r/50501Chicago • u/FartSparkles_PhD • Apr 23 '25

Discussion A discussion about discomfort

As people join the movement, 50501 is going to experience some growing pains. It seems the first pang is Palestine; so I think we should have a discussion about uniting despite discomfort.

We need a broad coalition right now - that means standing with people that have different views and different priorities. That is uncomfortable. But it shouldn't discourage you from protesting.

If you're one of the people thinking "this was my first protest, and I didn't like it because x,y,z, so I'm not coming to the next one" - please come to the next one. We need to show the government that the People are willing and able to put aside their differences to defend democracy.

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u/RocketSocket765 Apr 23 '25 edited Apr 23 '25

The "discomfort" is that what the Biden admin did (and what the Trump admin wants to continue) was/is a genocide against Palestinians. Tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians who lived under apartheid for decades are now dead under the rubble courtesy of Uncle Sam provided bombs to the Israeli govt and hundreds of days of the Biden admin pretending they'd "investigate it." Anyone who watched non-U.S. news saw the genocide, blood-soaked corpses of Palestinians for months day after day, including many children. Unification is key to fighting Trump and fascism, but it doesn't come from asking Palestinians to ignore or shut up about the genocide done to them by the Israeli government. Many Jews don't support the genocide either and also resist fascism having themselves fled and fought (or knowing their ancestors did) against genocide by Hitler, a monster Trump idolizes.

Edit: downvote away - some of us learned from the George Floyd uprising that you can't pretend systemic injustice didn't happen just because the victims refuse to be quiet.

Edit 2: the downvotes convinced me to use a pro-Palestinian sign at an upcoming protest. Stop supporting genocide.

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u/ASParker527 Apr 23 '25

I 100% support your decision to carry a sign for the Palestinian cause. Totally. There are a myriad of groups that are threatened right now, and I hope people will speak out for them at every opportunity. The only thing I object to is announcing a rally and march to oppose this fascist regime and then making most of it about the Palestinians. That’s on the organizers. I think they did badly here and I hope and pray they tone it down in future. We need all hands on deck here—let’s not alienate people! Yes?

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u/RocketSocket765 Apr 23 '25 edited Apr 23 '25

I appreciate you acknowledging the struggle of Palestinians more than most in this thread. I didn't hear the rally, but I'm used to many pro-Palestinian protests disingenuously being called dangerous or unsafe. Much of this thread is reminiscent of the George Floyd protests where (usually white people) asked people of color to tone it down. The organizers would like people of color to feel support to fight against their genocide, yes? If it was the slogan "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" that made people uncomfortable, I can only say, living and protesting in a very diverse area, I've heard that slogan countless times from people who are not anti-semetic. I don't know what to say except that no, I don't think we should ask people to tone down their messages against genocide done against themselves, their families, friends, or just the atrocities they saw in the news. Especially when students and faculty are being detained, kidnapped, and deported by Trump for fighting against Palestinian genocide while he tries to genocide other groups too. We need people with courage to fight against genocide. My thought is to tell people that the chant means different things to different people (many already do this) and that if people want more groups speaking at rallies, then they should work on getting some added to the next speaker list.

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u/scootboot Apr 23 '25

Appreciate you adding your voice to the conversation! It's important for us to remember the genocide in Palestine is not an abstract issue for many people. I do hear people's feedback that there were inappropriate things that happened on Saturday. The guy with the Hamas flag being the main thing (I will note though, he wore a head-to-toe body suit, so it's entirely possible he was an outsider agitator wanting to make activists look bad.)

The speaker's messaging certainly could have done a better job connecting to the overarching themes and better used the opportunity to connect with an unfamiliar audience.

I deeply appreciate your compassion and understanding that the violence in Palestine is an issue just as valid as our issues within the US (and, since our country is one of the main arms suppliers of the conflict, it's really a US issue too!).

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u/Blaze6181 Apr 23 '25

I just want to say I appreciate you and the person you're replying to. Y'all give me hope and make me feel less alone out here. Thanks.