Shaun King – Speaking on Al Jazeera about what it means for oppressed people to fight back
AI: Summary ©
The speaker discusses the difficulty of responding to systemic oppression and the need for a conversation about American slavery. They also mention studies on American slavery and how it affects people's views and actions. The conversation touches on ways people respond to oppression, including peaceful protests and boycotts, but also the potential consequences of those actions.
AI: Summary ©
It's almost, you can get yourself cancelled before
you finish the sentence in the United States
if you speak about some sort of resistance
against this.
Well, let me just be very clear, and
thankfully I'm in a place where I've already
been cancelled, and so I can speak my
mind very freely and clearly.
How you respond to deep, violent, systemic oppression
is a very important conversation for us to
have.
It's a sensitive conversation, but it's a necessary
conversation.
And so we could study, for instance, American
slavery.
Well, how do you rebel against American slavery?
We could study the Civil Rights Movement.
We could study South African apartheid.
And let me say, each one of those
comparisons, none of those are a perfect one
-for-one comparison.
It is to say, though, that there are
moments in human history when people are being
severely and brutally oppressed.
And what we see now, which I think
is one of the lowest points in my
entire life, at least 12,000 Palestinians have
been killed.
Israel themselves say, no, the number is over
20,000 Palestinians have been killed.
But before this past month, the brutality and
oppression and repression were so severe that we
must grapple with, how do you respond to
that?
And when we study history, you gave some
options.
The challenge is, any option people choose to
respond to the oppression of Israel, when you
respond in that way, they reject it.
So, for instance, I support boycotts.
I support divestment.
I support sanctions.
That's called the BDS movement.
But when you say you support that, people
call you racist or anti-Semitic.
Well, those are three peaceful, nonviolent ways to
respond.
What's powerful is the United States itself has
called for the boycott of Russia, has called
for sanctions against Russia, has called for divestment
of Russia.
So, in a lot of ways, the United
States supports the BDS movement just for another
country.
So, it's not boycotts, divestment or sanctions that
the U.S. disapproves of.
It's just that they approve of it with
one group and not another.
So, when we try those peaceful means, we're
canceled.
We're rejected.
But those aren't the only means available.
Yes, we protest.
We demonstrate.
And Palestinians do this.
And Palestinians around the world have been protesting,
have been boycotting.
But there does come a time where every
people group, no matter who they are, no
matter where they are in the world, feel
like they have to defend themselves.
And sometimes that's with force.