There is so much out there to get mad about. Social injustices, class warfare, continued

colonization, the act of destruction of our planet by those focused on prophets and not

people. We can find it overwhelming at times. The good news is there are equally as many,

if not more, stories of people coming together and rising up against the forces at play. So

the creators of Blueprints of Disruption have added a new weekly segment, Ravel Rants, where

we will unpack the stories that have us most riled up, share calls to action, and most importantly,

celebrate resistance. Welcome to another Ravel Rant. Yes, we are absolutely still talking

about Palestine. Today's episode, though, will largely focus on the different levels of resistance

that are happening worldwide. This is to serve two purposes. One, to get you folks out there

as well so you know what's happening, get ideas, start to kind of really put in the work that's

going to be needed to pressure governments to call for a ceasefire and beyond. But also to

give credit where credit is due. There's some people doing some heavy lifting out there and

it's truly inspiring. And if there's anything that we try to get out of this show is the

motivation to disrupt. And that's exactly what's happening out there. And rightly so, because

some of the updates that we're going to start with are horrendous. I imagine most of you

out there are following the situation in Gaza and now the West Bank. And so all of the details

aren't necessary. But one thing I wanted to focus on at the beginning of this episode is

the... extreme clarity to which we can see that this has nothing to do with hunting down Hamas,

but with a land grab and the ethnic cleansing of Palestine. The latest report from Gaza's

Health Ministry is that they have removed 881 families from the registry. The first time

that we reported that number just a few weeks ago, it was 41 families. And so, although again,

most of you are quite aware of the death toll that is occurring. It's important to emphasize

that Israel has expanded its operations to the West Bank. And so, all of the argumentation

that was used to justify civilian deaths, that they didn't give up Hamas, that they didn't

evacuate, all of that is going out the window. The mask is off and it's a clear colonial land

grab. And I think like... This makes me so mad because for so long when they said, you know,

why can't people from the North just run to the South or why won't Egypt take them? Or

all of these other kind of, you know, at least they gave them warning to evacuate. And it's

Palestinians know best that this was always a land grab. This is something they've experienced

since 1947. And, you know, I understand beyond the logistics of not moving why they won't

move because, you know, It's never been about religion. We've said that before on the show.

This is always land and power, land and power. Why do they want this land? You know, you're

thinking like they're pummeling Gaza. Right now, it doesn't look like anything anybody

would want. You think that would be the point, but just this week, Israel signed leases for

natural gas sites all along the coast. They signed these leases with companies like BP.

And at the same time, we see new fleets launching for the logistics companies that transfer the

natural gas to and from the Middle East, Europe, and Canada. A lot of these companies are Canadian

based even. And in 2019, it was estimated that the oil and natural gas in the occupied territories

with was worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

That's what war has always been about, right? Particularly in these days, anything that happens

in the Middle East is centered around acquiring oil. We've talked about it before, the whole

reason that beyond the crazy Baptist that Santiago told us about, the US's main interest in securing

a kind of bastion in Israel is entirely tied to oil. And also this week, it's been exposed

that... The intelligence ministry within Israel has recommended the complete expulsion of Palestinians

from Gaza as a means of rooting out terrorism. I mean, that's why they put in their recommendation,

but surely it's to facilitate this continued land grab of Palestinian land. We are witnessing

the Nakba all over again. It's astonishing. You know what, I've been... Someone brought

up recently the Armenian genocide and I realized that I don't know as much as I wish I knew

about that but I was thinking about how much land and how devastating that was how many

people were killed and it's more or less not something anyone really knows about. I mean,

a lot of people to die and even happened. The reason I'm bringing that up is because it's

interesting the way that genocide can happen without anyone doing anything about it, right?

Like we think, when we look at these issues, we like to think that there are limits that...

humanity will eventually kick in and we'll do something about it, that there'll be a point

when, you know, enough is enough and we're not going to let this go any further. But history

has taught us otherwise. History has taught us how easy it is to justify and to rationalize

the most horrible of things. I just wanted to start off of that because regardless of whether

or not it's oil or land or whatever their fucking motivation is, like at the end of the day it

all is the exact same thing which is genocide. It's the killing of innocent people, of children,

of families. And you know, like, because we get into like... I was just thinking into oil,

because I'm like, it's so fucking frustrating. Like, okay, again, oil and it's like, whatever

it is, we know that capital will always be put above human lives. And it's so frustrating.

