Speaker 1: Good morning, Keeps, and welcome to Woke f Daily with
Speaker 1: me your girl Daniel Moody recording from the Home Bunker. Folks,
Speaker 1: you know, wooke Wednesday has become an interesting time and
Speaker 1: space for me. You know, it started out as a
Speaker 1: way to kind of get over the hump of the
Speaker 1: week and you know, have a place to vent and
Speaker 1: all of these things, and as things in this country
Speaker 1: and around the world have continued to deteriorate, Wednesday I
Speaker 1: find myself in pretty much a deep place of gratitude,
Speaker 1: just grateful to having made it halfway through the week.
Speaker 1: And I don't say that tongue in cheek or even
Speaker 1: to be funny. I am seriously like getting through these
Speaker 1: weeks over the past several years feel like a feat
Speaker 1: in and of itself, and I think that Wednesday is
Speaker 1: an important day to kind of take stock with what
Speaker 1: has transpired thus far, what you have in front of you,
Speaker 1: but an opportunity to kind of plant your feet for
Speaker 1: the week. Right at least That's how I've been viewing it,
Speaker 1: And so I often find myselves in a place of
Speaker 1: deep reflection on Wednesdays. And now I kind of understand
Speaker 1: I'm piecing together why that is, we all set out
Speaker 1: with certain expectations that we have for the week and
Speaker 1: things that we'd like to accomplish, and you know, be
Speaker 1: able to check off or you know, dinner plans or
Speaker 1: engagements that we're you know making as we ready ourselves
Speaker 1: for the weekend, that wonderful day and a half that
Speaker 1: we get. But I do want us to start to
Speaker 1: use Wednesdays as a day of kind of planting, if
Speaker 1: you will, the day to plant your feet firmly in
Speaker 1: the ground, ground yourself in thinking about where we are
Speaker 1: right this week. For the first time in I don't
Speaker 1: know how long, President Obama released a statement and I
Speaker 1: say for the first time in a really long time,
Speaker 1: because I believe that, you know, the reality that after
Speaker 1: you're done being president of the United States, being president
Speaker 1: of any you know place, that you get to go
Speaker 1: and get your you know, life back, that you have
Speaker 1: the opportunity to regain your space and place as like
Speaker 1: a human, regular citizen. But sometimes I've gotten really pissed
Speaker 1: off at Barack Obama. And I say this, and I
Speaker 1: love this man, but I've gotten pissed off because I'm
Speaker 1: just like you know, there have been so many moments
Speaker 1: over the last eight years where we have needed steady leadership,
Speaker 1: his voice, in particular his ability to kind of weave
Speaker 1: narrative and hold, you know, multiple things to be true
Speaker 1: at the same time, but create a sense of safety
Speaker 1: and resilience that I don't think presidents before him and
Speaker 1: or after him have been able to do. And so
Speaker 1: when we find ourselves and have found ourselves in this
Speaker 1: place of deep, deep, deep, you know, frustration and deep fear,
Speaker 1: we look to people right like Barack Obama. We look
Speaker 1: to leaders to kind of express for us ways that
Speaker 1: we're unable to articulate for ourselves. Now, let me be
Speaker 1: clear that Gaza and Israel, what Israel is doing to Gaza,
Speaker 1: what had mass has done to the citizens of Israel,
Speaker 1: is not something that can be easily parsed apart or
Speaker 1: understood for that matter, even if you are a historian
Speaker 1: or a foreign relations expert. It always depends on your perspective,
Speaker 1: your vantage point, how you were raised, where you were raise,
Speaker 1: your understanding of justice, of rights, of liberty, of fear,
Speaker 1: of all of these things. Which is why I often
Speaker 1: say that I come to you from the place of
Speaker 1: humanity as a black queer woman that has lived her
Speaker 1: life entirely in the United States, whose parents are immigrants
Speaker 1: to this country, that has known injustice and justice, that
Speaker 1: has known both relief and devastation at the hands of
Speaker 1: this country. So recognizing the precarious place that you find yourself,
Speaker 1: people losing jobs for articulating their feelings with regard to
Speaker 1: Israel and Palestine, literally losing their jobs, being written off canceled.
