Cynthia McKinney Freed! Important Questions Unanswered.
Cynthia McKinney returned home yesterday! Here’s a playlist of her interviews thus far:
A lot of questions, important ones, have been raised by this event. Not just about Israel, but about America. The things said about the former Congresswoman on the blogosphere surprised me. Many on the left were bashing McKinney like she was a
Republican, or something. The Diary posts on the Daily Kos were really interesting, especially the comments. I’m happy she got out of there in one peace, and when its all said and done, I think the majority of people were wishing her well.
This post on Womanist Musings really captures something important:
“Had it not been for twitter, I doubt that I would even have been aware that Cynthia McKinney was held hostage in Israel after attempting to deliver aid and supplies to the Palestinians. There has been a resounding silence on this issue as CNN, MSNBC and other mainstream media sources rush to give us the latest news on the death of Michael Jackson.
Cynthia McKinney And Cindy Sheehan
Jackson was truly an iconic figure, however the man is dead and Cynthia is alive. His memorial is receiving massive coverage and the announcement that his body would be present was considered breaking news. Even Palin’s resignation has garnered more media and internet attention. Though McKinney is safely back on US soil, her wellbeing during her ordeal was of little concern.
As celebrities and media personnel rush to speak about the ways in which Michael Jackson transcended race, the erasure of the plight of McKinney proves that race and gender continue to divide the country.”
I have to say I agree, and we’ve seen a lot of that ugly, unspoken side of America in the LGBT community. It saddens me to think of gays being pitched against that minority or this group or that one. I’m tired of it. All I know is what I feel is right. And it feels right that we’re all on the same side, or at the very least, that we need each other. We have to find a way to break through all the lies and social programming that divides us.
There is no Gay Civil Rights Movement.
There is no Black Civil Rights Movement.
There is only one eternal, universal, and invincible civil rights movement. It is for, and from peoples of all stars and stripes, and whether or not we choose to recognize it, it binds us together. It is the difference between this and every other country in history. The IDEA of America is the “great experiment”. We are living in the reality of a notion that a country can thrive with a populous dedicated to an idea of freedom, and not a predestined race, class, or creed. And every day that we stand up for what’s right, however fruitless those acts might seem, we prove that idea to be valid, true, and within reach.
Achieving true equality for minorities, women, the old, the disabled, the young, and all oppressed peoples of all creeds and needs, is the duty of all Americans. Call it a birthright, call it what you want, but it’s that feeling of responsibility that gives power to our hope, and strength to our resolve.
And we need to be, in the LGBT Community, the loud voice that breaks through all the noise and calls out to all other communities that we are in ONE perpetual struggle, and that we need to start working together. Our community is made up of every other, even those who condemn us.
If we can help people see that, it is possible to become the center of a Great Movement of Unity, rather than one of division.
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Cynthia McKinney use to be representative from Georgia back when I was living there. Trust me, what has been said on the blogosphere that I have read recently pales in comparison to what I read back then, and that was from people in her district who voted for her.
BTW, she WAS in Israeli territorial waters, and she WAS in violation of their laws. There are no international waters in the Mediterranian. Whether or not she and her group recognize the waters off the Gaza Strip as being Israeli waters is a completely different matter all together.
This was covered extensively by the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
“I submit that an individual who breaks the law that conscience tells him is unjust and willingly accepts the penalty by staying in jail to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the very highest respect for law.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.
Territorial Waters were negotiated by treaty back in 1948. At the time, the Gaza Strip was part of Egypt, and those waters belonged to Egypt. By right of conquest, those waters were turned over to Israel after the Seven Days War and the water border was renegotiated in that peace treaty.
The thing is, according to International Law, McKinney and her ship could have just been sunk right there. According to International Law, they are smugglers not aid workers.
There are better ways to expose what is going on in the Palestine than to pull these counter-productive stunts. Unfortunately, for former Representative McKinney and many others, those methods do not carry with them celebrity and notoriety. What they are doing is making it all that much harder for real aid workers to get much needed help into the Palestine where Hamas is, basically, buying the loyalty of people using smuggled goods just like those that Rep. McKinney and company were trying to smuggle into there. That is right, Hamas uses aid supplies just like the ones that this group tried to smuggle in to buy off its own population.
The only way to put an end to this war between the Palestinians and the Israelis is to put an end to the necessity of the Palestinians going to the terrorist groups in order to live. They need an economy and they need jobs. Right now, the aid is going to either the Israeli government or the Palestinian terrorists, and neither is exactly helping the Palestinian people.
Sei, I and a lot of people really don’t agree with you about the water thing, and that’s okay. And I want you to know I didn’t have anything to do with your post on the first article coming down. I really do respect your opinion, and I’m grateful you’re willing to talk about this stuff.