And you know, that like people will try and justify these things, but I just wanted to

like, take a second and like settle into like the humanity of it all. Because that's what

this is about. Right. And it's, you know, I've had an interesting time talking to people about

this lately. I mean, the vast majority, like I've found that the vast majority of people

I speak to are actually very pro-politicizing. It's funny, even like I know someone who is

currently like in the Canadian military, who I was talking to, and they were horrified at

what was happening. And I was shocked because it seemed like they have historically had such

a capacity to rationalize. so many things and their nationalism and patriotism is so deeply

rooted, but this issue was getting through to them. And I've had a few conversations with

people who are not on the side of, you know, stopping a genocide. And those were quite interesting

too, because I found that the more you inform them, the more you see this idea that they

had in their head crumble. And I'll get into like maybe some specifics later on. I don't

want to delve into that too early, but it's just to say that like, I think that the more

we look at this issue, the more it becomes clear like that this speaks, like this is such a

test of our humanity. And at the end of the day, like I don't, I guess I wanted to. Sorry,

I know I'm rambling a little bit here, but I think there's something very philosophical,

which is I don't believe in evil, really. I don't believe people are inherently bad. I

don't believe people want to do horrible things. And when we're seeing such horrible, horrible

things happen before our eyes, it's hard to believe that. It's hard to keep that belief

that people are not inherently bad, that people at their hearts want... good and to do right

by others. But that's why it's important to be challenging and to be, that's why it's important

to have these movements, to have these shows, to keep talking about this issue, to keep informing

people because I find that when you, when you bring it down to the root of things, when you

really bring it to the humanity of it all, almost everyone I've ever talked to has been able

to see that. almost everybody, even if it's deeply buried, even if it takes a lot, it's

there. And I feel like we need to remember that sometimes because I think we're very quick

to write everyone off and to otherize everyone. But I don't believe that is how people are.

And sorry, I just, I'm gonna give it back to you, Jessica, because I just, I wasn't even

planning that rant. I don't even know where that came from, but that just... came to me.

See, like, I get what you're saying in terms of the need to talk to people. Sometimes they

just don't know the story. They don't know the realities of the occupation. And so they can

start to kind of understand where we're at and relate to people. I mean, that's why you see

a lot of actions like a vigil, because there really is work that needs to be done to just

humanize Palestinian people at this point. And it really is a test of our humanity, but that's

why I have written some people off. And maybe that's not the right thing to do, but it's

not even so much the folks that, you know, may or may not be categorized as evil, right? Because

I don't focus on them for lots of reasons. It's the folks that I know, know and are silent.

I... I can't be their courage for them anymore. You know, we are too far into this. I feel

like if I have not heard from you at this point, I have written you off as an ally. And like,

I know that's not ideal. I know, I'm glad that there's people that are still willing to do

the work to come and go to comrades that should have done better and encourage them to do so.

But I'm really upset and I'm really hurt by it still. And I just don't have capacity to

be their backbone. Right, I needed them to be it. I can't. We shouldn't have to do heavy

lifting for people who've already, you know, been exposed to all the work that's been out

there. It reminds me of a conversation I had this summer, um, under a Willow tree in a Toronto

park, just to set a dramatic scene. But I remember a friend of mine was talking about the concept

of loving someone, but not liking them. And like the contradiction there. No, man, that's

kind of, that hurt is too deep. But that's kind of how I feel. It's like I, Like I'm allowing

myself to be open to like the love of humanity and love everyone, but that doesn't mean I

won't be pissed off. And that moment, like I won't, I won't have like some strong anger

towards inaction and towards not doing the work and not like, like do not mistake my benevolence

for, for tolerance because you know, like the whole paradox of, of tolerance, you know. I'm

not tolerant towards this kind of hatred and I'm not tolerant towards allowing being, what's

the word I'm looking at? I'm not tolerant to allowing genocide, you know? And that's the

thing is that I have a lot of hippie friends of mine who are very like, love and forgiveness

and all that. No, I don't believe in universal forgiveness and I think people need to... to

do the work, to earn forgiveness, and otherwise you just let people step over you. But I'm

just... Yeah, there's penance to pay. Like if the folks wanna come out and say something

now and issue a statement now, that's gonna have to be backed up by some really hard public

work. But what I'm saying is I'm trying really hard right now to remember the humanity inside

of all of us and know that we're capable of so much greater. than what is happening right

now, that when we're at, whenever we're experiencing the worst part of humanity, which is what we're

experiencing right now, because it doesn't get worse than genocide. Whenever we're at this

absolute darkness that we are right now, I think it's important to remember what we fight for

and what goodness looks like and the better world we wanna build. You know, I think of

like J.Y.O. Adda's quotes about revolutionary love. Let me say at the risk of seeming ridiculous

that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love. It is impossible to think

of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality. I think about that all goddamn time because

I feel that like that is like to my very foundation. I feel that. And yeah, anyways, I've taken

up a lot of airspace with my tangent, but. I think there's a lot of folks that are. They

feel it in their humanness. They are watching what is happening and are rightfully horrified.