Speaker 1: Barack Obama, who has been silent on so much, decided
Speaker 1: to weigh in to this conflict and did so in
Speaker 1: what I will say was arguably probably the best way
Speaker 1: that he could, right as both a man that presided
Speaker 1: over war, conflict, death and destruction doing things that arguably
Speaker 1: from a different vantage point, probably shouldn't be have been
Speaker 1: done in our name. And that's what it means to
Speaker 1: be president of the United States. Where drones have drop
Speaker 1: bombs that are not void of civilian life and civilian casualty,
Speaker 1: that America probably has more blood on its hands than
Speaker 1: most countries, right, And that's saying a lot. But when
Speaker 1: Barack Obama decided to weigh in on this, I thought, oof,
Speaker 1: I don't know. I do believe that he walked the
Speaker 1: line while both understanding his role as a former president,
Speaker 1: also not undermining the current administration, which is his former
Speaker 1: vice president, while also holding multiple things to be true
Speaker 1: at the same time, that you can believe in humanity,
Speaker 1: justice and freedom for all peoples and not be an
Speaker 1: anti Semite or anti Palestinian and anti Muslim. That the
Speaker 1: deaths of thousands of children, thousands of children is not
Speaker 1: something that any of us should take lightly. I don't
Speaker 1: care what fucking border imaginary border that they fall on
Speaker 1: the side of right. Denying people water, electricity an aid
Speaker 1: is a violation of international law. I don't care whether
Speaker 1: or not you are part of the Allied quote unquote
Speaker 1: axis or not. If you violate law, you violate law.
Speaker 1: We should not pick and choose who we call out
Speaker 1: for said violation in who we don't. That's called hypocrisy.
Speaker 1: Former President Obama is getting a lot of flat for
Speaker 1: his comments that I'm gonna share with you pieces of it,
Speaker 1: not all of it. You can check it out on
Speaker 1: his Medium page or on Instagram where he reposted it.
Speaker 1: But I think that it's important to lift up because
Speaker 1: this is a situation where if you comment on one
Speaker 1: side or the other, you're canceled. If you don't comment
Speaker 1: at all. You're canceled right and leaping people in very
Speaker 1: precarious positions, namely those that are in the public. I
Speaker 1: believe in commenting on humanity, on the thousands of lives lost.
Speaker 1: I don't believe in tailoring things to fit a certain
Speaker 1: narrative that will work for me at the time. I'm
Speaker 1: following the reports that are coming out about what the
Speaker 1: hostages are saying that have been released the latest the
Speaker 1: two elderly women, and how they're saying that their government
Speaker 1: abandoned them, how they're saying that they were treated. Well,
Speaker 1: what does that say? I don't know. I do want
Speaker 1: to offer up some of the pieces of what former
Speaker 1: President Barack Obama said, some of which overall I agree with,
Speaker 1: and some of which I do not. He writes this
Speaker 1: in his Thoughts on Israel and Gaza. It's been seventeen
Speaker 1: days since Hamas launched its horrific attack against Israel, killing
Speaker 1: over fourteen hundred Israeli citizens, including defenseless women, children, and
Speaker 1: the elderly. In the aftermath of such unspeakable brutality, the
Speaker 1: US government and the American people have shared in the
Speaker 1: grief of families prayed for the return of loved ones
Speaker 1: and rightfully declared solidarity with the Israeli people. As I
Speaker 1: stayed in an earlier post, Israel has a right to
Speaker 1: defend its citizens against such wanton violence, and I fully
Speaker 1: support President Biden's call for the United States to support
Speaker 1: our longtime ally in going after Hamas, dismantling its military capabilities,
Speaker 1: and facilitating the safe return of hundreds of hostages to
Speaker 1: their families. But even as we support Israel, we should
Speaker 1: also be clear that how Israel prosecutes this fight against
Speaker 1: Hamas matters. In particular, it matters as President Biden has
Speaker 1: repeatedly emphasized that Israel's military strategy abides by international law.
Speaker 1: Why is Barack Obama writing this because he knows good
Speaker 1: goddamn well that what the Israeli government has been doing
Speaker 1: is not abiding by international law and that the world
Speaker 1: is looking the other way at the use of force
Speaker 1: against defenseless citizens Gazians. Because to not look away is
Speaker 1: then to be called an anti Semite. To not sheeer
Speaker 1: on the deaths of thousands of children in response to
Speaker 1: the deaths of fourteen hundred people is somehow to not
Speaker 1: be on the side of those that are most vulnerable.
Speaker 1: I can think of no other vulnerable people than children.
Speaker 1: And I don't care how those children pray. I don't
Speaker 1: care what those children look like. What we know is
Speaker 1: what we are seeing and hearing and reading and watching
Speaker 1: with our own eyes. Whether it's one report that comes
Speaker 1: out that says it Israel bombed a hospital, whether it's
Speaker 1: the Palestinian group that led a bombing of a hospital.
