How to stand resolute when even family, longtime friends and colleagues fall silent, turn away, call you crazy … or worse. What to do in the face of such callous indifference of so many around us?
As usual spot on. My sanity borders on madness. I should ignore genocide enablers, but I can’t help myself. I feel the need to speak out and take them to task as futile as it is. But it gives me comfort that I’m not a bystander, those who remain silent are complicit.
I hear you, Orestes. I live in an odd situation, no one EVER talks about the genocide. I tried to engage the pastor of a liberal church congregation about setting up a peace & justice committee to educate and do some level of advocacy to stop the genocide. She said she'd get back to me and never did. It's like some kind of alternate universe here.
And you are right ... silence IS complicity and I have no respect for those who are complicit with genocide.
If I’m feeling especially wonky, I sit under a tree and absorb its energy. (Ask the tree’s permission first.) This was taught me by my Native American hairstylist.
Mark, you took the words right out of my reply: I feel like I’m living in an alternate universe where Amerikkkans vote for the likes of the duopoly to “lead” us ( lead us WHERE?) and the western world celebrates the death of a true resistance leader, Yahya Sinwar, while ignoring an arm with an IV still attached, reaching out from a tent engulfed in flames.
Communities like this one are the only thing preventing me from throwing myself off a cliff.
It is an alternate universe. More and more -- with every passing day and every new US/Israeli war crime -- I feel like the stranger in a strange land. The cowardice, silent indifference and complicity of the American people with this genocide is one of our greatest crimes.
Brilliant collation Mark. Great material to share. With your permission I'll forward this to all the people I thought I knew and who now think I'm a bit or a lot crazy. Unchallengeable arguments. But reason, like compassion, has been eroded to a vestigial organ.
Turns out we were both right and a little wrong...
My recollection was based primarily on my memory of a lecture by an English Literature professor who had a special interest in Thoreau, Emerson and the Transcendentalists. He had spoken of it as a poll tax specifically to support the Mexican War of 1849. Turns out a second source confirmed you are right, but the professor was also right about motivation in that Thoreau "...believed this poll tax supported the Mexican-American war and the expansion of slavery into the Southwest." ... "Thoreau had hoped to use his jail time and refusal to pay the tax to raise awareness about the issue of the Mexican-American war".
He had stopped paying the poll tax earlier in 1842, I am assuming, then on the mistaken grounds of opposing slavery.
So, yes, Thoreau was mistaken, the poll tax was a local tax not connected to the Mexican War or slavery, but the motive for his resistance was a belief that the tax helped support the war, so he was acting on principle of resisting injustice, war and slavery.
The professor had also said Emerson was the one who paid the tax to get Thoreau released, but the source I reviewed said it was most likely his aunt, though the identity was never confirmed.
Finally, lest anyone be confused by a typo, it was a "poll" tax, not a "pole" tax. To my knowledge, there were no strip clubs in Concord, Mass. at the time. The professor did not address that issue in his lecture.
I, too, am a fan of Norman Fiinkelstein. He is refreshingly truthful and open. Thanks for sharing this Useful Idiots clip.
Thanks, Mark,
As usual spot on. My sanity borders on madness. I should ignore genocide enablers, but I can’t help myself. I feel the need to speak out and take them to task as futile as it is. But it gives me comfort that I’m not a bystander, those who remain silent are complicit.
Best,
Orestes
I hear you, Orestes. I live in an odd situation, no one EVER talks about the genocide. I tried to engage the pastor of a liberal church congregation about setting up a peace & justice committee to educate and do some level of advocacy to stop the genocide. She said she'd get back to me and never did. It's like some kind of alternate universe here.
And you are right ... silence IS complicity and I have no respect for those who are complicit with genocide.
Thanks for sharing, at this stage nothing perplexes me. A liberal church avoiding a discussion about peace and justice…wonder what Jesus would think.
No doubt. For most Christians of the right or left, faith is performative feel-good BS. I have left all of that, created a meditation room and sit.
Embrace Nature please, Mark. It HELPS.
If I’m feeling especially wonky, I sit under a tree and absorb its energy. (Ask the tree’s permission first.) This was taught me by my Native American hairstylist.
I need to do more of that.
Mark, you took the words right out of my reply: I feel like I’m living in an alternate universe where Amerikkkans vote for the likes of the duopoly to “lead” us ( lead us WHERE?) and the western world celebrates the death of a true resistance leader, Yahya Sinwar, while ignoring an arm with an IV still attached, reaching out from a tent engulfed in flames.
Communities like this one are the only thing preventing me from throwing myself off a cliff.
It is an alternate universe. More and more -- with every passing day and every new US/Israeli war crime -- I feel like the stranger in a strange land. The cowardice, silent indifference and complicity of the American people with this genocide is one of our greatest crimes.
It was never about the hostages; it was always about Judeo-Lebensraum. Perhaps the false flag aspect in detailed inspection would be of interest for you, Mark: https://adversusbabylon.substack.com/p/reichstag-ii-revisited-the-oct-7
Another great post, Mark. Very informative and inspiring, as usual. Your writing is so on-point. Thank you once again.
Thanks for the supportive words, Leon, I appreciate 'em. Feel free to use and pass along any way you wish or incorporate into your own work.
Brilliant collation Mark. Great material to share. With your permission I'll forward this to all the people I thought I knew and who now think I'm a bit or a lot crazy. Unchallengeable arguments. But reason, like compassion, has been eroded to a vestigial organ.
Thanks, Graeme, feel free to forward, post or use any of the material on my Substack.
Thoreau was jailed, for one night, for failing to pay a pole tax, not a “war tax.”
https://www.walden.org/what-we-do/library/the-transcendentalists-their-lives-writings/concord-poll-tax-protest-before-thoreau/#:~:text=In%201846%2C%20Henry%20David%20Thoreau,slavery%20and%20the%20Mexican%20War.
Turns out we were both right and a little wrong...
My recollection was based primarily on my memory of a lecture by an English Literature professor who had a special interest in Thoreau, Emerson and the Transcendentalists. He had spoken of it as a poll tax specifically to support the Mexican War of 1849. Turns out a second source confirmed you are right, but the professor was also right about motivation in that Thoreau "...believed this poll tax supported the Mexican-American war and the expansion of slavery into the Southwest." ... "Thoreau had hoped to use his jail time and refusal to pay the tax to raise awareness about the issue of the Mexican-American war".
He had stopped paying the poll tax earlier in 1842, I am assuming, then on the mistaken grounds of opposing slavery.
So, yes, Thoreau was mistaken, the poll tax was a local tax not connected to the Mexican War or slavery, but the motive for his resistance was a belief that the tax helped support the war, so he was acting on principle of resisting injustice, war and slavery.
The professor had also said Emerson was the one who paid the tax to get Thoreau released, but the source I reviewed said it was most likely his aunt, though the identity was never confirmed.
Finally, lest anyone be confused by a typo, it was a "poll" tax, not a "pole" tax. To my knowledge, there were no strip clubs in Concord, Mass. at the time. The professor did not address that issue in his lecture.
https://historyofmassachusetts.org/henry-david-thoreau-arrested-for-nonpayment-of-poll-tax/
The attachment spelled “poll” correctly, auto-check failed.
It's no big deal.