But here in Canada, perhaps have allowed themselves to be distant from what's happening because

perhaps they can't relate to what it might be like to live in an open air prison, or they

think this is strictly a Middle East conflict that they really don't have to worry about,

that they don't... play a role in. We see a lot of politicians moving on to domestic policies

and the whatnot, but Canada plays a massive role in what's going on here. And that is only

becoming clearer day by day as we have now sent the Joint Task Force to Israel to aid in security,

whatever that means. I don't know why powerful armies need... essentially Delta forces who

are also there meeting with Biden. Side note, those idiots showed the photographs of all

the Delta soldiers on their website just to brag about Biden's visit. They had to take

it down, but it didn't blur the faces or anything. These are elite and secret military forces

that God knows how many other countries have sent into Israel. They are counterterrorism

units. You get the idea of what these folks are up to over there. It's not security that

they provide, but they are aggressive forces. Our forces literally boots on the ground. And

I'm looking at the numbers from 2002 and just keep in mind, 2002 is a year, just last year,

where Israel bombed the hell out of Gaza for three consecutive days. So all the people that

are acting shocked at what's happening now, like this is a reality many, many. Gazans have

lived through many aggressions like this. But in that year, in 2002, Canada alone exported

21 million in arms to Israel. This is not the aid we provided to Israel. That is separate

from the Canadian government. We sell weapons to them. And so thankfully, a lot of people

are quite aware of Canada's complicity. And in particular our role in the arms manufacturing

business. And so we are seeing some actions directed toward that. So we're gonna transition

into the part of the show where we are gonna give you countless examples of folks who have

harnessed their humanity and their courage and are acting with radical love and putting a

lot on the line for Palestine right now. Have you seen that out in Toronto? the folks blocking

the entranceways to Incas. Which one's Incas? So Incas supplies military equipment to Israel.

And you had a real kind of coalition show up there yesterday. So that is October 30th, the

same day that we had sit-ins. We'll get into that in a second. But you got Labour for Palestine,

Labour Against the Arms Trade, WBW Canada, even the Naju were there along with other individuals

who heard the call. And a lot of you see with a lot of these actions, you're not gonna hear

about them ahead of time, right? People don't announce that they're going to do something

potentially illegal ahead of time. So there won't be posters for stuff like that. You really

do need to get involved with these networks to participate in stuff like this or plan your

own in conjunction with the Palestinian youth movement or Palestine action or whatnot, so

they can help. boost the signal, but yeah, these folks blocked the entrances to these companies

and they were arrested. Word has it that those that were arrested were released and the demonstration

continued outside. So those actions, and we're seeing this, these kinds of actions really

originated in the UK and they stem from calls directly from Palestine to stop the bombs,

to forget about appealing to your politicians. that they are a lost cause at this point. They

need to physically hit at the economic motivations here and stop weapons from being supplied to

Israel by any means necessary. I'm all here for that. And we can do that. Like that is

realistic. It is within, like as far as disruptive acts go, think of the crowds we've seen across

the world. And particularly in the Western nations that manufacture these arms, like we have the

ability to shut down that supply chain. It's challenging. Yes, but we can, we can do that.

And just think of like, you know, like how much of a sense of hopelessness so many people have

felt watching the bombs fall on Gaza, watching the buildings collapse, watching everything

from afar and not knowing what to do. No, we- We can do something about this. We must do

something about this. Absolutely. And you hit on it like, see the numbers. It won't be that

difficult. What we need to do is when we plan these mass actions and like kudos to the people

that are putting these on, they have been well organized from all accounts on the ground.

This is no slight to them at all. But it needs to be planned in locations where you have maximum

disruption. And if. you just wanted to mess with the supply chain. You just merely needed

to redirect where you make calls for action. So the parliament or the economic center of

a city on the weekend isn't nearly as disruptive as encircling a facility with hundreds, thousands

of people and making it impossible. for them to ship in and out, not to mention it's really

bad PR and it inspires other people to kind of do the same, right, to up the ante. And

nothing warmed my heart more this morning as I'm doing research for acts of resistance.

And I come across Palestinian action in the UK blocking Elbit facilities. That's E-L-B-I-T.

We'll link a lot of this stuff in the show notes so you guys can see firsthand. But not only

are they blocking the entrances, they have a big smile on my face, clearly. They are climbing

on the roofs. And there is one photo, Santiago, of protesters on the roof at dusk with green

flares and Palestinian flags and fucking sledgehammers. And like this is where we're at, people. We

are talking about preventing a genocide. If you have the capacity to do something like

that, kudos to the folks that are putting that on the line. They are risking arrest. That

is dangerous stuff, but really. To me, it seems like a necessary next step. And to log on and

see also folks starting to do that in Toronto, because we know that Elbite also has a facility

in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, if our East Coast friends are listening. And this company is

really pivotal in the tech that goes to Israel in terms of their military. So Canada not only

has a role to play in this fucking genocide, but our grassroots and our labor and, you know,

I've given up hope on the NDP, but everyone else has a role here to play in shutting it

down. It reminds me of the interview the other day with Tyler Shipley, when we talk about,

you know, what the foundation of colonialism and our societies are built on, right? It requires

that active participation. right, from settlers. And it's the same thing here in Canada as it

is in Israel. And I just think about how, you know, like by not, by not doing something about

this, by washing our hands clean and saying, you know, okay, people are doing their jobs.

And, you know, I mean, who's responsible, the person who built the bomb or the person who

fired the bomb, you know? Where does the response of where like, where does the puck end? You

know, the shareholders for the company who made the bomb, you know, or the person who paid.

