Yo, Miss! (No. 31)

Navigating Chaotic Times

This post might be a bit stream of consciousness. I feel compelled to post a new entry hoping it will help me work through the fog of chaos that has characterized my past week and weekend.

I was just getting back into the rhythm of the 2023-2024 school year and then on Friday we had an emergency lockdown. I already think about the gun violence epidemic every day, as a co-founder of Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence and as someone just living in the United States of America paying attention. Then, on Friday, two students were caught with guns at the school that shares a basement with my school. As a result, our school was forced to stay in an emergency lockdown until the situation was stabilized. Hours later and an hour after the school day was supposed to end, we were able to start trickling out of the school. However, everyone had to get scanned before we left as to ensure that there were no more weapons in the building.

It was definitely traumatizing for all staff and students in different ways based on where they were, what information they were getting on their phones and also based on life experience with gun violence. What struck me the most was that we all knew what to do and probably weren’t shocked that it was happening. Luckily no one got hurt but we are all damaged by this epidemic and the fact that we are all just in a state thinking we are eventually going to encounter some form of gun violence.

My plan was to unplug for the weekend. Read, knit, and workout. Possibly see some friends. But, definitely try not to look at my phone or watch all weekend.

Instead, we all woke up to the news of the terrorist attack on Israel. As of now when I write this post, the death toll is up to nearly 1600, for Israelis and Palestinians. It has also been confirmed that 11 Americans have been killed. So far, it is believed that at least 150 Israeli civilians are being held hostage by the terrorist group Hamas, the Palestinain group backed by the Islamic Republic of Iran that controls the Gaza Strip.

This terrorist attack is a part of a larger conflict that has been going on in the region for decades. I recommend this article to learn about this history.

As I posted on Saturday:

It is important to understand that however you feel about the Israeli government under Prime Minister Netanyahu and the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) and the horrific treatment of the Palestinian people in the region, the Hamas terrorist attack is not something to be celebrated by anyone who is for peace and protecting humanity. It is only going to cause more violence and death in the region, for both Israeli civilians as well as Palestinian civilians. Here is another helpful article about the history of Hamas control of the Gaza Strip since 2007.

By the way, I share the above information with you not as a justification for the barbaric terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians this weekend. I do it to contextualize the conflict in the region because the history teacher in me values the importance of historical context.

However, there is NEVER a justification for terrorism against anyone and I must emphasize again that Hamas is a terrorist organization.

As a Jewish American, I am already on high alert for antisemitism, which has already been on the rise in the United States and across the globe. During these heightened times of violence and stress is when the worst of “othering” and hate against different groups of marginalized people begins, including antisemitism. As a Jewish person with a Jewish last name who is online a lot, I experience antisemitism all of the time. So, just as I refuse to stand silent when I see injustice against other groups (including racism, homophobia, Islamophobia, etc), I ask the same of all of you when you encounter antisemitism.

---

By the way, if you are around tomorrow night, please join us for the PBS NewsHour Classroom Educator Voice Series. My friend Chris Dier is co-hosting with me and our special guest is Jonathan Friedman of PEN America:

You can register here: bit.ly/PBSzoom10-10-23

My Recommendations of the Week:

Thank you so much for your support. Sending love and peace to you all. xoxo Sari