Thanks for writing about this. It’s very unfair that you are expected not to continue working whilst also being in support of Palestinians. I think the whole culture of what we think social media achieves or is worth, is very revealing right now. Of course Gazans are asking us to share, and we will, and it counters insane corporate propaganda., but it is one tiny piece of a massive puzzle.
Just yesterday I saw a young poster attack a close friend (she posted the interaction) with the accusation that people who are not posting ‘don’t care’ etc. That is completely ludicrous. People have worked for years for Palestine, putting their lives at risk, without social media, and they will continue to do so.
The need for stars like Beyoncé to post about Palestine took over feeds for days. Yet people kept dying. Even the admiration of people like Motaz (a genuinely heroic young man), is getting uncomfortable. I’ve seen followers constantly ask other journalists about him, without stopping to consider what that journalist is going through themselves. It’s obvious you care deeply about your work and what it means and watching you witness this through your lens, has been both painful and meaningful. When you then switch to other work, it reminds me that life is multilayered, not that you don’t care. I feel for Al Jazeera, they have lost so much, but throwing stones at people who support Palestine, isn’t going to end the war.
Palestinian second generation refugee, mom and business owner here. Being in Jordan, we are blessed to have a community of like-minded people who talk, think and look like us. We have put our all into anything and everything we can do. We discovered that the most powerful tool was to support local businesses, local activists, local NGOs so that they can keep helping others. Without financial means, none of us can help Gaza. No one can and should shame you into making a living! Your gorgeous post about Jaffa cakes and it’s Palestinian origins is saved on my IG and comes up at every gathering. Your work is art that is meaningful and important for people of many cultures. People who have the time to “hate” are doing the opposite of helping, they could have used that time, energy and effort to do something meaningful instead. P.S. your next mission: find a cafe with better (and culturally appropriate) coffee and tell us all about it in a monetized collab!
Thank you! Thank you for writing this post! Do we call them posts here? Anyway, I really needed to read this. Also, sorry to hear that you have been feeling unsafe on Instagram ..... it does feel much safer here!
This is something I’ve been saying from tje very beginning. Online personalities being shamed for not speaking up, not speaking up enough, or not speaking up anymore. I had a heated conversation with a very passionate pro Palestine friend who shamed anyone who didn’t speak up enough. I reminded her, that social media is their job. Not everyone can afford to talk about this topic. Their livelihood is on the line. I am totally on their side if they were to post about their regular stuff again. A social media income is so irregular and seemingly stressful. I wouldn’t be able to deal with this. Thank you for writing about this. I was waiting for someone to speak about this part of social media x politics. I wanna say take your time and post when you’re ready, but you gotta get your finances straight again. So hurry up and post!! 🧡
Hi Nadir, appreciate the vulnerability and heart of this post so much. Sorry for the rubbish comments you’ve had. Pointing fingers is not helpful!
I’m a secondary school teacher and can post an infographic or a heartbreaking message, and then teach my Year 10 students about Macbeth after lunch. My instagram page has no bearing on my ability to teach or my salary slip. My instagram stories are solely for my friends and family, some colleagues, a few acquaintances. There is no real gravity. There is gravity. There is gravity when we all do the work, and you are, but you must also work. Kindness, compassion and care is what we need.
Inshallah for a Free Palestine. Continue your brilliant work, and the work that gets you paid so that you continue your brilliant work.
Thank you for writing this. Truth bombs galore. The fear is real and tangible so thank you for speaking up and out and I’m so sorry you’ve experienced some backlash. IA the tide is turning and these factions of the ummah start to show each other more grace 🤲🏾.
Thanks for posting this, I've been thinking about it since reading last night and it really gets to the crux of some worries I've had about how we've replaced money with the proxy of attention which facilitates a whole dodgy market of content creation around 'trending' topics no matter how distasteful that is. This is obviously not aimed at you - what you're doing speaks for itself and is the really positive side of social!
