GAZA CHRIS+ Preface

The Second Coming of Christ: Reflections on Irony, Transformation, and Solution

PREFACE

By Alex Barbuto

"If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing." —Malcolm X.

I enjoy finding common ground in which both parties can realize a more universal, objective understanding that lies within conversations that have yet to be realized. This ability to relate connects us.

We all come from mothers and fathers. We have all fought with our mothers and fathers, and we have loved our mothers and fathers. Is this something we all share? I've hated my parents, and I've loved them.

I'm generalizing here, but we all have brothers and sisters. Have we not hated and loved our siblings? I stabbed my brother with scissors, and he threw a screwdriver at my head. Do we love each other? Sometimes!

How about friendships? Have we not gotten into fights with friends and loved our friends?

Above all, how has the relationship been with ourselves? Mine has been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride. I've loved myself to the heights of heaven, hated myself in the depths of hell, and found solace in the middle. Are we all familiar with this relationship that we have with ourselves?

Are the Palestinians brothers and sisters, and mothers and fathers, and grandparents and uncles and aunts?

Are the Israelis brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, grandparents, uncles, and aunts?

The point here is that you don't have to be Palestinian or Israeli to hate one another. Hatred is closer than we know. I've hated no one as much as I've hated myself. Hatred arises from within and projects outward, and the first person to feel hatred is ourselves.

My lack of interest in the news and history made me indifferent to exploring the crisis more deeply before October 7, 2023. Before that date, I believed the mainstream narrative: Israel was the good guys, the USA's allies, actual homeowners of the holy land, and the defending victim. On the other side were the radical Islamic terrorists who inflicted severe suffering on the Israelis.

I never released the first version of Gaza Christ because I was trying to find common ground in which I could rise above and offer a peaceful perspective divorced from praise, judgment, or criticism. After researching the crisis thoroughly, the mainstream narrative became as fake as the story about how the pilgrims broke bread with the Native Americans.

As USA nationalists, we celebrate lying and gratitude on the same day. Why do we do this? If we celebrated kicking the shit out of the Native Americans and how grateful we were for doing it, that would be more acceptable to me. Why are we hiding history? The truth is that the USA was created through genocidal violence. The other is that we are not taught this in school. We're taught a make-believe story about peace and friendship. If the truth was too violent, it should have been left out altogether. The truth is that we celebrate storytelling. How out of touch have we become? How far have we strayed from the truth? I have no problem with the truth, and I have no problem with war. Please stop feeding us bologna and calling it filet mignon.

Praise, criticism, and judgment color narrative, and without them, the objective truth would arise, and through this expression, no one would be labeled as a victim or aggressor. Within each human being lies both a victim and an oppressor. We've all been both. The truth is that people fight. It's in our nature. How could the news or nationalism survive without the ally-enemy dichotomy?

Lying makes us sick, especially when we do it not to hurt others' feelings.

I can't count the number of Jewish family friends I've had. I’ve been close to so many Jewish people and only met a Palestinian for the first time in July 2024. I felt bad condemning Israel, because of my friends. I've avoided this awkward experience, but I can’t for much longer; blame Israel, not me. Since the Holocaust, more Jews have died in Israel then anywhere else in the world due to violence.

This held me back from speaking my truth because I feared being misunderstood and labeled antisemitic. Today, I’d rather people think I'm antisemitic than to not stand up for strangers who are being massacred and portrayed to the public as monsters. I'm not going to give a history lesson on this 75-year crisis, but if you'd like to learn more, research Norman Finkelstein, Noam Chomsky, and Gabor Maté, all wonderful Jewish scholars.

There have been countless modern-day genocides besides the Holocaust, but for some reason, it is the most popular and defended crisis in modern-day history. Over 50 million Native Americans were killed by the Europeans when they came over to the new land. Where's there socially equipped shameful antisemitic linguistic sword and shield?

Are Jews better than Native Americans? It's more taboo to be antisemitic than to be racist towards any other group.

What is going on here? How and why have we been brainwashed to believe that being antisemitic is something to fear? Language can be used to silence dissent and complicate honest dialogue. It feels like a political propaganda agenda. How and why would anyone want to instill such shame into people? If being racist was equally as taboo as being antisemitic, the world might be less racist because being called antisemitic has become a weapon that has kept people's mouths glued shut even though Israel is committing genocide and has broken countless laws. Shaming is the most painful human emotion, and the driving force behind antisemitism is shame. When one is shamed by society, they become outcasts, and when one is all alone, one's chances of survival are meager.

The entire world, at this point, knows Israel is committing genocide but has accepted it like Thanksgiving. Israel's existence is as fake as the prime minister's name. They programmed beepers into bombs and were praised for it. They turned Gaza into a concentration camp in 1994. Israel is an apartheid state. They've broken hundreds of international laws. The prime minister has a warrant out for his arrest. They've killed over 20,000 children! The list goes on and on. What did Palestine do? They killed 1,200 people, the most significant attack in 75 years from an oppressed group, not to mention there's no evidence in any of the haunting stories Israel has come up with about slaughtering babies and rape.

But there is evidence against Israel doing it. Israel has exposed itself as a lying, narcissistic, radical supremacist entity. They are like a drug addict that has lost control of their humanity and are enabled by their colonialist, supremacist USA fathers.

The USA and Israel are terrorists, and we can't condemn it because we'll be labeled antisemitic but the truth is that people are anti-bullshit. We want justice. We at least want the truth to be told. No one likes being gas lit. 

The dysfunctional relationship between the USA and Israel is clear as day. Over the past year, the USA has portrayed itself to the public as a peacemaker. They announced that they are working on a ceasefire while simultaneously sending money and bombs to Israel to destroy Gaza. This is what addicts do. They deny and lie. People are amazed that the USA/Israel haven't stopped committing atrocities even though the entire world has seen the truth. Clearly, there's no stopping it. This out-of-control mania will and can only stop once it kills itself. Part one coming up next.