247 Comments
Sep 2·edited Sep 2

Every time I am faced with personal fear I think about the people in Gaza and what they are going through. It is difficult to really fully imagine.

Expand full comment
founding

Thank you Susan, I will not forget what we have done to the Palestinian people this time. Each time in the past, I would speak out protest, write letters and then forget once the murder SLOWED down. This time, I will not stop until Palestine is free. Thank you, I walk with you.

Expand full comment

So apparently everybody is scared of A few mean spirited genocidal murderous Jews. no one will stop them because they destroy lives and careers and threaten the Samson Option.

God willing this will change.

Expand full comment

This video about the arrest of Sarah Wilkinson is terrifying https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjwycG_9Ujo

Expand full comment

That’s state terrorism. Shame on the assholes that did this. Gee I wonder what state ordered this done? Besides the UK.

Expand full comment

I think there is a much larger point, Capitalism as it destroys communities, it also destroys empathy, not just to Palestinians, but all people, the capitalist culture is so degraded it only values avarice and the sadistic pleasure of cruelty, destruction and death . This is the end for integrated society

Expand full comment

The ego walls around the pocketbook almost invariably prevent authentic emotional resonance with others who are suffering.

Expand full comment

Right. The violence as we know it only began with capitalism.

Expand full comment
founding

Funny, however, Capitalism has enabled the greater violence. Many do not realize how very close we are to nuclear exchange. Capitalism creative destruction.

Expand full comment

Michael Hudson (author of the petrodollar, through "Super Imperialism" book)

Rome and its papacy seemed to be merely vestigial holdovers of early Christianity, having sunk so low a level by the 10th century that even Catholic historians refer to the papacy as the Pornocracy (Rule of the Harlots)...

..The effect was to legitimize the growth of great banking families that steadily became richer by lending to kings to wage war. After the Crusades ended in 1291 the papacy’s power began its long decline. But it had brought into being a financial class, whose growth in time came to overshadow that of Rome. The main long-term effect of the papal reform movement and its Crusades thus was to reverse Christianity’s core moral teaching opposing usury in the process of creating a new imperial and intolerant Christianity...

..Modern fiscal states have the power to levy national taxes, far beyond the fiscal power of kings to pledge their own property. The modern state was created above all as a fiscal organization to which creditors would be willing to lend the money to defend itself. That is how the northern Protestant states of Europe obtained the money to fight to become independent of Europe’s Catholic monarchies. Their political structures for achieving collective liability for debts evolved into democracies. The result was more than just a new kind of state; a supra-national financial system emerged, standing above nation-states that were obliged to enact pro-creditor fiscal and legal systems in order to obtain the loans that they needed to survive or fight their wars of conquest...

,,Creditors want states to be strong enough to enforce payment to them; strong enough to put the interest of domestic and foreign creditor alliances above that of the domestic economy’s growth.

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/08/michael-hudson-debt-economic-collapse-and-the-ancient-world.html

Expand full comment

Excellent comment!

Expand full comment

Limk to Hudson's interview at the bottom of the comment, which is an excerpt.

Expand full comment

You can argue that about the other experiments too. Maybe it's due to technical advances instead, creation of and access to "better" tools of inflicting violence.

Expand full comment

Certainly, there must be a death to the old paradigms typifying capitalism.

Expand full comment

But this is no longer capitalism as we knew it, this is globalism, corporism or public / stakeholder bllx. I do agree with your end sentence though...

Expand full comment

The truth is the Zionist ruling class doesn’t give a shit about the Israeli hostages or they would have made a deal many months ago. They are using them as pawns as they slaughter Gazans. They even kill a handful every few weeks. Then they feign tears of sorrow after they kill them as they blame Hamas. Dead hostages are no good to Hamas.

Expand full comment

Zionist rule class doesn't give much about anyone but Zionist Jews who are rich, to be honest. If you think they care about Christians you are deluded. They have taken a few master-race quotes from the Talmud and used it to claim that every Goy should serve Jews or else.

No-one should view the racist psychopaths in power in Tel Aviv, nor the racist psychopath billionaires in the USA, as human beings worthy of any societal responsibility. They should be viewed as parts of an organised crime syndicate.

Expand full comment

This right here.

Expand full comment

Every thinking person understands this. And so it shows how many thinking persons are out there.

Expand full comment

Exactly. Keeping the money and the power in the same hands is the name of the game. Israelis are just as expendable as Palestinians, if they only knew it.