I guess I've become dubious about the motives for accounts saying things like 'keep sharing' when I don't know exactly who is telling me to do it or why. In the worst cases saying keep sharing can literally mean that bad faith actors are profiting from your well intended share to your followers who are likely friends and not a million miles away opinion wise OR using this time of in attention to bury bad news. Supporting one thing doesn't have to be to the exclusion of everything else.
Additionally I'm not really sure how dominating the attention economy translates to helping the situation in Gaza but hopefully where people have an influential voice it will change some minds.
Really all of this ramble is because like a lot of other people I don't know what helps beyond donating and boycotting. I guess like you say that hard work is being done on the ground by people actually there!
Sorry for my language but, fuck them! You need to look out for yourself first, in order to help other people! You need to be able to put food on your table first, so you can feed others. Wish you all the best!
We're all just trying to survive in our worlds while Gaza is being destroyed. It's such a strange feeling. Thank you for sharing your insights. Nitpicking at each other is definitely not the culture of community care we need to get through this. I'm seeing so many collectively realize how to share grief and mobilize together, it's so powerful. I see it growing and actually transforming us, and my hope is that it continues to grow and spread. Like you said, culture change initiates political change. Thank you for taking your part of individual responsibility seriously and doing much more that most at this time.
Thank you for being open and vulnerable. People will always find reasons to be hateful especially online hidden behind screens of anonymity. As long as you have your moral compass and the support of your loved ones you should continue doing what you not only clearly love but people love you for, at the end of the day you can be making a living and showing support for the cause.
I appreciate the vulnerability so much! We are all going through multiple emotions and reconciling information as it comes through which can be confusing when you want to 'help' using social media. You're not alone in this struggle and it's heartening to know that we can foster community in many different ways.
Thanks for writing about this. It’s very unfair that you are expected not to continue working whilst also being in support of Palestinians. I think the whole culture of what we think social media achieves or is worth, is very revealing right now. Of course Gazans are asking us to share, and we will, and it counters insane corporate propaganda., but it is one tiny piece of a massive puzzle.
Just yesterday I saw a young poster attack a close friend (she posted the interaction) with the accusation that people who are not posting ‘don’t care’ etc. That is completely ludicrous. People have worked for years for Palestine, putting their lives at risk, without social media, and they will continue to do so.
The need for stars like Beyoncé to post about Palestine took over feeds for days. Yet people kept dying. Even the admiration of people like Motaz (a genuinely heroic young man), is getting uncomfortable. I’ve seen followers constantly ask other journalists about him, without stopping to consider what that journalist is going through themselves. It’s obvious you care deeply about your work and what it means and watching you witness this through your lens, has been both painful and meaningful. When you then switch to other work, it reminds me that life is multilayered, not that you don’t care. I feel for Al Jazeera, they have lost so much, but throwing stones at people who support Palestine, isn’t going to end the war.
I agree entirely. Thank you for sharing H!
Please continue taking care of yourself and your family. The Culture needs you thriving.
Habibi Bilal <3
Palestinian second generation refugee, mom and business owner here. Being in Jordan, we are blessed to have a community of like-minded people who talk, think and look like us. We have put our all into anything and everything we can do. We discovered that the most powerful tool was to support local businesses, local activists, local NGOs so that they can keep helping others. Without financial means, none of us can help Gaza. No one can and should shame you into making a living! Your gorgeous post about Jaffa cakes and it’s Palestinian origins is saved on my IG and comes up at every gathering. Your work is art that is meaningful and important for people of many cultures. People who have the time to “hate” are doing the opposite of helping, they could have used that time, energy and effort to do something meaningful instead. P.S. your next mission: find a cafe with better (and culturally appropriate) coffee and tell us all about it in a monetized collab!
Hahaha, only writing in cafes with good coffee from now, maybe I'll be less in need of a vent if the caffeine was better.
And thank you so much for the kind words!
Thank you! Thank you for writing this post! Do we call them posts here? Anyway, I really needed to read this. Also, sorry to hear that you have been feeling unsafe on Instagram ..... it does feel much safer here!
