Changing The World

Changing The World

by C. A. Matthews

“If you think we can’t change the world, it just means you’re not one of them who will.” --Jacque Fresco

The last two hundred plus days have been difficult. But, every once and a while, there is a glimmer of hope. There is a light shining through the haze of the seemingly endless bombing in Gaza. Not everyone supports this genocide. Not everyone buys into the sociopathic narrative of the Israelis and their bought-off Zionist agents in the West.

In fact, every day there are more and more people who are speaking out against the war crimes the IOF (Israeli Occupation Forces) are perpetrating against innocent Palestinian civilians. Our university students are leading the way in protest against the entrenched, bloodthirsty establishment. Cops are using rubber bullets, mace, and nightsticks against them, but the students are holding fast. They truly are heroes in these dark times.

BGSU students protest in downtown BG

And we should follow their lead.

Change is scary, but sometime it’s necessary. This is one of these times. The world cannot remain the way it is, stuck in the sickness of capitalism’s endless wars to steal resources (oil, land, rare earths) from native peoples. The world cannot remain under the control of full-fledged psychopaths who’d rather foul our air, land, and waters to generate another billion dollars in profit than to preserve what remains of our beautiful Earth by practicing prudent and fair methods of resource management. The world cannot remain in the hands of sociopaths who believe that ethnic cleansing and immigrant-scapegoating are legitimate, moral activities to handle human conflict.

The world will not remain a livable place much longer if these activities continue. And so our university students—our heroes—are taking the lead at pointing out the evils of the status quo at the risks of their studies, their careers, and their lives. We should do all that we can to promote their cause and boycott the industries, institutions, and individuals that are selfishly driving our planet toward its death throws.

One student eloquently summed up the meaning of the student protests in a short interview:

University Of Chicago Student States: "There Are Things That More Important Than My Academic Future" https://youtu.be/BJpML0QBcMk  and also  https://youtu.be/vAZIMWNOa7w

Another student gave testimony to her school’s board of trustees on how their investments into the military-industrial complex aren’t what the students and faculty want:

Speaking Truth to Power: Rutgers Student Confronts School Leadership Board https://www.indiemediatoday.com/p/speaking-truth-to-power-rutgers-hdwmt-112

And Columbia University social work graduates got their points across during their graduation ceremony: https://twitter.com/ColumbiaSJP/status/1789827109470224418

Bold, aren’t they? I find them refreshing in their moral courage, don't you?

More nominees for an "Aaron" award!

This is what I mean when I say these university students are our heroes. They valiantly clear away the cobwebs of the fascistic narrative spin offered up by government spokespersons and present the facts to us in a rational and moral fashion. Genocide is no longer to be considered an “option” or a “choice” or a “defense tactic” or a way for your university to make money. It’s just plain mass murder. It’s horrific ethnic cleansing. Anyone who can’t intuit that profound truth is a very sick individual and needs to be locked up for their own good as well as for the good of society.

Perhaps we should install padlocks on all the doors and rubber mats on the floors and walls that line the Capitol Building and the White House to keep all the AIPAC-owned lunatics inside to prevent them from starting World War III?

BGSU students and others on Main St.

After seven months, one would hope that more celebrities would come crawling out of their golden bubbles to protest the criminal actions of Israel. But being threatened with dropped contracts for their music or having their juicy parts in big Hollywood productions axed are considered more important to most entertainers than helping save thousands of innocent lives from being butchered by the Israeli military. 

Rapper Macklemore is an exception. He has written a rap song declaring the reality of what the students are protesting about while simultaneously exposing the shallow narcissism of celebrityness. (All proceeds from the song are being donated to UNRWA, too. Nice touch, Macklemore.)

