Nine weeks into Khader Adnan’s hunger strike, solidarity activists spray paint a stencil of Adnan’s face on Israel’s apartheid wall. Adnan was violently taken from his home near Jenin on December 17, 2011, and has since been held under administrative detention without being charged and without being allowed to exercise his right to a trial. Today marks his 65th day without food.
This photograph merits its own post. Palestine’s graffiti culture is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Typically, pieces commemorate social or political heroes: the newly-wed neighbor, Palestine’s martyred children, an Italian activist who put his neck on the line for Palestinian human and civil rights, or, in this case, a baker whose only “crime” was growing a beard, being Palestinian, and refusing to break.
The stencil on the left says “Free Khader Adnan” in Arabic. The one on the right was adapted from the popular banner icon made by @shishibean displaying Khader Adnan’s mouth as a lock.
In due time, when Israel’s apartheid wall is knocked down, I hope whoever is in charge of taking down this particular slab of concrete looks deeply into Adnan’s eyes and recognizes that his persistence and strong will played a overwhelming role in collapsing Israel’s institutionalized discrimination against Palestinians.
The photograph was originally found in an article about Randa Adnan and her support for her husband.
In defense of FouseyTube
FouseyTube is all the rage these days. But lately, this 22-year-old college student from California seems to be attracting as much negative attention as Newt Gingrich. The only difference is, I don’t think it’s fair or even justified. You don’t have to be a fan, but stooping so low is going to break your back before it breaks his.
Yousef Erakat, operating under the stage name FouseyTube, is a Palestinian-American entertainer who devotes much of his downtime to producing parodies, “vlogs”, and comedy sketches to upload to YouTube. After joining YouTube just ten months ago, Erakat’s video’s have gone viral and collectively boast over 15 million views. He has since become a YouTube partner and is now on tour performing sets at community centers and schools throughout the United States. But his quick rise to fame has been met with a great deal of heat and the ad hominem attacks on his character are getting far too out of hand to let slide any longer.
Every entertainer realizes at one point or another that the content of his or her work is entirely subjective. Some will laugh, others won’t. Some will find pleasure in a comedy routine and others will want to put their foreheads on the table. Erakat, a comedian himself, knows this all to well. I am sure he doesn’t set his sights on the impossible feat of evoking laughter from every single person in the world at any given time.
Still, much of the criticism leveled against Erakat is that he simply isn’t as funny as people make him out to be. I’ve come across comments ranging from “he’s bland now” to “even his loved ones never thought he was funny” to “no self-respecting person would dare watch his videos”. Therein lies the problem. The first comment is perfectly acceptable. It’s an opinion. Not everyone is obliged to think he’s funny. The second comment is a rude judgment. Since when did the Erakat family befriend internet trolls and share with them family secrets (assuming this particular one to be true)? And the third comment reeks of arrogance. Is society expected to conform to one individual’s perception of something as subjective as a one-man comedy skit? I’ve watched a few of Erakat’s videos. Does this mean I disrespect myself? If I spinelessly conform to that particular audacious comment, would I be respecting myself again? [Read more...]