Haha, I'm still figuring that out. It really does Alia, thank you for being here x
This is something I’ve been saying from tje very beginning. Online personalities being shamed for not speaking up, not speaking up enough, or not speaking up anymore. I had a heated conversation with a very passionate pro Palestine friend who shamed anyone who didn’t speak up enough. I reminded her, that social media is their job. Not everyone can afford to talk about this topic. Their livelihood is on the line. I am totally on their side if they were to post about their regular stuff again. A social media income is so irregular and seemingly stressful. I wouldn’t be able to deal with this. Thank you for writing about this. I was waiting for someone to speak about this part of social media x politics. I wanna say take your time and post when you’re ready, but you gotta get your finances straight again. So hurry up and post!! 🧡
Appreciate the consideration here. Means a lot Rania x
Hi Nadir, appreciate the vulnerability and heart of this post so much. Sorry for the rubbish comments you’ve had. Pointing fingers is not helpful!
I’m a secondary school teacher and can post an infographic or a heartbreaking message, and then teach my Year 10 students about Macbeth after lunch. My instagram page has no bearing on my ability to teach or my salary slip. My instagram stories are solely for my friends and family, some colleagues, a few acquaintances. There is no real gravity. There is gravity. There is gravity when we all do the work, and you are, but you must also work. Kindness, compassion and care is what we need.
Inshallah for a Free Palestine. Continue your brilliant work, and the work that gets you paid so that you continue your brilliant work.
Ameen. Thank you <3!
Thank you for writing this. Truth bombs galore. The fear is real and tangible so thank you for speaking up and out and I’m so sorry you’ve experienced some backlash. IA the tide is turning and these factions of the ummah start to show each other more grace 🤲🏾.
Thank you for reading!
Thanks for posting this, I've been thinking about it since reading last night and it really gets to the crux of some worries I've had about how we've replaced money with the proxy of attention which facilitates a whole dodgy market of content creation around 'trending' topics no matter how distasteful that is. This is obviously not aimed at you - what you're doing speaks for itself and is the really positive side of social!
I guess I've become dubious about the motives for accounts saying things like 'keep sharing' when I don't know exactly who is telling me to do it or why. In the worst cases saying keep sharing can literally mean that bad faith actors are profiting from your well intended share to your followers who are likely friends and not a million miles away opinion wise OR using this time of in attention to bury bad news. Supporting one thing doesn't have to be to the exclusion of everything else.
Additionally I'm not really sure how dominating the attention economy translates to helping the situation in Gaza but hopefully where people have an influential voice it will change some minds.
Really all of this ramble is because like a lot of other people I don't know what helps beyond donating and boycotting. I guess like you say that hard work is being done on the ground by people actually there!
Thanks for a thought provoking read!
Sorry for my language but, fuck them! You need to look out for yourself first, in order to help other people! You need to be able to put food on your table first, so you can feed others. Wish you all the best!
Appreciate you Melisa!
We're all just trying to survive in our worlds while Gaza is being destroyed. It's such a strange feeling. Thank you for sharing your insights. Nitpicking at each other is definitely not the culture of community care we need to get through this. I'm seeing so many collectively realize how to share grief and mobilize together, it's so powerful. I see it growing and actually transforming us, and my hope is that it continues to grow and spread. Like you said, culture change initiates political change. Thank you for taking your part of individual responsibility seriously and doing much more that most at this time.
Thank you for the kindness!
Thank you for being open and vulnerable. People will always find reasons to be hateful especially online hidden behind screens of anonymity. As long as you have your moral compass and the support of your loved ones you should continue doing what you not only clearly love but people love you for, at the end of the day you can be making a living and showing support for the cause.
You're right, thank you for the reminder!
I appreciate the vulnerability so much! We are all going through multiple emotions and reconciling information as it comes through which can be confusing when you want to 'help' using social media. You're not alone in this struggle and it's heartening to know that we can foster community in many different ways.
I'm hopeful we can!
Take care of yourself. Love your work!
Appreciate you Ayesha!