Why does it seem impossible for so many of my comrades on the left to reflect on the mass murder in Syria without reminding us, what we already know, that many others are suffering around the world and especially in Palestine? I have been involved in the Palestinian movement and in third world revolutionary work of all kinds for 40 years. I’ve been in the camps, on the front in the resistance, in the streets, I’ve been to prison, I’ve organized here there and everywhere. I write about racism, capitalism, and injustice every single day. Trust me, I get it. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t grieve and be angered by what is happening everyday in Syria as well. In addition to being a Marxist, a Leftist, a Maoist, an activist, and all that, You should be a human being.
I understand what my comrades are trying to say, but come on friends, you aren’t telling us anything we don’t already know, you aren’t the only ones who realize that others are dying and suffering every minute of every day, and that Israel is evil and Palestine must overcome. That said, it is not somehow wrong to focus for a bit on the senseless murder of more than fifty thousand Syrian children, women, adults, without further pontification.

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