Howzit y’all?
As I’m writing this I have my Hind’s Hall Donation playlist going on repeat. Macklemore’s single of Hind’s Hall promises to donate all streaming sales to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. The trick I’m using is having one other song in the playlist so the algorithm recognizes that each time Hind’s Hall plays it’s not just a robot. Multiple valid plays/ streams of the song = more donations to the UNRWA organization.
It makes sense that the only other song on that playlist would be one by NF. Real music ’til the day we die right? Last night as I was winding down for the evening I went out on my patio and took a couple puffs off a grape swisher sweet. As smoke rolled off my lips and I looked up at the moon I found myself thinking about all those around the world standing against injustice and in defense of those oppressed. Thoughts of the children in Palestine suffering due to lack of nutrition, clean water and almost every other necessity.
Not to mention the US manufactured explosives being dropped on them; and yet…their spirit endures. Much like their ancestral Olive trees. Uprooted time and again, yet still their roots refusing to be budged. We could all learn from these people’s courage. Then thoughts drifting off to the Congo where the native people are exploited in horrendously dangerous conditions to mine Cobalt, used in all major electronics. Laptops, tablets, smartphones etc. Now I’m not against technology, however I also haven’t spent the money to buy a new phone in I don’t know how long. I buy used and encourage everyone else to do the same.
I haven’t lifted my hands in prayer in awhile, however I will say that more and more frequently I find myself practicing silent prayer and even long conversations with God in steaming hot showers that I wish I could let these suffering children enjoy. I’m not obscenely wealthy; hell, I’m not even independently wealthy but for my part where I can donate a couple dollars here or there to help out others suffering on a level I struggle daily to comprehend I feel like these little acts are all that I can offer in solidarity. It may not be millions of dollars, it may not be pallets of food air-dropped to starving children, but these little acts of spreading information and drawing awareness is the least I could do.
I am but one, together though? We are legion, the result of these actions taken in unison worldwide? The beginnings of a change in the tides is coming. The digitine movement of just carte blanche blocking politicians, tycoons, corporations and products is working. We’ve got celebs making “relatable” apology videos, politicians taking notice of the fact they’ve alienated the majority of their constituencies, and altogether people worldwide calling for change. France had farmers driving their tractors into town disrupting normal proceedings and spraying manure all over government buildings.
More and more as I got through the comments sections of any social media platform Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Tumblr etc. I find the amount of antigovernment sentiment either on the rise or blatantly out in the open front and center. In a way I’m sure more and more people worldwide are feeling. To be honest it feels damn good to be part of this resistance movement. I know without doubt if I were to die today I’d meet my maker with nothing but pride having stood for what’s right. That’s the thing too, anyone that spends more than thirty minutes on a news source like TikTok will begin to quickly realize how biased other news sources are.
I only found out about those protests in France due to TikTok, mainstream media wasn’t reporting on it. Same thing with the campus protests still occurring internationally. With all the chaos worldwide it’s easy to get discouraged. To be honest I was beginning to wonder if the link I’d put in my instagram to help Rahaf and her family get out of Gaza would even make a difference. Then I was checking my email this morning and happened to see an update from yesterday from the GoFundMe letting me know that because of our donations the Musical Ambassador Rahaf Shamaly was able to get out of Gaza by being able to pay the extra fee to expedite her safe transit.
They’re still trying to raise funds to be able to get Rahaf’s family out once the border re-opens and are a little over halfway to their goal so if y’all can donate even just a dollar to that I’m sure it’d mean the world to Rahaf and her family.
I was needing reasons to keep putting up content and discussions about these issues and thankfully I found one today. Like I said, after seeing an entire country being leveled and video after video of families. Mothers and daughters, fathers and sons just desperately trying to survive I was beginning to wonder if anything I was doing was having any kind of difference.
Seeing that email this morning revitalized me and I knew that what I was doing was making a difference. Even if only in some small way. That’s the thing about Chaos Theory, one drop of water falling into the sea, one butterfly flapping its wings could be the beginning of a cascading divine wind or ripple effect that changes everything. This incredible intergenerational group of activists I’ve dubbed “the faithful” will be the generation to change everything. I mean hell, look at the impact students have already made at Columbia. Seventy-seven million dollars in donations to the school being withheld until student and faculties demands are met.
Millions worldwide marching, organizing, resisting in whatever way possible. For Congo, Haiti, Palestine, our Native American brothers and sisters. For them, for us, for a better tomorrow…we march. As it is, I have another resistance poem bubbling just beneath the surface and what better way to resist than through art. As I was scrolling through TikTok the other day I came across this video of an absolutely beautiful Palestinian auntie which I’ll link below.
Like I said what a beautiful woman and what a beautiful tradition of resistance through fashion. Art is resistance and meant to provoke a response. As I am not the most informed about all the ways in which the Palestinian people have been oppressed I’ve taken the liberty of using another TikTok creator’s reading list which I will also link. With the weekend being tomorrow I figure what better time to educate myself further as to the true depths of what the Palestinian people have gone through and continue to endure.
I hope y’all have an awesome weekend and this post inspires a little cooperation for resistance. We are “the faithful” and together? We’ll change the world. Cheers y’all.
Holy Water, Burning Man 