I'm on Day 5 of my personal #Woolman14DayJusticeChallenge. My first four posts have been on Facebook, where I shared and commented on these articles:
- Day 1: Commentary: Time for a shift in state’s Department of Juvenile Justice
- Day 2: Three Years Old, Black and Suspended
- Day 3: Moving The Race Conversation Forward
- Day 4: Navajo Kindergartner Sent Home from School, Ordered to Cut His Hair
Day 5 is on the blog because I have a lot to say! Here is the article: Flying Out of Our Cages. As I planned my comments on Day 5, I was conscious of conflicts that were coming up for me. First, this article is about injustice in Palestine, and I'm not well educated about injustice in Palestine. But from what I do know, the dynamics feel very familiar. Next, because the conflict is so polarized, I feel an awareness that if I express sympathy for the plight of the Palestinians, I may offend some -- not just Israelis, but some of my Jewish American friends. I don't really know! We never talk about it! Sound familiar? It's like, when I talk about the tragic killing of Michael Brown, some privileged folks jump to the defense of the European American police officer who shot and killed him. I never really know who will take a particular position, and I am frequently surprised. I don't know who I might offend with this post. But on Day 5, I'm drawing parallels.
So, do I risk offending people by speaking out on a topic on which I am not well educated? My answer is yes. I may say some uneducated things, and I may offend some people, but I will learn in the process, others may learn along with me, and that is progress. I want progress.
As I read this article, Flying Out of Our Cages by Palestinian psychiatrist Samah Jabr, the information felt familiar. The Palestinian men who she writes about are responding to their oppression in the same ways some African American men respond to oppression in the US. Of course! We're all humans. If our draw in life is oppression, we respond to that oppression in similar ways. If our draw in life is privilege, we respond to that privilege in similar ways. Similar dynamics are set up between the privileged and the oppressed. Similar arguments are made by individuals in the groups. The privileged dictate the dominant framing of the story. (Read "Who's afraid of a map? Palestine bus ads spark debate in Vancouver" for more on this topic. The article is the source for the map, above.) The oppressed dictate the fringe framing of the story. Privileged people who want to live with as little psychic pain as possible will stay within the confines of the dominant frame. Life is just easier there. Oppressed people can only live within the privileged frame through extreme contortions of their identities. So it doesn't happen very often.
In Israel and Palestine, Israelis are the privileged, and Palestinians are the oppressed. Israelis dictate the dominate framing of the discussion. Palestinians dictate the fringe framing of the discussion. Life is easier for Israelis who stay within the dominant framing of the discussion just as life is easier for European Americans who stay within the dominant framing of race issues in the US. Dominant framing of the issues in Palestine blames the Palestinians just as dominant framing of race issues in the US blames African Americans. You can't count on finding the truth in the dominant framing of issues because it is framed to benefit the privileged.
Drawing parallels can help people of privilege find the truth. It's not easy to do.
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