Speaker 1: What we do know is that there have been countless
Speaker 1: bombs that have been dropped since those fourteen hundred people
Speaker 1: that are massacred. Why do I need to part and
Speaker 1: parcel who because thousands are dead, Bridges that were supposed
Speaker 1: to be carrying humanitarian and aid were blown up, That
Speaker 1: fucking matters. It doesn't make you a bad person to
Speaker 1: say that that should matter because if it was putin
Speaker 1: that was doing that in Ukraine, which, by the way,
Speaker 1: there is no comparison as to what is happening into
Speaker 1: these two places, right, And I really really disagreed with
Speaker 1: President Biden's comparison of the two. The only comparison is death, absolutely,
Speaker 1: but how and at the hands of what and why?
Speaker 1: Completely and totally not comparable. Obama goes on to say
Speaker 1: this upholding these values is important for its own sake
Speaker 1: because it is morally just and reflects our belief in
Speaker 1: the inherent value of every human life. Upholding these values
Speaker 1: is also vital for building alliances and shaping international opinion,
Speaker 1: all of which are critical for Israel's long term security.
Speaker 1: This enormously difficult task, he writes, This is an enormously
Speaker 1: difficult task. War is always tragic, and even the most
Speaker 1: carefully planned military operations often put civilians at risk. As
Speaker 1: President Biden noted this his recent visit to Israel, America
Speaker 1: itself has at times, many times fall in short of
Speaker 1: our higher values when engaged in war, and in the
Speaker 1: aftermath of nine to eleven, the US government wasn't interested
Speaker 1: in heeding the advice of even our allies when it
Speaker 1: came to the steps we took to protect ourselves against
Speaker 1: al Qaeda. Let us be clear. If you don't know
Speaker 1: Muslim person that was living inside of New York or
Speaker 1: anywhere for that matter, after nine to eleven, ask them
Speaker 1: about their treatment. Ask them about being told to sign
Speaker 1: up on some type of server right where your every
Speaker 1: move could be followed to ensure that you weren't a terrorist.
Speaker 1: What was created during nine to eleven, the Patriot Act
Speaker 1: that allowed for the American government to spy on its
Speaker 1: own people, all in defense of what our freedom. The
Speaker 1: United States government has always gone above and beyond the values,
Speaker 1: the true values of democracy, justifying heinous, fucking acts in
Speaker 1: our name. We are told American history. Other people that
Speaker 1: have been at the other side of the gun, the
Speaker 1: other side of the drone, the other side, have their
Speaker 1: own stories to tell. Both can be true. He goes
Speaker 1: on to write this, now, after this systematic massacre of
Speaker 1: Israeli citizens, excuse me, a massacre that invokes some of
Speaker 1: the darkest memories of persecution against the Jewish people, it
Speaker 1: is understandable that many Israelis have demanded that their government
Speaker 1: do whatever it takes to root out Hamas and make
Speaker 1: sure such attacks never happen again. Moreover, hamasa's military operations
Speaker 1: are deeply embedded with Gaza, and its leadership seems to
Speaker 1: intentionally hide amongst civilians, thereby endangering the very people they
Speaker 1: claim to represent. Still, the world is watching closely as
Speaker 1: events in the region unfold, and any Israeli military strategy
Speaker 1: that ignores the human costs could ultimately backfire. Already, thousands
Speaker 1: of Palestinians have been killed in the bombing of Gaza,
Speaker 1: many of them children. Hundreds of thousands have been forced
Speaker 1: from their homes. The Israeli government's decision to cut off food, water,
Speaker 1: and electricity to a captive civilian populations threatens not only
Speaker 1: to worsen a growing humanitarian crisis, it could further harden
Speaker 1: Palestinian attitudes for generations, erode global support for Israel, play
Speaker 1: into the hands of Israel's enemies, and undermine long term
Speaker 1: efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region. This
Speaker 1: is one of the boldest paragraphs I have read yet,
Speaker 1: because to state what we know, what we have seen,
Speaker 1: what we have heard with our own line eyes as fact,
Speaker 1: is to open yourself wide for criticism and to being
Speaker 1: called in anti Semite, Because what he is arguing here
Speaker 1: is that to attack and continue to kill thousands of
Speaker 1: children in the name of your own self protection is
Speaker 1: going to create the very mindset, the terrorist mindset that
Speaker 1: you say that you're trying to about, because of what
Speaker 1: they are living through and experiencing, and if the world
Speaker 1: is watching for the first time and seeing wait a minute,
Speaker 1: these newspapers, these journalists that are reporting on this show
Speaker 1: no empathy, no care. You're seeing hundreds of thousands of
Speaker 1: people march in the streets across countries because of what
Speaker 1: they are seeing taken place. So to come out and
Speaker 1: say what we all know as a former president of
Speaker 1: the United States cannot be taken lightly. He goes on
Speaker 1: to say this, It's therefore important that those of us
Speaker 1: supporting Israel and its time of need encourage a strategy
Speaker 1: that can encapit incapacitate Hamas while minimizing further civilian casualties.
