Yesterday I arrived early in the University District in order to walk, write, and eat before leading a program for journalism students. As I walked up the avenue from the train, I saw that the Unity Museum was open so I went inside, not knowing that to expect.
This is one of Seattle's specialty museums, a collection of rooms filled with artifacts, documents, photo displays, mementos, each room focusing on one of the various concerns of the museum: climate change, racism, Native American rights, fascism. I hadn't realized how extensive the museum was, and didn't have much time, so the very talkative curator took me on a quick tour. I might go back when I have more time to peruse. I'm not sure. I'm glad that there is such a place, and wonder how many people find it and venture inside. I've been curious about it since I learned of it recently.
After lunch I walked onto campus, still with time to spend before my program. (I try never to use the term 'killing time'. Who said "As though one could kill time without damaging eternity."?) I heard a lot of what sounded like organized shouting and went toward the voices to investigate. It turned out to be a pro-Palestine rally, with "Free Palestine" being shouted through bullhorns and echoed by some in the crowd.
There were other shouted slogans as well. One was "There is no peace on stolen land". I found myself wondering if these young activists recognized that the land they were standing on was also stolen; that this entire country is stolen land. Perhaps they felt that issue was not of the moment and so didn't take the time to acknowledge it.
I have long been an advocate for equal rights for Palestinians and an end to Israel's apartheid policies. I've seen for myself the oppression of Palestinians by the Israeli government. It's also true that the Israeli people need and deserve a safe, secure country of their own. But what kind of security it is that needs to be enforced with checkpoints, walls, barbed wire, a constantly patrolling army? Given the tensions between these two peoples, it seems to me that the current conflict was inevitable.
It did make me sad at the rally to see some black-masked young men holding a sign that said "Death to fascists". While I agree that fascism is an evil in all its forms, it's really hard to know who the good guys are when each party of a conflict is calling for the death of the other.