive tax refusal is a possibility, although people have been trying unsuccessfully to get that going for decades. Me, I just spend as little as possible, but the movement I was part of in the 70’s that was people organized to take care of each other without it costing much money, although it worked for a while, eventually unraveled as its members got seduced by consumer culture….or maybe we were cointelpro’d….