audio only https://youtu.be/wmg6vbt04TY
video https://youtu.be/fgDQyFeBBIo

HIND'S HALL
Written and Produced by Macklemore

The people they won’t leave
What is threatening about divesting and wanting peace?
The problem isn’t the protests it’s what they’re protesting
Cause it goes against what our country is funding
Block the barricade until Palestine is free
Block the barricade until Palestine is free
When I was 7 I learned a lesson from Cube and Eazy E
What was it again? Oh yea fuck the police
Actors in badges protecting property
And a system that was designed by white supremacy
But the people are in the streets
You can pay off Meta you can’t pay off me
Politicians who serve by any means
AIPAC, CUFI and all the companies
You see we sell fear around the land of the free
But this generation here is about to cut the strings
You can ban Tik Tok take us out the algorithm
But it’s too late we’ve seen the truth we bare witness
We’ve seen the rubble the buildings the mothers the children
And all the men that you murdered and then we see how they spin it
Who gets to the right to defend and who gets the right of resistance
Has always been about dollars and the color of your pigment
But White Supremacy is finally on blast
Screaming free Palestine until they’re home at last
We see the lies in them
Claiming it’s anti-semitic to be anti-zionist
I’ve seen Jewish brothers and sisters out there and riding
In solidarity and screaming free Palestine with ‘em
Organizing, unlearning and finally cutting ties with a
State that’s gotta rely on an apartheid system
To uphold an occupying violent
History been repeating for the last 75
The Nakba never ended, the colonizer lied
If some kids in tents, posted on the lawn occupying the quad is really against the law
And a reason to call in the police and their squad
where does genocide land in your definition huh? destroying every college in Gaza and every mosque pushing everyone into Rafah and dropping bombs
The blood is on your hands Biden, we can see it all
And fuck no I’m not voting for you in the fall
Undecided, you can’t twist the truth
The people out here united never be defeated when Freedom’s on the horizon
Yet the music industry’s quiet complicit in their platform of silence
What happened to the artist what do you got to say?
If I was on a label, you could drop me today
And be fine with it cause the heart fed my page
I want a ceasefire fuck a response from Drake
What you willing to risk?
What you willing to give?
What if you were Gaza? What if those were your kids?
If the West was pretending that you didn’t exist
You’d want the world to stand up
And the students finally did
Let’s get it

The title of Macklemore’s song, Hind’s Hall, comes from the “renamed” Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University. Here’s a short bio of who Hind was in case you don’t know:

Hind Rajab was a 6-year-old girl from Gaza. In January 2024, she and her family were shelled by the Israeli army while in their car. Hind and her 15-year-old cousin, Layan Hamadeh, were the only survivors, trapped within the car. They called the Palestinian Red Cross Society, with Layan saying, “They are shooting at us. The tank is right next to me. We're in the car, and the tank is right next to us.” The PCRS sent a team to rescue them. However, after 12 days, on February 10, when the Israeli army withdrew from the area, Hind Rajab and her six relatives were found dead in the car, along with the two paramedics sent to rescue them, who were also found dead nearby, victims of Israeli snipers.

The Columbia students renamed the building in honor of a frightened little girl left to die of her injuries and starvation all alone beside the corpses of her family members who earlier succumbed to their wounds. The perpetrators of this heinous crime will probably never be charged or prosecuted for what they did, but the students of Columbia immortalized Hind Rajab by renaming a building in her honor. Macklemore is spreading Hind’s story worldwide through his gift of music. May Hind’s remaining family and friends find some solace in knowing that she will never be forgotten, and that not all Westerners were oblivious to their suffering.

This is heroism. This is changing the world for the better. These are the people we should follow and imitate.

Block the Hollywood celebs and the Grammy winners online who can’t even be bothered to hold a concert to raise money for UNRWA. They won't even bring about public awareness to the genocide in Gaza by chatting about it on the red carpet or the talk show circuit or their X feeds.

To quote Macklemore: “I want a ceasefire! F*ck a response from Drake!”

The students are changing the world. Follow their lead. Free Palestine.

