When the recent assault on Gaza started, the response from many Western solidarity groups was formulaic: vigils and big marches. This isn’t because marches are the most effective tactic. It’s nothing to do with creating change. Marches are the symptom of a movement that focuses on the battle over ‘mass awareness’, replacing creativity with standard protest repertoires. (...) Marches are cathartic, but that’s not necessarily a blessing. On one hand, a shared experience of solidarity is valuable for movement building. On another, many find releasing emotions onto the streets with no concrete results disempowering. There are few worse ways to give people confidence that they can act to stop injustice than making them stand and passively listen to speeches. (...) When instead the focus is, ‘did we get more people on our march than last time?’ or ‘did we get more media coverage?’, there’s a problem. The strategic step to convert people and energy on the streets into material gains for Palestinians is never taken, replaced with the easier raise even more awareness. Awareness is not the same as political action. (...) We can’t politely play the long game of awareness-raising, hoping that our government notices and sanctions Israel. There simply isn’t the time to wait for MPs to find their mythical consciences. We need to take BDS into our hands. Only by directly confronting those organisations that profit from and support Israel will they change. They’re supporting apartheid because it’s lucrative. Cause them economic damage, and the support starts to crumble.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 02:02:27 +0000
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