My entire being is consumed by thoughts of war and the costs of war.

I’ve learned so much over the past few days. My bones are heavy with sadness. I feel helpless. I feel complicit. I didn’t know the history before, I didn’t know how Palestinians were forced to live—countless checkpoints, land being seized, apartheid, limited access to food, water, electricity… how bro, how is this reality?

How can we sit by and let a colonial power rain down 6,000 bombs in under a week on a 25 mile stretch of land? On a population of children, innocent civilians… A population that for decades has been living in an “open air prison,” denied basic human rights, and essentially been living in an apartheid state?

How is this allowed? Why is this allowed? Why is the slaughter of innocence okay on one side but not the other?

Why are my tax dollars funding this? How is it possible I’m witnessing mass genocide and colonialism in action in this version of reality. I thought we were past this? I thought times were different. I hate this feeling of helplessness. I hate the complicity. I don’t know what to do with myself.