Related Articles and Other Interesting Links

Blood on Biden’s Hands: The invasion of Rafah MUST be stopped
https://youtu.be/sovQJfZL-jw

University Of Chicago Student States: "There Are Things That More Important Than My Academic Future" https://youtu.be/vAZIMWNOa7w

University Students in Mexico Launch Gaza Solidarity Encampment, Call for BDS https://truthout.org/articles/university-students-in-mexico-launch-gaza-solidarity-encampment-call-for-bds/

MACKLEMORE - HIND'S HALL https://youtu.be/fgDQyFeBBIo

'HIND'S HALL' OCCUPATION / Hind Rajab’s Mother Reacts To Student Protests https://mark192.substack.com/p/hinds-hall-occupation-hind-rajabs

Student Power: Freedoms under threat in the U.S. https://youtu.be/l8-ojOG16ow

Opposing The War Machine Is Cool Again, And The Empire's Getting Nervous https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/opposing-the-war-machine-is-cool

Students Demanding Divestment: You’re On The Right Side Of History https://popularresistance.org/students-demanding-divestment-youre-on-the-right-side-of-history/

Speaking Truth to Power: Rutgers Student Confronts School Leadership Board https://www.indiemediatoday.com/p/speaking-truth-to-power-rutgers-hdwmt-112

Thousands of U.S. Students Arrested While Israel Invades Rafah https://youtu.be/RzMueJ4OpsI

Chris Hedges: The Nation’s Conscience  https://scheerpost.com/2024/05/08/chris-hedges-the-nations-conscience/

Campus Protests Are Fighting Militarism and Corporatization at Home and Abroad https://truthout.org/articles/campus-protests-are-fighting-militarism-and-corporatization-at-home-and-abroad/

USC President and Provost Censured After Faculty Senate Vote https://scheerpost.com/2024/05/10/usc-president-and-provost-censured-after-faculty-senate-vote/

Empire Managers Explain Why This New Protest Movement Scares Them https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/empire-managers-explain-why-this

Listen to the Students  https://consortiumnews.com/2024/05/08/listen-to-the-students/

Universities Have Failed Their Democratic Mission by Repressing Gaza Protests https://truthout.org/articles/universities-have-failed-their-democratic-mission-by-repressing-gaza-protests/

Israel Shuts Down Al Jazeera Operations In The Country https://popularresistance.org/israel-shuts-down-al-jazeera-operations-in-the-country/

There’s Only 1 to 3 Days’ Worth of Food Left in Gaza, World Food Programme Warns https://truthout.org/articles/theres-only-1-to-3-days-worth-of-food-left-in-gaza-world-food-programme-warns/

Israeli Prisons Subject Palestinians to Constant Torture, “Revenge” https://truthout.org/articles/report-israeli-prisons-subject-palestinians-to-constant-torture-revenge/

Jill Stein EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW - Why Ending the War on Gaza Means Breaking From Biden https://youtu.be/NXSZUtt4kYE

Why 9 in 10 American Zionists Are Actually Christians  https://joebrunoli.substack.com/p/why-9-in-10-american-zionists-are

Support for a Permanent Ceasefire in Gaza Increases Across Party Lines https://www.dataforprogress.org/blog/2024/5/8/support-for-a-permanent-ceasefire-in-gaza-increases-across-party-lines

When Opposing Genocide Is Seen As Radical, Radicalism Becomes A Moral Imperative https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/when-opposing-genocide-is-seen-as

Every single hostage exchange Hamas offered Israel since October
https://twitter.com/cynthianna3/status/1788687035424735544

Over 100,000 Gazans flee Rafah as UN warns 'no aid in sight' https://thecradle.co/articles/over-100000-gazans-flee-rafah-as-un-warns-no-aid-in-sight

Jill Stein on an Egyptian TV news program (with an endorsement) https://youtu.be/kuIJt73t9aQ?si=LZthWo7QNBDB4fDb

The CIA and Zionism: A Complex History https://www.spytalk.co/p/the-cia-and-zionism-a-complex-history

USA & Israel defy world in vote to make Palestine full UN member https://geopoliticaleconomy.substack.com/p/us-israel-un-vote-palestine-full-member

Can No One Tell Me the Name of an Israeli Woman Who Was Raped by Hamas on 10/7? https://joebrunoli.substack.com/p/can-no-one-tell-me-the-name-of-an

Using A Fictional Antisemitism Crisis To Support A Real Genocide https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/using-a-fictional-antisemitism-crisis

When Your Rulers Ignore Voters But Are Terrified Of Protesters, That Tells You Something https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/when-your-rulers-ignore-voters-but

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"Justice Is What Love Looks Like In Public"