Yeah. Like it's a lot of like the blame can be thrown all over the place. But I what I

think is we just need to not be complicit and we need to see that like, you know, all right,

all right. It comes down to like, you know, like it's and I'll say it, I've said it every

episode so far and I'll say it again, you know, like. if you're neutral in situations of injustice,

you've chosen the side of the oppressor. Inaction is an action. Inaction is enabling this. It

is giving permission for this. We have an obligation here to do everything we can. And I'm honestly

like, I've been, it's been, this has been like a yes fucking finally moment, you know, like

this is is what we're talking about, you know, and it, and it, and this is the exact kind

of resistance that we need and we need to double down on it. And I'm like, I just wish I could

participate more. Like we need, we need to be amplified. Like if you can't physically go

out, make sure that you amplify it as much as you possibly can, make sure everyone knows

that this is happening. Absolutely. When the, it came across my feed for the sit-ins in the

17 MPs office across Canada yesterday, I was. My mission there, I think 20 minutes before

I had to run out, was to get alt text on all of their posters so that you could send it

out and just put it in the private message box of as many people as possible so that they

could spread it. Because when actions like that happen, folks need to be able to respond quickly,

both with boosting the signal, like letting people know what happens, because the media

will not cover this. This was not top of the news, even though this is one of the largest

coordinated acts of civil disobedience in terms of politicians that Canada's ever seen. They

were in Christian Freeland's office, Melanie Jolie, also Jagmeet Singh. No politician got

away unscathed, even if they're willing to make nice glossy statements in parliament. That

just wasn't going to cut it for those folks. And that was like many, many people, what they

described it as was an independent action that was done in conjunction with the Palestinian

youth movement. So what that means basically is folks took it upon themselves to plan this

with their comrades across the country using the networks that they have built for maybe

Palestinian resistance, but more likely for climate action or housing or tenant organizing,

like all these community groups and friends and contacts that we make when we do these

things. They need to be activated right now because when they are, you get things like

this, right, where really skilled organizers pull off some really slick moves. So one of

the important things I'd like to know about the actions that the Palestinian youth movement

have, and it speaks to what Santiago was talking about before in terms of pushing the envelope

a little bit. And it's not just a ceasefire, right? Yes, a ceasefire is the most urgent

thing that's needed, right? These folks need to have bombs stopped from dropping on them,

right? Like they are going to wipe out the people of Gaza unless we get a ceasefire. That is

crucial. I understand why some people have made that their only focus. Again, not a critique,

but when you look at the Palestinian youth movement flyers and their demands for all these mass

actions, it also includes the end of Canadian complicity. So that could include aid to Israel

and the fact that we are sending troops and green lighting them at the UN, an end to the

Gaza siege, which started well before October 7th, right? Blockades on what could go in and

out of the Gaza Strip and a free Palestine. So because I find like when we're in this fight

and there is such urgency on something that's like life saving, it's hard to then think of

all of the other demands, right? That just seemed like gravy at this point. I just, it's important

I think in this moment that there are people also including these demands because if you

don't now, you might lose the ability to do so. The bar will have moved the same way the

political spectrum shifts and it's so hard to pull it back. Over to the window. Yeah. Like

if all we ever want is like no bombs dropping on Gaza, we become satisfied with that and

not an end to the occupation of the West Bank and beyond. Then we're not really calling for

peace. We're just calling for a cessation of this escalation. And that's all. To put it

in very simple terms, right now we are witnessing a genocide. A ceasefire would be a cessation

of the genocide, but what are you left with? You're still left with an apartheid. Which

is genocide, right? If you look at what the plan is, this is just... a sped up version

of the long game. It is, it's always been genocide has always been the goal, right? If you read

the flyers that were dropped down on the people of Palestine before the Nakba telling them

how the ground would like swallow them up and fire would rain down unless they left. It was

always to ethnically cleanse areas so that the state of Israel could control them for whatever

end they want to tell you it's for. You know, no, it wouldn't even be a cessation of the

genocide. That would not be an end, especially knowing the conditions in which folks are living.

I know I said I would just go into resistance, but I read something the other day and I just

want to share it. It was just a description and I'm not going to give it all of what people

are experiencing in Gaza. And it spoke of the dust that is everywhere and the lack of water

to make it harder to

No water means you're not going to the washroom. There's no running water means there hardly

are. It's like 10% of toilets and gasses are running right now. And so you can only imagine

what that is leading to in terms of what kind of environment they're living in, the illnesses

that are going to come from this, the noise that exists. So if it's not bombs, it's ambulances.

If it's not ambulances, it's screaming, it's crying, and the smell. that people are experiencing

of death everywhere. And these are people who are surviving in Gaza right now, and that's

what they're experiencing. So when I read that, I thought it was just kind of powerful. We

often think of just the death toll and perhaps not what it must be like living in these conditions

that will still exist even when the bombs stop. I remember reading something about how before

this latest, like before everything else happened this October. 90% of children in Gaza had PTSD.

I mean, I imagine it's got to be 100 at this point or like, either way, like regardless,

like that is insane to me. What does that do to people? What does that do to this generation?