Expand full comment

Good point.

Expand full comment

Thank you Caitlin Johnstone for your empathy and truth . Our western govts have proven to be the biggest hypocrites and bigots supporting this genocide against the occupied, making Palestinians the enemy just for living in their homeland.

Expand full comment

Caitlin, I have a question for you ->

How do you deal with the outrage building up inside against this other-worldly behavior that has no words to describe it? I'm struggling in my efforts at keeping my constant anger at Western authorities (politicians, oligarchs, administrators, PR scumbags, etc.) in check.

I go on protests, road blockages, office sit-ins - it helps somewhat, but not enough. When I talk with other like-minded individuals, it helps but at the same time it also intensifies these feelings of anger, unjustness, evilness...

What is to be done?

Expand full comment
author

Inner work. You can't engage with this shit without copious amounts of inner resources, which for most people can't come about without extensive inner work. What that looks like will vary from person to person, but some popular expressions of inner work are meditation, mindfulness, energy work, healing practices, therapy, mantra recitation, self-inquiry, etc. Anything that expands your own consciousness of how you work inside so you're not just flying on autopilot getting whipped about by the unconscious forces within you, and enables you to find a foundation of inner peace. There are vast oceans of deep peace within you — really deep peace is what you're actually made of — but this doesn't do you any good if you're unaware of it. It takes some work. Really deeply question your most fundamental assumptions about who and what you are, what the world is, what thought is, and how perception is ultimately occurring.

Expand full comment
Sep 2Liked by Caitlin Johnstone

Thank you very much, Caitlin, for taking the time to listen and respond and help. I understand you have more experience in this field. I've never tried mindfullness before, mainly because I find the "mindfulness industry" to have become a commoditized industry , its form of capitalist spirituality to be a neololiberal escapism of sorts - a highly individualistic spirituality, perfectly accommodated to dominant cultural values and requiring no substantive change in lifestyle.

Having said all that, maybe IT IS what I need right now (so as not to lose my mind and humanity) and to keep on feeling and fighting.

Thank you so much for your help, advice, experience, insight, and most of all - your spirit.

Much love and appreciation!

Expand full comment
author

Yeah things like mindfulness, meditation and yoga have been harnessed by the machine to train workers to remain functional in this stressful and abusive status quo. But they do that because these methods actually work. If their power can be harnessed to keep you from having a mental breakdown from working a horrible job for shit pay, it can also be harnessed to keep you sane and stable while fighting the machine. And even to open up a lasting shift in perception which gives rise to a better quality of life than you'd ever dreamed possible.

Expand full comment

Yes, I understand what you are saying. The Capitalists have co-opted these tools to serve their interests (at the expense of the people) - and what I must do is to take it back and make these tools serve me in my efforts at maintaing a state of relative "evenness" and mental stability (which I am sure to need in my fight against the TPTB, the Empire, and Capitalism).

Thank you!

Expand full comment

Finally, chokaski was shown the way.

Can you post links to your PRs or bug reports or discussions opened for the Palestinian project you were going to lend your expertise to quite a while back? You know, on github? Do you know what github is?

Expand full comment

The Buddha ( awaken to wisdom ) nature is in all of us - it is to the forefront with People like Caitlin but lies dormant in most.

Expand full comment

🤣

Expand full comment
Sep 2·edited Sep 2Liked by Caitlin Johnstone

If I may make a comment here, coming from the perspective of someone who has been feeling what you describe for the past 65 years, and who is still here trying to do her best.

A few things have helped me, one is to always remember it’s not about me, it’s about helping about the Palestinians. That helps me keep in mind that some things look the same: Someone who doesn’t know what’s going on, has chosen to remain ignorant about the situation, someone who doesn’t care at all about the Palestinians, and someone who actually supports what Israel and the US government is doing, looks no different than someone who cares but has found the immensity of the problem more than they can take, and so they remain silent.

When I view it like that, I manage to find reserves that I hadn’t recognised.

I find reading more from honest and knowledgeable people who care deeply about this issue is a real help. All I have to do is look at, or read Norman Finkelstein, or Ilan Pappe, or Shlomo Sand, or Israel Shahak, or Kathy Kelly, or Media Benjamin, or Glenn Greenwald, or Chris Hedges, and of course our Caitlin Johnstone, to realize how important it is to keep that spark of outrage, AKA humanity., alive.

