This morning Zippy and I went to City Park in Denver to attend a Colorado Palestine Coalition teach-in at the “dash for democracy” running/walking event sponsored by the Denver Democrats to raise funds for the Kamala Harris campaign. Our intent was to get the Democrats to understand that many of us will not vote for Harris/Walz in November if they do not call for an immediate arms embargo on Israel. It is no longer enough to call for a CEASEFIRE NOW (even though our sign remains in our front yard, faded and battered by nine-plus months of weather). The White House pretends to be negotiating in good faith toward a ceasefire, but it’s all theater. There cannot be a lasting ceasefire when the U.S. keeps supplying Israel with bombs. As was succinctly stated here, “If you say you want a ceasefire while sending the bombs that keep shredding children, you don’t really want a ceasefire. That’s all there is to it.”

The only way to end the carnage is to immediately stop arming Israel with U.S.-made bombs. The good news is that several weeks ago “…seven unions representing six million workers published an open letter to President Biden demanding that he cut off military aid to Israel until it ends its brutal assault on Gaza.” A demand for an arms embargo does not allow wiggle-room for weasel words from the White House and Harris.

Here’s the flier CPC handed out today (click on images to enlarge):

 

Okay, so what did I learn at the teach-in? Unfortunately, not as much as I’d hoped to learn due to an unhinged person who yelled and shook a cowbell while the speakers spoke. I admit to feeling so much anger I couldn’t focus on what was being said. Several times, I attempted to reason with Cowbell Karen who kept telling us to “educate yourselves” while doing everything in her power to make that impossible. When I finally aimed my camera at her, she gleefully sneered at me.

The masked person in the keffiyeh has been at many pro-Palestine events, often serving as a marshal to keep us safe while we march in the streets. They remained calm throughout Cowbell Karen’s rampage, and I am not only grateful for their presence but also in awe of their composure. Speaking for me, my blood pressure was running pretty high. The situation sidetracked my learning and I only caught snippets here and there, including:

A Palestinian man spoke about those who insist the situation in Palestine is incredibly complex and that the only way forward is a “two-state solution.” He reiterated that the situation is actually quite simple and that two states isn’t tenable, especially now because of the absolute and total destruction of Gaza. He offered a succinct response to those who cynically demand “well, then what’s your solution?” which is One state with equal rights for all. As he pointed out, it’s pretty hard to argue against that.

The speaker beneath the tent in the above photo is Indigenous and she spoke on the history of solidarity between Natives and Palestinians. I learned there was once an official U.S. Army regulation that required army helicopters to be named after Native tribes. Tomahawks, Apaches, Black Hawks. I didn’t catch much of what else she said, but was stunned to realize I’d never thought about the Army using those names.

Another speaker was a Black woman who works as a youth defender. She quoted from Ruha Benjamin’s Spelman Convocation 2024 (emphasis mine):
Remember too, that despite the social media slogan, trust black women, you too have to be trustworthy. Black faces in high places are not going to save us.

Just look at the black proponents of Cop City in Atlanta’s leadership class. Black faces in high places are not going to save us. Just look at the black woman, Tan, ambassador at the UN, voting against a ceasefire in Gaza. That is, our blackness and our womanness are not in themselves trustworthy if we allow ourselves to be conscripted into positions of power that maintain the oppressive status quo.

There’s a huge effort now on social media to drive a wedge between Black people and Gaza/Palestine, to fracture the solidarity, so it was really good to hear her reiterate the importance of the shared struggle against oppression.

Despite the disruptions and the glazed-over expressions from many of the Denver Dems volunteers who made it clear they were not interested in new perspectives or pushing their candidate to do the right thing, I’m still glad we went. It always feels good to be in solidarity with others.

If you are still making calls and sending emails to your representatives in regards to Gaza, please push for an arms embargo. If you don’t want to vote for candidates who enable genocide, please let them know you will withhold your vote unless they push for an arms embargo. Remember, if those in power truly want a ceasefire, they must immediately stop sending bombs that shred children.

It’s really that simple.