By HAITHEM EL-ZABRI
"One of my favorite hobbies, especially following the post 9/11 public attitudes in America, has been to wear a Palestine solidarity t-shirt as often as possible, especially during air travel. Many of my friends didn’t think it was a good idea; “you’d be singled out by security, searched and delayed,” they would warn, or “you’d get harassed” or “you’ll make all the passengers suspicious of you and uncomfortable.” But precisely for these reasons, I thought it was important, and I insisted to keep doing it regardless of consequences. When something seems abnormal, in this case publicly expressing your support for Palestine, it becomes necessary to do it frequently in order to normalize it. It needs to be accepted and normal for anyone to proudly wear a pro-Palestine t-shirt in America and, subsequently, it needs to be normal to support the Palestinian cause.
People are influenced by what they see; if they see no support for a cause, they will believe its unpopular and that they should not support it either; on the other hand, if they see many people expressing their support for a cause, they will similarly be influenced and consider supporting it too. When people keep seeing the message “Israel is committing war crimes,” it begins to sink in; awareness is spread and the uninformed become informed or at least curious. This is why it is important and necessary to display our solidarity with Palestine in every possible way; on the clothes we wear, on bumper stickers on our cars, baggage, laptops, or anywhere visible, signs on our windows, participation in rallies or protests, etc. In addition, seeing such solidarity statements being more widespread helps raise the morale of our own people as well as solidarity activists; it gives a strong message of “we are not alone; we are many, we are vocal, we are not intimidated, we will express our solidarity…”
No comments:
Post a Comment