Also, I do non-political stuff: I’ve gotten involved in seeing, observing and photographing nature. Learned to identify the birds, insects, and other creatures we so poorly share this planet with. I catalog and upload the sightings to iNaturalist, make videos of wildlife videos for my YouTube channel, I listen to the best thing that our species has ever done, which is composing exquisite music. I write poetry, bake cookies. And at my age I started exercising!

Sorry for this long-winded response. I just hope some ideas might be of help.

I think we have to find those alternatives that help us keep going. I would love for others to share what they do to keep from getting burned out.

Expand full comment
founding

Thank you, knowing we are not alone is comforting. Hugs to you and yours.

Expand full comment

Where is the evidence that the hostages where killed by Hamas? The evil empire and their lackeys take that as a given. It's never questioned.

Expand full comment

Since when in all these months, or decades, has the IDF/Israel EVER needed evidence for their lies? Of course they were not killed by Hamas.

Expand full comment

Exactly.

Youd think that after the lies about UNRWA, “safe zones”, the Hannibal directive, the non existent “beheaded babies”….the western media would stop printing uncorroborated claims from known liars that the Israelis are.

But in fact the western media are also Zionist infiltrated and controlled propaganda mills.

Expand full comment

The real mindfuck is that in Israel itself, most people are blaming Netanyahu, and there are mass protests planned for today.

Expand full comment

yeah maybe they want Netanyahu to kill Palestinians faster.

Expand full comment

Not everyone in Israel supports Netanyahu.

Expand full comment

a lot of the opposition wants him to ramp up the genocide. including people in his own ruling coalition. there is also mass support for raping Palestinian prisoners with tire irons or the equivalent. the outrage is for the 6 dead hostages (I suspect the IDF killed them), not over 200k dead Palestinians and counting. where is the support for a permanent ceasefire? it's not there, they just want a tactical temporary ceasefire to get Jewish hostages back, they don't gaf about releasing thousands of Palestinian prisoners.

Expand full comment

But there are also people in Israel who are as appalled by their own government's actions as anyone else. One of the biggest labour unions there is calling for a general strike. Nations are not monolithic hive minds.

Expand full comment

They are striking over the hostages. Not over the apartheid or genocide that they are central actors in perpetuating.

Expand full comment

Nope but the polls DO say that over two thirds of the Jewish population of the settler colonial state of Israel support more brutalisation of the Palestinians.

Whether or not genocide perpetrators and enablers support Netanyahu is maybe not the main issue then.

Expand full comment

"So today I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the millions of Palestinians who’ve lost loved ones and had their lives thrown to the winds of chaos by Israel’s western-backed campaign of extermination, ethnic cleansing, and terrorism".

Caitlin, We join with you in mourning.🙏

Expand full comment

Were the Israeli/US hostages killed by Hamas or alternatively Hannibaled? Israel and western acolytes/press have a celebrated record of propagating bullshit and crocodile tears.

Expand full comment

Why would Hamas kill the hostages? It was the only perceived thing of value they have. It is has been proven Israeli citizens aren’t important when it comes to perpetuating the Zionist narrative.

Expand full comment

A valid and worthwile question to ask. I stopped believing a single word coming out of the "holes" of Israeli Zionists and their supporters.

Expand full comment

What scares me most is how some people just go along with this media portrayal of Israelis being important and Palestinians not.

Expand full comment

As a Palestinian American who has worked in media and education for 30 years, I can assure you it has always been this way…the constant crushing weight of a dominant narrative you know in your heart and bones to be a lie. What is new and different (though it took live-streamed slaughter, torture and starvation to awaken) is the growing mass consciousness that does not go along with it.

Expand full comment

I'm really grateful that more people are waking up to this, Annissa. I wish we could somehow stop the genocide through our awareness, and I think we will eventually, but it needs to stop now.

Expand full comment

Who knows what the truth is but the Israeli hostage deaths coincide conveniently with the ramp up of Israeli military invasion in the West Bank, allowing them to demonise Hamas once again, with the help of « Doug and Kamala », of course. Doug is very significant to his wife’s support for Israel. He took a selfie at the Olympics with Macron and his wife, which gave me chills. No surprise to hear since then that Macron is refusing to appoint a PM from the Left coalition who gained the most seats in the recent election, thereby not honouring the election result. The Left support immediate recognition of Palestine and are anti war. Quelle surprise.

