Rally at City Hall – Oct 9, 2023
From The Dispatch, Oct 10: In a statement Monday, President Joe Biden announced that 11 American citizens had been among those killed in the attacks on Israel over the weekend, with more likely held hostage by Hamas. “In this moment of heartbreak, the American people stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Israelis,” the president said, likening the attack to those America suffered on September 11, 2001. “We remember the pain of being attacked by terrorists at home, and Americans across the country stand united against these evil acts that have once more claimed innocent American lives. It is an outrage. And we will continue to show the world that the American people are unwavering in our resolve to oppose terrorism in all forms.”
Meanwhile, in Cambridge, MA, hundreds rallied in front of Cambridge City Hall shouting Intifada! Intifada! in what can best be described as a celebration of the recent atrocities committed by Hamas. There were some familiar faces in the crowd, including people politically active in Cambridge. Now I know that this was not a representative sample of the people of Cambridge, and I certainly don’t believe that antisemitism and the celebration of murder, rape, and kidnapping is tolerated by any more than a small minority of deranged residents. I also got the sense that many of the celebrants were not actually Cambridge residents and included plenty of area college students. That said, they chose Cambridge City Hall as the site for their rally. “No Place for Hate” – except when it is. When fires grow, consider who is providing the oxygen.
I stood with the Israel supporters across the street, and I stand with Israel now. I hope this war is resolved quickly with minimal loss of life. I now look forward to some classic “bothsidesism” from our Cambridge elected officials and candidates. – Robert Winters
When People Tell You Who They Are, Believe Them (Bari Weiss, The Free Press, Oct 10, 2023)
This is what ‘decolonization’ really looks like. Look carefully at who is cheering it on.
This Is What ‘Decolonization’ Looks Like (Peter Savodnik, The Free Press, Oct 9, 2023)
Fancy-sounding academic jargon is not a curious intellectual exercise. Words make worlds. Words make nightmares.
“And as you might have seen, there was some sort of rave or desert party where they were having a great time until the resistance came in electrified hang gliders and took at least several dozen hipsters,” a speaker at a Democratic Socialists of America rally in New York proclaimed to whoops and laughter. (DSA members include representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jamaal Bowman, Rashida Tlaib, and Ilhan Omar.)
You can learn more about Eugene Puryear, the person who said these words on Wikipedia. Puryear writes regularly for Liberation News, the newspaper of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. In 2008, Puryear ran on the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s ticket alongside presidential nominee Gloria La Riva. The La Riva/Puryear slate was on the ballot in six states and received 6,818 total votes. In July 2015, Puryear was announced as the running mate of Gloria La Riva, the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s 2016 presidential nominee. However, he was not eligible to hold the office, as he would not have been at least 35 years old by Inauguration Day. He was critical of the Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
Many of you may recall that the “Party for Socialism and Liberation” was the primary organizer of the series of anti-police rallies and Cambridge City Council meeting disruptions earlier this year. Those rallies and the demands associated with those rallies were enthusiastically supported by some sitting City Councillors as well as some of the current crop of City Council candidates.