January 14th 2024 marked 100 days of incessant bombing in the Gaza strip. 1.9 million people have been forcibly removed from their homes, nearly 23,938 Palestinians reported dead, 60,582 Palestinians injured, 10,000 Palestinian children dead, 160,800 buildings damaged or destroyed, hospitals, homes, and schools all obliterated, and basic necessities like water, food, shelter, and hygiene supplies are all running out.
Yet, despite these statistics (numbers don’t lie!), western media agencies like CNN, FOX, BBC, and Sky news continually point their fingers at Hamas and cough up the AIPAC approved media-mantra, “a hostage exchange would bring an end to the massacre!” No conversation has centered around the needless civilian casualties. No conversation has called the government to make change. 100 days into the conflict, President Biden published a statement acknowledging the “tragic milestone,” not of the tragic milestone of nearly 30,000 deaths in Gaza, but that of American hostages being held in captivity.
The American President should care for its citizens, yes, there’s no dispute there. So where was Biden on October 15th when a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy was mercilessly stabbed 26 times by his landlord? Where was Biden on November 25th when 3 Palestinian boys wearing keffiyehs were shot on campus? Where was Biden on January 3rd when an imam in Newark, New Jersey was fatally shot? Where was Biden on January 21st when an American teenager visiting family in the West Bank (of Palestine) was shot at a barbeque? Where was Biden on January 23rd when Columbia University students got attacked by former Israeli soldiers during a (peaceful) protest for Palestine? There is a direct correlation with the lies that our country has been pushing out about Palestine and the crimes that are being committed against people that fit the hate-narrative (brown, Muslim, or speaking up for the cause). So why doesn’t our President share his condolences with us?
Americans know the history, black, brown, and Latino Americans have never had the same standing in their “land of the free, home of the brave” as their white counterparts. But recent political responses to overseas conflicts have revealed that domestically, quality of life hasn’t actually improved much for minorities, injustices have just been concealed better from the public eye– just as they are being covered up by the media internationally.
A touchy subject, but a revealing one indeed: the position of journalists on the Ukrainian conflict.
CBS News senior foreign correspondent Charlie D’Agata comments on Ukraine, “[it] isn’t a place, with all due respect, like Iraq or Afghanistan, that has seen conflict raging for decades. This is a relatively civilized, relatively European – I have to choose those words carefully, too – city, one where you wouldn’t expect that, or hope that it’s going to happen.”
From Ukraine’s Deputy Chief Prosecutor, David Sakvarelidze, “It’s very emotional for me because I see European people with blue eyes and blond hair … being killed every day.”
Drawing from their words, being in a war torn country means being uncivilized, and not having blonde hair and blue eyes means receiving no sympathy. It’s a message that also echoes from US’s incessant financial and military support for both the Ukranians and Israelis: ironically, one the oppressed and the other the oppressor.