Like this is millions of people. What like, I cannot imagine the collective trauma. This

is, I mean, regardless of what happens, this is like, this is going to have generational

effects. generations into the future. Like what's happening here is going to be written in the

history books as an incredibly dark chapter of humanity. I will never be the same. I will

never be the same. I just hope that like fuck like we need to like use this to like we need

to learn here we need to do better like fuck I don't need like I don't know what to say

anymore. I mean, we've said so much over like these episodes. It's just like... But people

are Santiago. They're fighting back, right? You saw it with your own eyes. You saw half

a million people in London. You saw 80,000 people in Barcelona, Jordan. I'm not sure there's

many countries, even France, where they've tried to outlaw these protests and we see Biden trying

to equate these protests to neo-Nazis and still... we have massive actions planned, right? So

there's a national day of action coming on November 4th that is coming up people. This is mostly

coordinated by the Palestinian youth movement. This is not a time for you to maybe sit back

and check out what rally is closest to you. These folks have done a lot of hard work to

make it possible for you to throw your own local action. There is no action too small, because

I'll tell you when... Folks that feel the same way see actions in small towns or at least

smaller urban centers. It is crucial work, right, that they don't think that that's something

that only exists in the city, right? So absolutely consider logging on to the document we're going

to share in our show notes. It's a Google Doc for people, individuals to endorse, organizations

to endorse and sign up to hold actions in their own. town. And the idea is to make those calls,

those demands that I asked for before, but also, you know, to keep creating these networks of

resistance. Although there's like real urgency built around what we're doing, folks, I see

them, they're playing the long game as well, right? They're building long-term connections

to go down the road, webinars, educational things are being planned to bring other people along,

because it can be hard doing the work that you're talking about earlier about talk. talking to

people, doing those one-on-ones and challenging preconceived notions. If you don't have the

equipment, right, if you haven't maybe been in contact with the Palestinian diaspora, you

haven't been exposed to that work. You know, you know where you stand, but you don't know

enough to really engage. So I recommended the resource link on the Palestinian youth movement,

but you were talking about some great online resources that folks can. dive into so they're

better informed. Yeah, I was just thinking, I mean, there's tons of, of content on platforms

like YouTube that have the entire history broken down. I, I watched several videos from Vox,

uh, some of them really recent, some of them a few years old, that they go over the entire

history of the region in a very informative way. I mean, it's great places to start to

just look like if, if you don't Like if the word Nakba doesn't mean anything to you, go

read. Like go please, like learn about this. Pick up a book. People don't read books anymore,

I guess. Well, you don't have to read a book. I mean, five minutes in front of a screen and

you'll already at least have like the basic information of what happened, like a basic

timeline of the events. And it's important because, you know, let me take this back maybe to one

of the conversations I had where I was talking to someone who was essentially under the impression

that before the Nakba, before the creation of the state of Israel, that all of this land

in Palestine was just empty, wasteland, desert, nothingness. Terranelis? And that the Palestinians

just gave the land. the Israelis because they were like, oh, this is worthless land anyways.

And then Israel went and built the super modern society. Now they want back because they want

to take advantage of the prosperity. That's not even remotely close to what happened. But

let me just, no wonder they believe that, right? Because that is the story many people have

been told about colonialism, right? Africa here in North America, that it was terra nullis.

They actually drew it on the map as being uninhabited by anything civilized. It justified colonialism.

So it's no wonder Canada accept that narrative. And much has been done by the Israeli state

to perpetuate that narrative. Gata talked about it on the episode where they create wildlife

reserves over top of Palestinian villages and pretend that they are. bringing life to the

land, that they're bringing water to the land as though Palestinians didn't have water up

until then. And it's a real colonial mindset. It comes back then to the other conversation

I had where somebody, there was someone from the Palestinian youth movement putting up signs

in Parkdale, you know, end of genocide. It was for the rally last Sunday. And someone was

coming up to them, you know, like, do you condemn Hamas, yada yada? And I got into a bit of a

discussion with them. And one thing that like really stood out to me, you know, they were

talking, cause you know, I was talking about colonialism and they were like, oh, well, colonialism

is a good thing because there weren't showers before colonialism. And I was really, I was

really shocked at the way this person was talking. And This person's from Ecuador, you know, from

Colombia. And I was like, kind of like talking to him. Do you know the history of your people?

Do you know what the societies that existed here before look like? Like, it comes back

to the same myth of savages. And I had to like, tell them, like, do you know how indigenous

communities are doing today? Do you think that they're doing better off today? Like, do you

think that they're thriving right now? And it was actually indigenous people that- taught

Europeans to bathe. Yeah, I mean, honestly, no idea. But all I know is that the myth of

the savage societies is exactly that, a myth, you know? And it's not even like historical

savages, right? This is still how we frame, how people are framing Palestinians. Modern

day Palestinians, you know, living in the city of Gaza, they are calling them the children

of darkness, Netanyahu used language like laws of the jungle. And these are all to hearken

that idea and to dehumanize Palestinians as though there's not really anything there. This

isn't really a genocide because Palestinians aren't really people. And it unfortunately,

that is how it works, right? When you're disconnected from that or you can't see yourself in their

shoes, it's perhaps why. genocides like the one in Armenia, you know, that didn't have,

we didn't have that kind of exposure to the information around it where it was easily denied.

