State Violence, Racism, and a "World on Fire"

I just posted a facebook status that said that three meetings in one day had left me too tired to blog, but then I realized I was wrong.

I'm going to take a break for a moment from discussing/critiquing U.S.-funded Israeli State violence in Gaza to discuss U.S.-funded U.S. State violence in Oakland.
I think there's a theme here.
On New Year's Day, the BART police shot a 22 year old man.
Guess what?
He was unarmed.
Why do you think they shot him?
Yup, that's right. Because he was Black.
Racism did not end because Obama was elected.
Are you surprised?
…Oscar Grant was apparently already restrained with zip tie handcuffs on both his ankles and his wrists when he was shot.
Do the BART police learn their techniques from the Israeli soldiers or do you think it's the other way around?
Okay, okay, it's neither. This is just the way that violent, racist Institutions function.
According to an article from KTVU that I got via the Critical Resistance listserv –
"Grant's family says his lungs were damaged in the shooting when the bullet went through him and then ricocheted off the ground and re-entered his body. Family members confirmed that Grant died from his injuries late Thursday morning. He leaves behind a four-year-old daughter."

So in case it wasn't enough to mourn the 801 deaths in Gaza, now you have one more.
The description of his death makes me cringe. A ricocheting bullet. A young daughter left behind. Already bound by his ankes and his wrists.
In Oakland.

Oh. And in the village of Kfar Qaddum, near Qalqilya – which is in the West Bank, not Gaza- settlers invaded and started shooting at several homes. How did the Israelis soldiers respond? They invaded the village as well, of course, and prevented people from entering the mosque.
They have also announced a curfew in Huwarra, south of Nablus.

You know, I should be clear that all I'm really doing here is compiling information from Ma'an News, adding my commentary, and maybe including a couple things from Al Jazeera.
I mean, not the part about Oscar Grant. But the Palestine parts.

Recently a good friend expressed this sentiment: "The world is on fire."
I have to agree.
But some parts are burning a lot more than others. Some parts are barely burning at all.

And of course, i can't end this entry without at least a brief update on Gaza –
The Israelis have most recently destroyed:
The home of Palestinian journalist Ala Mortijar, killing him and injuring several others
A building complex in Gaza City that housed media and production studios of over 20 media organizations including several international news agencies
(I think they're hiding something)
The home of Nareman Abu Au'da in Beit Hanoun. She was killed by the shrapnel of an artillery shell.
The home of the Sa'id family in Al-Qarem in northern Gaza, killing Fatma Sa'eed Sa'id (42), Sumeya (25) and Ata Jamil (12).
The Salha family home in Beit Lahiya, also in northern Gaza, where seven people were killed including 60 year old Mohammed Mubarak Saleh and his wife Halim Saleh.
And for all you sports fans who need one more reason to be appalled and enraged: they also destroyed Gaza's International Football Stadium in Rafah.
I really don't understand why.
Again, source, Ma'an News.

By the way, here's just a little more from another source – "Dissident Voice," "a radical newsletter in the struggle for peace and social justice."
I don't know anything about this source except that this article seems to have some very detailed information about a certain ceasefire - - and who violated it - - and did/didn't intend it's sustainability. Interesting facts from this site/article include:
1. Prior to the ceasefire, Isreal had announced its intention to wage full-scale military operations against Gaza. The cease-fire did not end those plans.
2. Israel violated the ceasefire on numerous occasions by shooting Gazan farmers working on their land near the border. On June 27th, an 82 year old man was injured in one of these attacks. In another (date unspecified) a Palestinian woman (age unspecified) was wounded.
3. Israel made up this thing they called a "special security zone" WITHIN Gaza (seriously, what's with them? they sound like bush. "special security zone." "axis of evil." it's like these people think they're in a comic book). They decided that they could fire upon any Palestinian who entered into this special security zone in Gaza. Basically, this was what they used as an excuse to shoot farmers, as mentioned above.
4. ALL this was even BEFORE the Israeli airstrike on November 5th which killed five Palestinians in Gaza and wounded several others.
5. And then, of course, there was the blockade.
6. Oh, and the Occupation.
7. And it's ALL Occupation.

I have more to say, but I realize this is getting long. So I'll stop and I'll try not to just write again in another 15-20 minutes.