Speaker 1: Israel's recent shift to allow relief trucks into Gaza, prompted
Speaker 1: in part by the Biden administrations behind the scenes diplomacy,
Speaker 1: is an encouraging step, but we need to continue to
Speaker 1: lead the international community in accelerating critical aid and supplies
Speaker 1: to an increasingly desperate Gaza population. And while the prospects
Speaker 1: of future peace may seem more distant than ever, we
Speaker 1: should call on all of the key actors in the
Speaker 1: region to engage with those Palestinian leaders and organizations that
Speaker 1: recognize Israel's right to exist to begin articulating a viable
Speaker 1: pathway for Palestinians to achieve their legitimate aspirations for self determination,
Speaker 1: because that is the best and perhaps only way to
Speaker 1: achieve the lasting peace and security most Israeli and Palestinian families.
Speaker 1: Yearn four. He provides at the end links to different
Speaker 1: articles that provide background on the conflict and history. If
Speaker 1: you all choose to read it, I want to end
Speaker 1: with not his ending, but a paragraph that I think
Speaker 1: is extraordinarily important because it's true. Finally, in dealing with
Speaker 1: what is an extraordinary complex situation where so many people
Speaker 1: are in pain and passions are understandably running high, all
Speaker 1: of us need to do our best to put our
Speaker 1: best values rather than our worst fears, on display. That
Speaker 1: means actively opposing anti Semitism in all its forms everywhere.
Speaker 1: It means rejecting anti Muslim, anti Arab, or anti Palestinian sentiment.
Speaker 1: It means recognizing that Israel has the right to exist,
Speaker 1: that the Jewish people have claimed to a secure homeland
Speaker 1: where they have an ancient historical roots. It means acknowledging
Speaker 1: that Palestinians have also lived in disputed territories for generations,
Speaker 1: that many of them were not only displaced when Israel
Speaker 1: was formed, but continue to be forcibly displaced by a
Speaker 1: settler movement that too often has received tacit or explicit
Speaker 1: support from the Israeli government, that Palestinian leaders who have
Speaker 1: been willing to make concessions for a two state solution
Speaker 1: have too often had little to show for their efforts,
Speaker 1: and that it is possible for the people of good
Speaker 1: Will to champion Palestinian rights and oppose certain Israeli government
Speaker 1: policies in the West Bank and Gaza without being anti Semitic.
Speaker 1: If we care about keeping open the possibility of peace,
Speaker 1: security and dignity for future generations of Israeli and palisade
Speaker 1: and children, as well as for our own children, then
Speaker 1: it falls upon all of us to at least make
Speaker 1: the effort to model in our own words and actions
Speaker 1: the kind of world we want them to inherit. I
Speaker 1: say this again as I close today, that Wednesdays have
Speaker 1: become a day for me of reflection on what has
Speaker 1: transpired in the week, what I'm looking forward to, but
Speaker 1: also where I'm standing firm in the present moment. We
Speaker 1: are all in need of deep moments and times of
Speaker 1: reflection of space when we're allowed to just be and
Speaker 1: understand that the world that we're living in is so
Speaker 1: rapidly changing our heads might as well be on a swivel.
Speaker 1: It is important to take space, to take time to read,
Speaker 1: to consume, and not just regurgitate what it is that
Speaker 1: we see, but to really have our own analysis and
Speaker 1: self awareness. We deserve those moments, and we need them
Speaker 1: more now than ever because we are dealing with really complicated,
Speaker 1: layered issues and emotions. And so I do hope that
Speaker 1: you will use these days that I call Woke Wednesdays,
Speaker 1: not as a day to just rage against the machine,
Speaker 1: but as a day to be truly conscious of what
Speaker 1: is happening in the world and your role in it,
Speaker 1: because we all have a role to play. We may
Speaker 1: not see the arc bend towards justice, but it is
Speaker 1: all of our jobs to help it bend. Nonetheless, that
Speaker 1: is it for me today, dear friends on Woke af
Speaker 1: as always, Power to the people and to all the people. Power,
Speaker 1: Get woke and stay woke as fuck.