GAZA FREEDOM MARCH CONTACT
by Oxz (Richard Martin Oxman)

Below is something I dashed off this 10/22 morning to a major player in the GFM ranks. See http://www.gazafreedommarch.org/article.php?id=5061. I have MUCH MORE to say to Pam and her people, and I intend to add (at the very bottom) points which I believe will be helpful to her and others. I can provide the original exchange upon request.

“Your prompt, positive response means much to me, Pam. Again, thanks for all you’re doing in general.

Respecting your questions, permit me to first cite something from your FAQ section:

‘No one event or activity will end the siege of the Gaza Strip or the Israeli occupation overall. However, we believe we are at a critical juncture in global public opinion, with citizens and governments becoming increasingly critical of Israeli policies. The tipping point, when Israel is forced to open the borders and allow self-determination for the Palestinians, is within reach. Thus, we are designing the march and its accompanying activities to have maximum impact on decision makers in the United States, Egypt, Israel and countries around the world by: a) generating media coverage, b) educating participants so they can spread the word in their home communities and c) pressuring the countries that are enabling the collective punishment of the citizens of the Gaza Strip.’

Regarding this alone, I have much to say. Since, yes, no one event will be sufficient, TOSCA can serve as a follow-up of sorts, helping the keep self-educating the public worldwide about GAZA and related matters. Also, we are at a “critical juncture” in relation to other issues, some of which will obviously impact on Palestinians… so, in that sense, TOSCA should serve your purposes as well. Even if you would be fortunate enough to actually turn things around, the people of GAZA are going to need “help”… so that any given good situation doesn’t get reversed.

There’s more, but I should underscore that for the long haul it’s very important that people like me are nurtured, are brought into the fold whenever the opportunity arises. My clear sense is that people on your end are — and this is quite typical of many progressive groups ‘cross the board — are too BUSY to pay attention to such details, such niceties. The tone of your missive, in contrast, was a jewel, made your communication a gem. This is a very important point I’m making. It’s that Chicken Running Around With Its Head Cut Off syndrome. There is a deep needto slow down in certain respects so that necessary dialogue can take place. So that people wanting to get on board don’t get the feeling that EVERYTHING is top down. And so that some legitimate contributions can get aired, thought about… with your whole operation being open to being tweaked here and there.

Ideally, we’d like to see EVERYONE on your end move in solidarity with us, declaring publicly that your people intend not to let up, and that your follow-up will include an effort to Take Over the State of California legally and nonviolently in 2010. That you all intend to put yourselves into a position — vis-a-vis the Guv’s influence with the UC Regents and elsewhere — to push for boycott, sanctions and divestment. LET THE ISRAELI’S KNOW THAT THAT’S WHAT THEY CAN EXPECT AROUND THE CORNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then perhaps I myself might even get on a plane to confront them in the cold of winter, side by side with the glorious souls you have assembled. There are other options, of course.

Bless you for giving me this opportunity to express the above.

Blessings in solidarity,

Richard 831-688-8038

P.S. I have much more to say, to contribute. While I wait to hear back from you, I will study your site further. Again, there are a number of people endorsing GFM (like Jennifer Loewenstein and Howard Zinn who have already given their “green light” for TOSCA).”

ADDITIONAL POINTS: http://oxtogrind.org/archive/414, perhaps, should be reviewed… with particular attention to http://oxtogrind.org/archive/364 (a link embedded within the 414 article).Pam expressed interest in an independent third party. I submit that all “alternative” parties will benefit from TOSCA’s success; certainly the Green Party’s agenda and the Peace and Freedom Party’s agenda are very much in line with what we have in mind. Relatively small differences should not interfere with solidarity here. Specifically, regardless of electoral consequences (and they are not great), I trust that all “third parties” will see fit to unseat the two major parties vis-a-vis the gubernatorial office of California, and will agree to encourage their minions to go with our flow by casting their votes for TOSCA’s Governor and/or Lieutenant Governor. We are about winning next go-round, not just about planting seeds. Certainly, we have no intention of being marginalized, win or lose. More on that, upon request.

The next point might be particularly difficult to hear. I beg you not to take it as being disrespectful of your efforts, in particular the efforts of Code Pink. Permit me to call attention to Sharon Smith’s commentary at http://www.counterpunch.org/sharon10202009.html. I believe that you do not want to place the kind of faith that seems to have been given over to the U.S. administration and the U.S. military to either of the two major parties in California in 2010. When I very briefly discussed the topic of TOSCA with people who showed up at Ann Wright’s talk at the Capitola Book Cafe, one woman from WILPF mentioned Jerry Brown in passing. Time is obviously begged for… so that that woman can be helped to see that such a politician — any politician — has no place in a discussion of TOSCA. But, again, people are moving way too fast. Too fast to settle in for any deep talk, even any fundamentally necessary talk. And so, ignorance continues to be compounded by ignorance. At the end of Ann’s talk, I remember feeling devastated when the Events Coordinator, Janet, got up and announced that we’d only have time for a couple of questions in the Q&A. Ann, to her credit, did stay around for blah blah with everyone on an individual basis. But the kind of group dialogue that was called for never had a chance.

There is a “letting go” that must take place. A “letting go” of clinging to hope in any respect to the powers that be, whether that be in the form of expecting from or appealing to or giving undeserved respect to the range of dead end dominators… from Jerry Brown to Barack Obama, from the military commanders who Code Pink met with to the sociopath McChrystal in charge of the Entire Abomination. After all, Pam, these are the very people who guarantee — on some level — that Israel will continue to be supported in their atrocities. If I may say so, your movement must be without their support, without their approval, not contingent upon anything emanating from their offices/quarters. The beginning of hope resides in “letting go,” giving up all hope with regard to the elites and their coordinators and enforcers.

I have a very simple litmus test for whether or not readers understand the thrust of what’s above. That is, I have a question which I trust you’ll answer in the negative: Do you still hold on to your Obama/Biden bumper sticker*? In all humility I say that GFM cannot afford to lose th the likes of me. That they must take the time to make it possible to move in solidarity with Sharon and her readers.

*See http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/22927 and http://www.counterpunch.org/alikhan10212009.html.