I wrote this text for my Swedish blog on July 6, 2011.
Recent deaths by cops have sparked me into translating it. But this is not written for the cops!... This is for you and me.
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I also want to go with Ship to Gaza! But… I guess that’ll have to be some other time, when I don’t have small children to try and stay alive for…
If I were to go with Ship to Gaza, I believe I could contribute some to the strategy, at least compared with the last time. I am fully aware that the Israeli army committed cold-blooded murder, and that whatever resistance the activists put up, from a legal point of view, is to be regarded as self defense. I also know that the Israelis confiscated several hours of video material of which they have only released around 4 min, well chosen to make it look as if it were the activists who were the violent ones, and the soldiers who acted in self defense (after having illegally boarded the ships in international waters, of course).
But still! Why give them even those 4 min?
Scenario: You are attacked by a person with a machine gun. You have a broom stick. What, in your mind, gives you the greatest chances of survival?
a) You use the broom stick to violently defend yourself against the machine gun attack?
b) You ignore the broom stick entirely, throw yourself face down on the floor, show your hands in capitulation and shout “Have mercy! Please, don’t shoot!”?
Most likely b), right?
Now, what do you think will give the worst publicity for your opponent, in the battle of the media that will inevitably follow?...
In our unenlightened world (hm… many would probably disagree, but), most people have forgotten that non-violence is actually a fighting technique. It’s not about forgiveness, it’s not about surrendering, it’s not even about being nice, really. It’s about defeating your opponent in the most effective way. It’s about “turning the other cheek”, which isn’t about forgiveness either. Instead, the bible describes it exactly as that; As a fighting technique. As the best way to seize back the power from your oppressor, or aggressor. There’s not a word about forgiveness actually, not in that context.
“If somebody orders you to walk a mile with him, walk two miles with him. The first, because he has forced you, and the second because you want to” (free transcription from memory).
Aha! You want to walk the second mile! This means that the first mile was nothing, to you.
If I were to go with Ship to Gaza, I believe I could contribute some to the strategy, at least compared with the last time. I am fully aware that the Israeli army committed cold-blooded murder, and that whatever resistance the activists put up, from a legal point of view, is to be regarded as self defense. I also know that the Israelis confiscated several hours of video material of which they have only released around 4 min, well chosen to make it look as if it were the activists who were the violent ones, and the soldiers who acted in self defense (after having illegally boarded the ships in international waters, of course).
But still! Why give them even those 4 min?
Scenario: You are attacked by a person with a machine gun. You have a broom stick. What, in your mind, gives you the greatest chances of survival?
a) You use the broom stick to violently defend yourself against the machine gun attack?
b) You ignore the broom stick entirely, throw yourself face down on the floor, show your hands in capitulation and shout “Have mercy! Please, don’t shoot!”?
Most likely b), right?
Now, what do you think will give the worst publicity for your opponent, in the battle of the media that will inevitably follow?...
In our unenlightened world (hm… many would probably disagree, but), most people have forgotten that non-violence is actually a fighting technique. It’s not about forgiveness, it’s not about surrendering, it’s not even about being nice, really. It’s about defeating your opponent in the most effective way. It’s about “turning the other cheek”, which isn’t about forgiveness either. Instead, the bible describes it exactly as that; As a fighting technique. As the best way to seize back the power from your oppressor, or aggressor. There’s not a word about forgiveness actually, not in that context.
“If somebody orders you to walk a mile with him, walk two miles with him. The first, because he has forced you, and the second because you want to” (free transcription from memory).
Aha! You want to walk the second mile! This means that the first mile was nothing, to you.
“If somebody slaps one of your cheeks, turn the other cheek to them”, so that they can slap that cheek too, if they wish.
Aha! So the first slap did not bother you. You are already prepared to take another one.
Stop there, and you will finish as the stronger one. Even if you have to take one more slap, which you most likely won’t have to. Because there are other tools in the toolbox, other arenas to win on, than that of violence. Have your opponent shoot you to death on camera, while you lie face down and hands out screaming for mercy, and you have certainly won. You lost on the arena of violence, of course, but you won on all the rest: The moral one, the legal one, the media one, public opinion one… Should there be such a thing as the Doomsday or Karma, you won there as well. But more importantly, you won what you were fighting for, which, of course, wasn’t to reach Gaza, or to bob around in peace in international waters, but to illustrate how incredibly unjust the occupation and the occupation powers are!...
And precisely because your opponent also realizes that, this method also happens to be what gives you your best chances of survival. They know that your victory will be more absolute if they kill you, than if they only commit the smaller crime of imprisoning you. In the latter case, they can at least claim that they treated you humanely, and that you are just lying if you say differently. But a corpse can not be narrated away.
As it were, 9 people died on the last Ship to Gaza trip. Most people have not fallen for the absurd tale that the Israelis acted in self defense, but some they managed to fool. I sincerely hope that nobody dies this time around. But if it should happen still, don’t let the loss be on you! Make sure you play it is such a way that if they shoot you, it is their own ship they shoot in the sink. If they shoot you, may your victory be absolute.
Aha! So the first slap did not bother you. You are already prepared to take another one.
Stop there, and you will finish as the stronger one. Even if you have to take one more slap, which you most likely won’t have to. Because there are other tools in the toolbox, other arenas to win on, than that of violence. Have your opponent shoot you to death on camera, while you lie face down and hands out screaming for mercy, and you have certainly won. You lost on the arena of violence, of course, but you won on all the rest: The moral one, the legal one, the media one, public opinion one… Should there be such a thing as the Doomsday or Karma, you won there as well. But more importantly, you won what you were fighting for, which, of course, wasn’t to reach Gaza, or to bob around in peace in international waters, but to illustrate how incredibly unjust the occupation and the occupation powers are!...
And precisely because your opponent also realizes that, this method also happens to be what gives you your best chances of survival. They know that your victory will be more absolute if they kill you, than if they only commit the smaller crime of imprisoning you. In the latter case, they can at least claim that they treated you humanely, and that you are just lying if you say differently. But a corpse can not be narrated away.
As it were, 9 people died on the last Ship to Gaza trip. Most people have not fallen for the absurd tale that the Israelis acted in self defense, but some they managed to fool. I sincerely hope that nobody dies this time around. But if it should happen still, don’t let the loss be on you! Make sure you play it is such a way that if they shoot you, it is their own ship they shoot in the sink. If they shoot you, may your victory be absolute.