And now that we're watching a genocide happen in real time, we can understand how that happens

because we're seeing people deny the death counts in Gaza. Oh, well, let me see the bodies, they

say, you know, and so much of the work that's being done is just to bear witness, right,

to so much effort's being put into just pushing back. on these narratives or otherwise, yeah,

you could quite easily erase this genocide if it wasn't for the resistance. What comes to

mind is a genocide that we were taught about in school, at least I was, the Rwandan genocide.

And that's interesting because in that situation, the Hutu and the Tutsi are two fake categories.

They're the same people. There was no... genetic biological difference. It was a completely

manufactured, I think it was the Belgium who created the two categorizations for people.

But it shows you the way that like the power of dehumanization where two people who have

lived together, who are neighbors with each other, who share the same lives, there's no

inherent difference between them whatsoever, that you can't even tell the difference between.

way to visually tell the difference between one people's and another, because they're the

same people's. And neighbor was killing neighbor. And it was one of the quickest genocides in

recorded history. And we saw the way that the West allowed that to happen, the way they came

in, took the white people, and washed their hands clean of the whole situation. While the

world... that was paying attention watched on in horror. One of the major differences though

I see with what's happening now and what you're describing in Rwanda is they're not neighbors.

Although we are all human in that sense and they are in very close proximity with some

settlements being within obviously shooting distance of Palestinian villages. They are

not neighbors. especially if you're talking about the people of Gaza who have likely never

even seen an Israeli from the way that their lives are structured. And so I think that's

where a lot of the dehumanizing happens in this instance. And if you talk to folks who we've

had testimonies on the Twitter space from folks that grew up in the Jewish community and the

indoctrination that occurs with Zionism is heavy. it and any a lot of it is predicated on lesser

than less deserving than right all of its predicated on a certain type of people having the right

to return and not others because they're less than that they are not chosen and so it's incredibly

harmful that continues that way you know and Perhaps when folks talk about the two-stage

solution, you can just see that manifesting itself still. So again, I don't know what the

solution is, but I did wanna keep going back to the resistance that we're seeing, because

it's important that folks know that people are rising up and organizing against this. Ramsey

was a guest on last week's interview with Ground Up Waterloo. He was on our Twitter space as

well, talking about Palestine and the actions around it. And although it might seem really

obvious, I thought it was worth repeating to folks to fully understand that only external

pressures will end this, not political pressures. Our governments need to feel as though their

way of life is going to be disrupted here and force them to act. to make a real dent in the

economic chain to Israel in order to cease their hostilities. And there's all sorts of ways

that people can do that. You don't necessarily have to chain yourself to a gate and risk arrest.

Santiago talked about coming across someone putting up flyers. It's quite possible. And

I'm not arguing with you, but it's possible they weren't even with the Palestinian youth

movement because it's as easy as going to their Instagram and downloading the images that they

have of the next action that's happening and spending a few of your dollars to go to a printing

facility, getting a roll of tape and putting them up yourself. You know, you don't need

to know who's doing it. You don't need to know somebody in the group. You don't need to go

to a meeting first. This is on you. Like just get up and do something. Like get up. print

images for posters, even if there's not even an action in your little small town. Print

up posters that just say, stop the genocide. Go right on the sidewalk everywhere you can

go with chalk. The smallest act of resistance act as sparks that keep a flame alive, right?

And that do eventually catch on. And I hope our labor can be a little bit contagious. We

have seen Canadian labor dabble into this issue, most notably with Fred Hahn. and QB national

passing resolution that we talked about in another episode. There are a few unions whose positions

are clear on Palestine, but we've not seen any official action. In Belgium, however, there's

a transport union there that's refusing to load military equipment that is destined for Israel.

In the past, many, many times, we have seen port workers and railway workers take action

to the same end. To stop. weapons from going to war. These are anti-war movements. Anybody

who'd like to frame it as pro-Palestinian at this point, I don't really give a shit, but

there is no denying this is now a fully blown anti-war movement. People who don't need to

be educated on Palestine just need to know that civilian deaths in this magnitude can't be

realized. So labor has a role to play in the anti-war movement. Even if you guys haven't

passed a resolution on specifically the apartheid and the occupation or the recent exhalation

in Gaza, surely your workers can't contribute to war and genocide. So I mean, we need labor

to really step it up here in Canada. I've seen a few folks, I mean, as we always do, go to

calls for a general strike and, you know, with the refrain, if not now, when? And feel like

that's, we've had a lot of moments like that, if not now, when, but this is much bigger than

all of those moments combined. Right? If there was ever an issue that mobilized people in

modern day, you know, like the way folks mobilize against the war in Vietnam and Iraq, this is

one of them. I know folks, you know, I've seen some steelworker flags as usual, you know,

at the actions in Toronto. I think we've even seen some leaders speak. But one thing that

came up in the Twitter space that we had last week, or this week, mine is a blur in terms

of dates, was about the real lack of visibility of unions in BC. Even though, you know, Victoria,

Vancouver, they're... And other places in BC have had some really sizable actions, like

really big protests. And normally at something like this, that would be the norm, right? Contingence

of locals and their flag so you know that they're there. It may seem obnoxious, but it serves

a purpose, right? So folks know who is standing in solidarity. And that is really lacking in

BC. And they made a point that I don't think I would have thought of. And I apologize, I

don't know who it was. So I'm taking credit for their thoughts, but it's about the BC NDP.