Expand full comment

I saw a video of a Palestinian man asking the west to pray for him as bombs were raining down around him in a refugee area. There was nothing I could do and I feel so bad for him. I have distanced my self from ignorant friends who repeat propaganda while giving token, empire like justification. Is this the right road? Anyone suggest anything more we can do?

Expand full comment

Yes, it is so hard to watch and to feel so helpless!!! But aside from any actions we are able to take, speak, write - which are always important in ways we may not immediately know - we can also do exactly what this frightened Palestinian man is asking us to do - Pray for them, daily, hold them in our hearts and pray, to their beloved Allah and to whatever, whomever we each hold as sacred and greater than ourselves in this universe that embraces us all. To honor this man's request is no small thing. Thank you so much for what you have shared.

Expand full comment

No, I don’t let my friends get away with Zionist propaganda and indifference. Genocide of Palestinians people or anyone is not politics and I will not apologise or back down on that.

Expand full comment

While I agree with you, my friends are unaware of their racism. Or at least have a very good veil. It has been exposed, I cant in good faith let it be, and for that I am a liberal. I just take them in doses and give my activist time to people more aware. They are still my friends, I still care for them and hope they see the light, but it was a long road that got me here. And Im glad they think and called me a Liberal because I once was. and if you want to trigger me into a rage and get to the root of something, call me a Liberal and it we will all get there a lot faster.

Expand full comment

The leaders in the West see what are designated as humans as do corporations. They use words like humanity. But neither attach any special meaning to "human" unless perhaps to their own family members and those who drink scotch in the Fraternity. Instead, humans out of their personal orbit are viewed as numbers (as in voters), tools to be used, means to ends, objects, to be commodified either in terms of profit and markets or election wins or in the case of Palestinians, objects as in obstacles to be eliminated for advancement in the power structure and possession of real estate. Any truly integrated, mature person in touch with their feelings would never normalize nuclear war, or physical war. Never fuel a sadistic apartheid, colonialist nation lusting for dominance in any way they can get it. Nor would the mature, developed person be content with the lacklustre response to climate catastrophe that is today's status quo in the USA. Nor would they put up with the plutocrats sucking up wealth wherever they find it - namely in robbing classes "below" them. Indeed, they wouldn't hesitate to rein in corporate power and demand of them practices that extend well being of the whole and nurture life on Earth in all kinds of ways.

Expand full comment

Same old colonialism and imperialism - we're entitled to brown people's cheap labour and resources because we're members of the "superior race". Stunning how little this attitude has changed among our ruling classes and their knuckle-dragging useful idiots. In truth, the West doesn't see anyone other than the rich as human - under neoliberalism, everyone else is just there to be used and discarded.

Expand full comment

The hullabaloo about thoe Israeli hostage deaths from the MSM news sources, was to say the least, sickening.

I just could not believe that such priority was being given to that item in the light of the crimes by Israel now reaching so many in number that accurate records seem to be unavailable. I mean REAL numbers not numbers to suit the Israeli lies, the US fabrications, minimising the real numbers to justify their crimes of weapon supply, expanding further as this is being written and which by all accounts will continue unabated until the November circus event has concluded.

There will not be any reduction in Israel's mass murder. Each day it continues is just one more mark against the US empire, the lack of respect now becoming a serious reality by countries who may have been part US supporters until recently. Naturally, not the white Christians, still in there taking orders from the local Zionist criminals in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Canada closely followed by your white Europeans, Germany and France being the prime movers.

Where are the investigative teams from the UN? Where are the peacekeeping forces, so common in yesteryear when they provided such teams of military personnel to keep warring factions apart?

The UN is no longer a credible organisation, dancing to the dictates of the USA in the once respected UN General Assembly, now a 'House of Cards' in every sense..

Expand full comment
Sep 2Liked by Caitlin Johnstone

One of our local Palestinian friends lost all contact with her family still in Palestine from 7th October up to two weeks into December. When news finally got out she learned all 32 members were dead, killed by the Zionists. The youngest was a 6 month old baby, the oldest her 82 year old grandmother. How the hell does anyone live with that? We're so cosy here in the West, while others are going through that awful ordeal. It makes me so sad and angry.

Expand full comment

Remember, kids, "They Hate Us For Our Freedoms!"

Expand full comment

Yes me too

It all pales in comparison yet we all must continue to live our lives and help more westerners wake the fuck up

❤️🇵🇸❤️

Expand full comment

Which is very difficult. So many aren’t even interested and they certainly don’t recognise what’s going on within our western governments. The mind boggles !

Expand full comment