I really don’t think the Israeli’s are in the right, they dragged the Spirit of Humanity to Israel, it posed no threat and was known about well in advance. And the international community, including our President, are clamoring that what Israel is doing is wrong, and the blockade must cease. And think about the other people on the boat, and the boat Dignity that nearly was sunk this winter. They never, ever would have gotten away with sinking that ship, because there is no way they have that right. If you’re on the side that would agree they have the right to sink a boat with hero like Mairead Maguire on it, who has fought so hard against the injustices in Northern Ireland and knows a lot about the subject and what necessary measures would help or hurt the process, I’m afraid you’ll end up on the wrong side of history.
http://www.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUSL2879277
“GENEVA, July 2 (Reuters) – A U.N. human rights investigator on Thursday called Israel’s seizure of a ship carrying relief aid for the Gaza Strip “unlawful” and said its blockade of the territory constituted a “continuing crime against humanity”.
Richard Falk, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, said the move was part of Israel’s “cruel blockade of the entire Palestinian population of Gaza” in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibiting any form of collective punishment against “an occupied people”.
Prior to leaving Cyprus, the ship was inspected by Cypriot authorities in response to Israeli demands to determine whether it carried any weapons, according to the U.N. investigator. “None were found and Israeli authorities were so informed.”
“Nonetheless, the 21 peace activists on the boat were arrested, held in captivity and have been charged with ‘illegal entry’ to Israel even though they had no intention of going to Israel,” Falk added.”
Jen,
You didn’t have anything to do with it because I pulled that comment. I spent two years researching this conflict. What I learned was that there really is no good or bad side. In all honesty, the Israelis are acting in just as horrible a manner as the Palestinians, and that a lot of what is going on is problematic at best. The biggest problem is that Hamas has been seizing aid that has been going into Gaza for redistribution to its people under its own banner. That does get lost in there. For a large group, there is some buffering due to the clout that they have, but for a small group, that buffer isn’t there. That does not mean that Israel’s seizure of these goods is any better. Israel will distribute these goods under its own banner and try to win the propaganda war. In truth, had they landed in Gaza, that aid would have more than likely have just been seized by Hamas and distributed as they saw fit.
It is, unfortunately, Israel’s territorial waters. Whether the ship is under the flag of aid or not, they have to abide by Israel’s directions. It would be far better if they worked with a larger aid group who have the ability to cut through the barriers in both Israel and Gaza.
As for recognizing Israel’s claim on Gaza, I recognize it in the same way that England has the right to Wales and Scotland, France has the right to Breton, etc. Israel conquered that land, and by dint of conquest, it is theirs. Now, whether or not the occupation and what they have done to the Palestinians is right is a whole other matter. If they are unwilling to integrate the Palestinians into their population, then they need to let it go. Either they should hand back Gaza and the West Bank to their original countries (Egypt and Jordan) or make it an independent nation. It really is too easy to focus in on the current conflict and forget about the past sixty years, or the past century, or the fact that some kind of conflict has been going on in this region since before the Egyptians conquered it.
I agree that Israel is not in the right here. Neither are the Palestinians. Nor are McKinney and her group. Unfortunately, Israel does have the right to seize people’s ships in their territory. Israel does have the sovereign right to control its land and water territory. Does that make it right for Israel to divert aid going to those that need it? Not really.
As with far too many things, what worries me is not the legality of the seizure, but why no one ever asks why that aid was seized in the first place or whether or not it could ever get to those in need.
I agree, that is a question that doesn’t seem like it will ever get answered. Its so frustrating, there are so many angry people on all sides, how can we just get everyone to just call a time out and back up? I wish there was something I could do, its hard to research and research and just feel more and more powerless to help the situation.
omg you did so much to help people…like you just such a inspire to me and to many more…but any ways much love to you cynthia mckinney….thanks for what you did for all of us!!!
Unfortunately, Jen, there is only so much we can do as private citizens. In an odd sort of way, the biggest thing we could do is get Gerry Adams from Sinn Fein to go and talk to both sides. They have to realize that they can walk away from the conflict and continue to live. The problem at this point is that this has been going on for so long that neither side has a vested interest in walking away. The problem is going to be convincing them that they can walk away because, in all honesty, if both the Palestinians and the Israelis continue down this path, they will mutually self-destruct.
Unfortunately, the Palestinians are being used as a means to divert attention in the Muslim world from the actions of a variety of governments who want to keep their populations focused on them and not on the repression at home. The Israelis are too vested in keeping up this show of strength in an effort to deter anyone else from invading that they are unwilling to let go any more.
As for what you and I do, the only thing we can do. We tell what is going on with as much truth and accuracy as possible. We give our opinions clearly labeled, and we make sure that we do not take sides. It will never make us popular with those who have a vested interest in retaining power, but it may change some people’s minds. Hopefully, those people will be in positions where they can exert power and influence and change the course of what is going on.
Other than that, the only thing I can think of is to get into politics and change things from the inside out.