CLH Words

Note on language: I use the term the occupation here instead of Israel. While I no longer recall where exactly I heard this, I believe that this phrasing refuses to legitimize the state of Israel, as they are a colonial state occupying stolen land.

Nothing I do seems like enough. My coworkers chat about the super bowl on Monday, talk about the half time show, discus the various commercials. I want to scream at them. The occupation bombed—is bombing, started bombing, continued to bomb, ramped up bombing Rafah. As Americans were distracted by the super bowl, the IOF bombed the city they crammed full of refugees they made, promised safety, and then targeted. I want to scream this at my coworkers. That I don’t care about the super bowl. I don’t care. It doesn’t matter. Israel is bombing Rafah. And nothing I do is enough to stop that.

               I breath. I remember that I was once asked what one thing I wish able bodied people would do to be allies for disabled folks. I remember my answer: wear a mask. I, and many disability advocates have been asking people to mask since 2020 (many were asking for masks before then, but the push wasn’t mainstream until then). To acknowledge that the pandemic is still on going, and take such a simple action. It’s not the answer the person was looking for. It was such a small action, that is almost passive, continual. It is almost meaningless by itself, but through collective action becomes enough to stop a pandemic. I remember this. I am not trying to compare my experience as a disabled person to that of a Gazan, but rather reminding myself of my beliefs. While the disabled genocide and the one currently targeting Palestine are different, I pray that the lesions I have learned from one can help me as I look to stopping the other.

               I am not going to change the world. Nothing I do will change the world. I am only capable of small actions. Smalls acts of resistance, of change. I am not a hero. I am a single person, capable of what a single person is. But through collective action I, we, can make change.

               Nothing I do is enough to stop the genocide the occupation is committing. Nothing I do is enough to stop the pandemic. But I mask. But I speak out in support of Gaza. I call my representatives. I educate my friends and family. What I do is enough to be a part of collective action. Liberation is not a solo event, but a team effort. I am doing enough. This is not me allowing myself not to take responsibility, but me committing to taking action and helping others do the same. It will be enough together.

               This is not to say that any action I take is valid or good. There are many that might be distractions or harmful. I must recognize that while I am only capable of doing what I can, that I am capable, that I must not fall pray to complacency or distractions. I must find these simple, small actions that led towards true liberation and take them. I must add my small pebble to the collective action until we build the mountain of liberation.