What a difference a day or two--and a pen in Trump's tiny hand--makes! We've witnessed non-violent protests across the nation in support of Standing Rock and US Green Card holders as well as protests against various Trump cabinet nominees and executive orders. Photos of a local #NoDAPL event we attended are posted below the following article, a lecture about a man who knew a lot about non-violent protests, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In celebration of Black History Month, we're looking at the Political Revolution through the eyes of African Americans. First up, Dr. Cornel West speaks on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

"Justice Is What Love Looks Like In Public."

words and photos by Cindy A. Matthews

Dr. Cornel West spoke to a packed ballroom at Bowling Green State University with an estimated 1500+ in attendance. The noted author, scholar, lecturer, and former surrogate for both the Bernie Sanders and Jill Stein presidential campaigns, held the audience's undivided attention for two and a half hours. His insights on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. challenged previously held misconceptions of King as "tame, domesticated." Instead, Dr. West informed us: "Don't view him [King] as a static icon in a museum--he's a wave in an ocean."

It is often forgotten that in spite of King being seen by most white Americans as a proponent of non-violent protest and an ordained Baptist minister, he was labeled by the FBI as one of the most dangerous men in America. But why? Dr. West thinks it's because King was a "love warrior" and never forgot his true mission in life was to break through our materialistic society's indifference to evil. King never stopped seeking justice for those who were oppressed and to expose evil for what it was.

"Justice is what love looks like in public," Dr. West said, noting, "What kind of human will we choose to be?"

By resisting "deodorized discourse," King made people feel "unnerved, unsettled, uncomfortable." He is still seen as a threat to our commercialized society which wants to feel good at all costs and never uncomfortable. Dr. West in MLK's tradition challenged us to see through the "American lie" that people are "self-made."

"Did you give birth to yourself?" Dr. West joked, but turning serious he remarked how we are all molded and shaped by bigger things about us--our family, society, culture. Without piety and humility, we assume we are greater than we are and can act with impunity, something Drs. King and West do not see in their Christian tradition of human beings being instilled with love.

Dr. West admitted every tradition has its blind spots, but they are a starting place for us "to try again and fail better" next time. There is "fascism in every tradition," as fundamentalists exist in the Christian, Muslim and Jewish faiths, for example, and we must always be aware of their influence. Dr. King was an "organic intellectual" and "artist" who used his ideas to empower others. This came from his "prophetic faith" in the radical visions of Isaiah and Amos. King knew he would suffer for his outspokenness: "This is the price we must bear for the freedom of our people."

The U.S. government saw the danger in Martin Luther King Jr.'s message of how militarism, commercialism and racism were sucking the energy out of our democracy. King saw the connection between militarism and poverty, and he spoke out against the travesty of the Vietnam War. He sought "justice for righteousness" and used Matthew 25 as his measure of what makes a great human being. But decades later America still has a market culture which bases the worth of human beings on their "brand." Our heroes flaunt their upward mobility with their flashiness and their "biggest brand" mentality.

"Peacocks strut because they can't fly!" West taunted, adding, "Let the phones be smart!"

"What are you doing for your brothers and sisters?" is the question King would have asked in our era of "sell-outs" who demonstrate little integrity according to West. "Superficial spectacle" cannot replace "soul to soul" communication. The oligarchs don't want groups singing in harmony because they touch the soul and go beyond the pursuit of fleeting pleasure. The soul is about "sharing, sweetness, kindness and generosity." Our task is to remain tender in the midst of our market-driven culture by practicing "spiritual warfare." We can't live through the lives of the rich and famous. We need to seek justice--not revenge. Our motto should be according to Dr. West: "I don't have a minute to hate--I will seek justice."

 West urged us to stay on the "love train" or "justice train." Power without compassion crushes the weak, but Martin Luther King Jr. whispers, "Interrupt the cycle of hatred, oppression and exploitation." King's dream was not the American dream but rooted in it. It is a dream from one who has dealt with the debilitating effects of Jim Crow for decades. The "pretty words" on our sacred documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were written by slave owners and those who condoned slavery. Dr. West says we must "critique the worse to bring out the best."

