This video of spoken word artist Mark Gonzales is in response to the hateful and racist advertisements purchased by Pamela Geller and her organization the American Freedom Defense Initiative on city buses in San Francisco, New York, and elsewhere. The ads read: “In a war between the civilized and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad.” This is of course extremely offensive, dehumanizing language that should not be left unchallenged. Mark’s piece, “When Savages Unite,” and our video are therefore a challenge.
While hate profiteers do have the right to freedom of speech, we also use our right to speak out against the historical and ongoing targeting of communities of color. The use of the word “savage” in Geller’s bus ads and elsewhere throughout US history, as is seen in the targeting of indigenous people and communities of color, is offensive to all of us. It desecrates the memories of those whose lives and land were taken as a result of imperialism and conquest. We stand against hate, then and now, and see these attacks as targeting all of our communities.
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
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