This story will not be published (at least not immediately like the rest of my stories on this platform), so if you happen to find this out, good. Glad that my writings reach other people.
A few years ago there was a big event happening all across the globe, although the movement was initially being held in the US. That was the #BlackLivesMatter movement. It was a campaign used to raise awareness of police brutality against people of color in America but then grew up to become an anti-racism movement all across the globe. It was a good movement, and I supported it since I don’t like any kind of discrimination either, especially if the discrimination is based on one’s identity.
But I didn’t speak out loud back then. Because I was not quite agreed with that movement. As the title mentioned, I am a part of the #AllLivesMatter. No. I am not against black people, also I don’t support police brutality. But there’s something fundamental that I don’t agree on.
Fast forward a few months, now it’s May 2021. Israel and Palestine are undergoing series of brutal attacks. Many people died, although the majority of the victims are from the Palestinian side. This is a huge atrocity and I clearly against it. But sadly, many people on the internet — well at least on my Twitter feed — are being supportive of Palestinian violent assault against Israelis. Even in my WhatsApp group, many people say, “Finally Israel got hit by Palestinian rockets”.
I was in total shock when I read those words from others. I mean they definitely against Israel because Israel attacks Palestine. Meanwhile, they’re totally okay when Palestine is hitting Israel back. Although they both took many human lives or at least gave many people injuries, they’re still totally fine with it. Human life’s worth is measured by the country you are living in.
This is where I don’t agree with many people. I think no matter who you are, what country you live in, your ethnicity, your race, your ancestors, or whatever, you deserve to live.
I agree with All Lives Matter not because I hate black people, but because I see human as a human, regardless of your skin color. So your life matters, not because you’re black, but because you’re a human.
I support Israel to have a live in peace, not because I hate Palestine, but because they are a country with living citizens. So their peace matters, not because they’re Israel, but because they are filled with people.
At the same time, I also condemn police brutality against all African-American descendants and condemn Israel’s move to invade Palestine these last few decades. We all deserve to live in peace.
Those last two points are what people misjudge from this kind of argument.
Back in 2017, I watched a youtube video from The Bible Project about justice. You can watch it yourself here. It’s a good video about humanity and justice in this world, regardless of your beliefs.
But after watching it, there’s a sentence that got into my head ever since.
“Sadly, history has shown that when the oppressed gain power, they become oppressor themselves”, with the image of different levels in society.
This is what my mind thinks. Tackling injustice is NOT only about stopping abusing power. But it is about seeing all people the same. Because if you don’t see others as the same as you are, you will only shift the injustice from one person to the other.
This is why I don’t agree with the idea of BLM and free Palestine. Seeing one group as special is only making them superior to the other group. In BLM it makes people feel okay to be harsh on white people especially police and in free Palestine it makes people feel okay to assault Israelis.
Why can’t we just stop the violence because we’re all equal and have the same right as other people? Why can’t we just stop the violence by treating others the same as we want to be treated? Why can’t we stop the violence by NOT making excuses to the oppressed group using violent actions?
I remember last time when people were still campaigning about BLM, one of the Indonesian influencers posted #AllLivesMatter on his Twitter account, and people went crazy over it, and even condemning him for it. People said, “Go make your stupid jokes, no need to be in politics. This isn’t your place”.
Even when a person I knew mentioned boycotting Gal Gadot’s movies after she posted her concern for her family’s safety, I commented, “That is an act of discrimination based on one’s identity, and it is wrong”.
He then replied, “Palestine has had enough”. But when I said “Israel also has the right to live”, guess what I got?
Side notes: I am so sorry for the F-bomb I dropped there. I was in total shock when he said that. I’d never expected to hear those words from people I know in real life, so I unconsciously said the F word. Not an excuse, just to describe the situation.
I don’t know about you or him. Maybe he was told that violence is the best way to end a conflict or something. I truly don’t know. But in my religion, we’re told to love our enemies (Luk 6:27–28), all life is precious (John 3:16), and be kind to those who hurt us (Mat 5:39). So yes. Everybody deserves to be in peace and live happily and that’s why I support both Israel and Palestine to have a happy and peaceful life. Exterminate one side is just simply NOT a solution.
Sadly that’s not what they want. They don’t want Palestine only to become an independent state. They want to annihilate Israel so all those land become Palestinian territory. This is where my energy runs out.
Both sides are thinking that those lands belong to them. None of them are satisfied with half-half. That idea got spread like wildfire along with the followers of both sides. That’s why you will always see Palestinian supporters think that it is better for Israel to leave, and Israeli supporters think that it is better for Palestine to surrender. None of them will ever meet in the middle.
Both sides will always lose if they both think like that. It is simply just a zero-sum game, where everybody gets nothing at the end. I think Vox did a good job of covering the peace agreements for this conflict, you can watch it here.
And if you are watching it, you’ll understand that both sides don’t want to make peace with the other side, at least for now. The act of violence will only be repeated again and again and again if both sides don’t want to change their point of view of this conflict.
I think (and I hope) this would be the last time I rant about this topic because I grew tired of watching people choosing violence although there IS a non-zero-sum game option available. But even more, I become tired because of how people respond to my idea, saying I’m stupid and their way is the only solution.
In conclusion. Yes, I support Israel for existing in this world, especially in the middle east where they are now. But I also support Palestine to be an independent country too. They both have the right to live in that area and none of them are allowed to invade other’s territory.
More broadly, I think everyone has the same right to live peacefully. None of the actions that took away those rights can be justified. No matter what is their skin color, their nationality, their race, their ancestor, their descendants, or their background, all lives matter.