Martin Luther King Jr. was committed to the cross of Christ--to unconditional love. It's why he was organizing the poor and downtrodden sanitation workers of Memphis, Tennessee, when he was shot and killed. King spoke frankly. "We must come to terms with poverty," is what King was saying, according to Dr. West who also pointed out how King stated no democracy can survive with escalating poverty, militarism, racism and xenophobia. 

The challenge we face today is how to instill empathy. We've had a "rude awakening" under Trump, but perhaps it will awaken empathy for our brothers and sisters, West hopes, "shattering the sleepwalking, hardened hearts" who scapegoat the poor, Muslims, Jews, Palestinians, Latinos, Native Americans and others. Because "When you love folks, you wanna do something," he emphasized.

Catastrophe lyrically expressed is the Blues according to West. Martin Luther King Jr. "was a Blues man with a Christian twist." Dr. West states that we can learn from Blues people and prevent ourselves from falling into the pit. The question is, "Do we have what it takes, America?"

MLK stated, "I'd rather be dead than afraid." Dr. West challenged us to feel King's hope at the deepest level and do something with our lives to make the world a better place before "the worms get you."

After his talk, Dr. West took questions from the audience on a wide variety of subjects. He admonished us to "Lift every voice," as every voice is unique as a fingerprint and deserves to be heard. He encouraged us not to echo our culture of "joyless pursuit of pleasure" but be original, practicing love and justice, not hate and revenge.  "Go to where the people are. Do what you can with what you got."

"Love people because they are worthy, not because they'll love you back," West reminded us. The "diversity of our commonality" means our white and black history and cultures are intertwined in America. Cognizant of how we are linked together, we must treat each other fairly because, "Truths sooner or later have to be dealt with," and "The post-fact world is a lie!"

"Artists are the vanguard of the species," Dr. West stated. Creation is finding your own voice. Individuals possessing empathy and the imagination to glimpse a better world, and are willing to share it, are crucial to our society. We must conceive an alternative existence in the midst of a horrible one, remembering that social movements don't start at the top with elites but at the bottom with grassroots catalysts.

"Don't allow anything to dampen your call for justice!" he cried.

***

 From the recent Women's March in Ann Arbor, Michigan, an example of a call for justice expressed in a peaceful manner in the streets of mainstream America.

And now another example...

This Is What Democracy Looks Like!

Photos of a small town protest in front of a Big Oil corporation

by A. J. Matthews. "Non-Alternative Facts" supplied by C. A. Matthews.

With the wind, slush and damp, it was well below freezing. However, the protestors came out in numbers to make some noise in support of the Standing Rock Sioux in front of the Marathon Petroleum Building in downtown Findlay, Ohio. Marathon Petroleum is one of the Dakota Access (Bakken) Pipeline  investors along with Enbridge. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-02/enbridge-marathon-agree-to-buy-2-billion-bakken-pipeline-stake

 There were an estimated 60 to 70 participants at the height of the #NoDAPL protest.  We received honks and plenty of thumbs up, along with a couple of pro-Trump people whose sign demonstrated some interesting "alternative facts":  "Oil Built Findlay." In actuality, Findlay was  a natural gas and glass manufacturing center and never an actual "oil town." It was originally built as a supply fort during the War of 1812 by the US Army on its march to Detroit, and not by Marathon Petroleum currently headquartered there as the sign implied. They came along in the 20th century.

How could these Trump supporters get their historical facts so confused? Public education defunded by Republican-held state and local governments? Fox News?

 

It was nice to see the young and the old, students and retirees alike standing up for Standing Rock. Findlay is a river town that has suffered its fair share of flooding in recent years, so area residents understand "water is life." (There's that pesky climate change fact rearing its ugly head again, as too much water can bring destruction as well.) They know we need to transition to a green energy system in order to keep Findlay above the flood plain, and they support the water protectors fighting to keep the water supply clean and safe for millions of other Americans.  

You never know who you'll meet at a small town protest... Maybe an alternative media journalist or two? If these ordinary folks can withstand the frigid cold to stand in solidarity with the water protectors at Standing Rock, anyone can. So, get out of your comfort zone and speak out today. Let's honor Dr. King's legacy of advocating for a more compassionate society and a better world for all humankind.