And you would think, well, that's a progressive province, right? They have elected the NDP.

Their unions should be mobilized and feeling energized and emboldened, but it's actually

the opposite. They're so worried of walking step in step with the NDP's position. and not

drawing heat. They're acting like candidates even, you know, in that way where they're worried

about what they say and what the head party says and making sure it's all jiving with one

another or else risking ostracization like Sarah Jama and any other groups that have been vocal

on this. And so I thought that was enraging that On top of all the bad policies like NDP

make when they get in power, where they don't do revolutionary things, even though we make

revolutionary demands, in times like this, in Ontario we've seen it laid clean, right? They're

the opposition, maybe they have to be more careful. But even when in power, the BC NDP is not doing

a damn thing. And in fact, you can make the point that they are hindering wider mobilization

on the issue. And If not an episode goes by where we don't remind people that the NDP is

a detriment to our movement, I'll do it again. They are. Because if labor doesn't come along

with this, really it becomes more difficult to be as disruptive as we need to be. Yeah.

I mean, it's just another case where it's like, it goes to show the freedom you get when you...

stop thinking in these electoral politics focused ways. It's like, oh, suddenly you don't have

to worry about the consequences of whether or not you towed the party line. Now you have

the freedom to actually fucking stand for what you believe in. It's a beautiful thing to be

able to do that. And I mean, you could do it either way. I mean, there'll be consequences

if you're in the NDP, but that's the point. Like don't exist in spaces where there are

consequences for doing the right thing, right? And now Sarah Jama can go online and flash

the victory symbol with Jeremy Corbin and not worry about taking flack for that. Exactly.

And that's been a thing that I've been happy to see the last few days. So it's been, you

know, people really like, I feel like it's really sinking in this message. People are getting

it. And that needs to happen because you know, the NDP, you know who's not going to tell you

to go and blockade arms manufacturers? The NDP is never going to say that. I'll tell you,

that is so true. We had a candidate up here in New York, Simcoe, Dave Solosi, and in his

youth, I don't even think youth, I don't know how old he was, it doesn't matter. He was protesting

outside a facility here in Ontario that was making parts for the nuclear bomb. And he got

arrested for it. And when he wanted to run as an NDP candidate, Central was adamant, like

he scrubbed that. And they actually wouldn't vet him. We had to stage a protest and say

we would not accept another candidate. Like it was a big, dirty kerfuffle. And they reluctantly

allowed him to be candidate. And the only thing was that he had been a... anti-war activists

who was arrested, that was such a detriment to them. And rightly so, you see the Sun tried

to print an article defaming him as he ran, calling him the only anti-nuclear war activist.

That was a bad thing. The labels people are throwing around for protesters, they're bad

things. It would be funny if it wasn't so detrimental either way. Yeah, like there's no room for

activists there. Not even in the slightest. But, you know, there's a whole backlog of episodes

to explain that. We won't subject people to that. Again, it comes back to that saying,

you know, like you try and say it change the system from within, you'll either get flushed

out or the system will change you. You know, that's what we're seeing. Yeah. And you know

what? I think this. On top of their bad behavior, I think the amount of mobilization that folks

are seeing from community groups and grassroots and these networks that we have been talking

about on the show since day one, I mean, a lot of our guests have been absolutely pivotal

in these movements. So it's kind of been like a real validating experience to know we have

been learning from the folks that are actually willing to do the real work when it matters.

And a few other... I wanted to share like a little personal story that, because sometimes

it's really, it is small things because whenever you're in the thick of this kind of work and

it peaks, you know, at times like this, and then on top of that, you have really, really

heavy news, like unbearable news. Surely you all understand like the personal toll that

it plays, particularly on people like close to it, Palestinian comrades. And it- It's the

little things that can sometimes really lift you up. So today I went to the post office

and I immediately had to call Santiago's. Like I gotta record, I'm in a good space. Like we

gotta do something today because I got really fired up at two of the smallest little things

in my mail. I ordered a keffiyeh from Polly Roots. feels like forever ago. And it finally

came and I've never had one. I've always wanted one. I don't know why. Maybe I felt like I

hadn't earned it. I think that's what I told myself, I hadn't earned it.

even though I had people offer me one, it just didn't feel right. But now it was like, no,

I felt like it was armor. Like I could put it around my neck everywhere I go and without

actually screaming free Palestine as I do my groceries, but I still was. And so that really

fired me up to get that in the mail. And I felt equipped, better equipped. And it had a little

tag that said made in Palestine. And of course, like I'm starting to tear up just thinking

about it, right? But also the smallest act of resistance here in the form of that radical

love you're talking about. I came across a TikTok creator who in the midst of this all in Calgary,

feeling completely helpless, not knowing what to do. And all they thought to do was they

make prints, right, using one of those kind of like old school hand press machines to press

a template onto some handcrafted paper as part of their art. That is what they do as art.

