I felt almost vindicated when Facebook recently banned me for a mere 24 hours because of a post that didn’t “follow our community standards on harassment and bullying.” To be honest, prior to that, I was feeling somewhat jealous of those who came back from a ban thinking that their posts were obviously feisty and effective while mine were rather insipid! I was banned for calling someone a “Racist stupid creature,” but I’d do it again because that creature was practically mocking a young Palestinian laborer who was trying to earn a living by sneaking into Israel very early one morning when some soldiers stormed in. The poor guy got so scared that he had a heart attack and died. I was fuming.
As for engaging in online exchanges, I tell you, things are not what they used to be a few years ago. Palestinians’ comments and their replies to Zionist comments on Israeli social media pages have increased considerably. They have also gotten more sophisticated. Often, Palestinians win the virtual battles; imagine! Not only that, but pro-Palestinian comments from non-Palestinians are way more frequent and way bolder. Admittedly, as futile as these cyber battles are, not to mention the risk of being monitored by Big Brother, I console myself with the thought that when Zionists read one of my comments, it will not only bother them, but it might even keep them awake for a while at night. I have never changed an interlocuter’s opinion on Palestine, and never will; I know. But it’s still worth it to make comments, and it is often amusing.
Nikki Haley, infamous for her “I wear high heels because. . .” is probably my favorite to pick on because of the outrageous material she posts on her page. In a usual criticism of President Joe Biden, she recently wrote: “Why reopen the Palestinian mission in DC without requiring that they come to the negotiating table? This signals a reversal towards peace in the Middle East.” My comment was: “May I remind you that the Palestinians are the ones being occupied by your favorite apartheid state under international law. . .” I’m omitting the rest which ends with “30 pieces of silver!” Another person then wrote, “The Palestinians are at the moment under the total control of the Israeli Army [called occupation in many other languages, other than Sanskrit]. An indigenous population, at the mercy of immigrants, has to ‘come to the negotiating table?’ Negotiating about what? The fact that one deity did not choose them to live there?” And the fun continued!
The fact remains that as long as there is injustice, there will always be someone to gnawingly remind the world of this injustice. Social media has simply made resistance easier, more effective, and more peaceful, if you will.
Long Live Palestine!
By Sani Meo
Publisher