And so they're taking a olive branch, which is symbolic of Palestine, and putting it on

little pieces of paper. And they were mailing it to anybody who asked. And, you know, although

I didn't want to cost them postage, I knew how I'd feel if I received that small token. You

know what it's like getting something in the mail these days, especially if it's from an

actual person, not a bill, not a flyer, something with handwriting on it and your name. And inside

was this most beautiful print. And on the back, she had written, From the River to the Sea.

And I think she knew. the boost that she'd be given by sending these mailings out. It seems

like such a small thing. Like you would be like, oh, what did you do during the, sorry, oh,

what did you do during the revolution? Well, I sent out Prince of Olive branches. But the

fire that it lit in me and the kindness that it showed and the solidarity that it demonstrated,

to me that was kind of that radical love, and demonstrative of. how you could take whatever

unrelated skill you think you have and contribute. Even if that's making a phone call to your

comrades that you know are in the thick of it, or maybe if they're like me, they don't really

like phone calls, you can text them and just check in on people. That is community care.

It's all a part of it. All the little things are bigger than. than what we can imagine,

you know, the butterfly effect of it all. It's beyond our ability to comprehend. And, you

know, I think me and Jessel will both have this in common, is like the feeling of not doing

enough is something I've struggled with a lot of different times. No matter how involved

I've been. And there's been times when this has been pretty much a full-time job to me,

like the amount of hours I've put in into different movements. No matter how involved I've ever

been, I've always had that feeling of, this isn't enough. And it's just not true. You know,

like, not this isn't... That's a beautiful thing about being, you know, a socialist, being on

the left is... We're all in this together, you know, it's not on any one of us to do it all,

you know, every little bit that any of us do contributes to the bigger movement. And there's

no point in giving into that despair, that feeling of not doing enough, because you know what

ends up happening as a consequence of that feeling is so often then I lose the ability to do anything

at all. and then I burn out and then it's because then I'm like, I keep trying to do more and

I burn out. So, so I just, I want to make a call against that guilt. Like allow yourself

to, to do that little bit that, that you can do and know that it means the world. It really

does. That guilt is, is real. I mean, we've talked about Gada so many times on the show.

She spoke to me the other day about playing a volleyball game. And how, you know, walking

on the court, she felt so guilty. She felt the weight of everything on her and as though she

didn't deserve that time to play a volleyball game. And This is someone with family in Gaza,

family in the West Bank. And to me, that's unimaginable. I don't know how you go and tell those folks,

it's okay, take a break. We got this for a minute. It's like that level of urgency, they must

feel 24 seven and anxiety. So, although you're right, Santiago, that We can't all take it

upon ourselves. I still would like to remind people that maybe I've not chipped in a little

bit, that there's always more you can do.

Because you know that there's some people out there that I think are satisfied with simply

showing up once in a while. And one of the calls from Palestinians in the diaspora and in Gaza

is to make public statements. Right? It's one thing to show up at a rally as one of 20,000

people. It's important that the people around you know where you stand at the very least.

Right now is not the time to worry about those kinds of personal consequences, to be honest.

If folks are not making public declarations at this point or contributing in some way,

in some way, then you're absolutely complicit in this. And I don't normally say that. And

perhaps it's my bias speaking. But I feel like this is one of those moments in history where

you don't have a choice of standing on the sideline. That you couldn't possibly imagine looking

back at this in the history books and trying to figure out what you did and it was nothing.

It can't be nothing. Even if it's sending out prints, it's using your art, your voice, your

feet, whatever. You need to resist. Right? What's the Marx quote, you know, from teach according

to their need from each from each according to their ability or Yeah, that that's what

it is, you know, like and that's what we're saying. Like like when we when we talk about

like that guilt that burnout, we all have different capacities to contribute and that is a deeply

personal thing that only, you know. And so don't think if you have the capacity, the privilege,

the opportunity, the means to do something and you don't, then I don't have to tell you to

feel guilty. You're going to feel guilty about that when you're reading the history books.

You know, if you, but at the same time, equally, like if you are, if your capacity is completely

stretched and all you can do. is one small thing like that, then at the same time, that means

the world. But we need only you can know what your capacity is and you need to live up to

that. And we need to do everything we can while still looking after ourselves, looking after

each other, you know, because it's not going to be over tomorrow. You know, like we need

to sustain this. There is more to come and We need to make sure that we're able to keep doing

that work because it's not enough to do it once. One day it's over. Now this is, it'll be over

when the genocide ends, when the apartheid ends, when Palestine is free. And truly the end is

when all people are free because injustice everywhere, injustice anywhere is still injustice everywhere.

That is a wrap on another episode of Blueprints of Disruption. Thank you for joining us. Also,

a very big thank you to the producer of our show, Santiago Halu-Quintero. Blueprints of

Disruption is an independent production operated cooperatively. You can follow us on Twitter

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