President Bukele takes a victory lap after El Salvador becomes the safest nation in the Western hemisphere
He then tells foreign critics to go stuff it
My whole life I went to private Jewish schools in Southern California. Growing up we had armed guards outside our double gates. Multiple former special ops military guys carrying AR’s outside and around entry points.
About once a year we had students from the local UC show up to protest… college adults protesting our existence at an elementary - high school.
Semi-regularly had people call in threats.
Multiple times over the years had to evacuate or couldn’t go to school for a day.
My friends from outside of school would so affectionately call me “my little jew bagel”. Joke that they liked my nose. Try to convert me to “save me from going to hell.” Tell me I’m lucky that I don’t look Jewish. Send me images of Palestinians and told it was “my fault” even though… I’m not Israeli… I’ve never even been to Israel…
When I would get upset they would tell me they were just joking, I obviously just needed to lighten up.
They wouldn’t actually be doing it seriously? Who would do that, right? They were my friends…
So, after a while I did.
I stopped fighting back.
I stopped telling them it hurt me.
It was one of me vs. all of them and if they told me it wasn’t a big deal, I guess it wasn’t a big deal… right?
I’ve realized over the last few weeks how common this experience is for most American Jews.
Going to school with armed guards in the middle of well established and “safe” parts of America.
Being demeaned but then invalidated if it upset us, learning to brush things off because it was easier than always trying to fight back.
Being outnumbered constantly, told “well you’re my only Jewish friend but you’re one of the cool ones!”
Now being told, “you’re upset about antisemitism but HOW DO YOU THINK ____ FEEL ABOUT ___ (fill in the blank)”
I talked to a friend recently. His young son currently goes one of the same schools I went to — 14 years since I’ve graduated, it’s still the same.
Armed guards. Double gated. Occasional threats and protests.
14 years later… 27 years since I started school and not a single thing has changed.
Jewish children being protested against by grown adults. Being viciously “held accountable” for the actions of a government thousands of miles away where many of us haven’t even been. Constantly told our fear and sadness is invalid. Made to feel like it’s okay for other cultures to have and foster their community but when we do it we have an “underground society” where we “greedily control everything”.
Every single Jewish friend I have knows someone who was personally present, k^lled or captured on October 7th.
Yet, they aren’t allowed to mourn. They haven’t been allowed to share grief. They have been busy fielding hate messages, comments, and antisemitism.
Constantly screaming into the void for anyone to care like we all cared and advocated over the last few years for Black lives, Asian lives, gay lives and yes… for many of us even Palestinian lives.
Your Jewish friends are tired.
Not just because of the last few weeks, but because this is a culmination of a lifetime of fighting and worrying about our right to just simply exist. We have all been told, shown, subconsciously programmed into thinking “there are people who do not believe you should be alive regardless of what you do, regardless of where you stand, regardless of how much you contribute.”, and the last few weeks have just confirmed it.
That’s it.
The Maui fire that tore through Lahaina is one of the worst wildfire disasters in US history.
The town of 12,000 people is virtually destroyed, with at least 53 dead and many more missing. More than 1,700 structures have been destroyed, including entire neighborhoods.
Maui is in great need of outside assistance.
Imagery via @Maxar
The Evolution of War: From Stones to Atoms
Another impressive AI artwork by Fabio Comparelli (@intothefab]
[notes from the author: https://t.co/yAxJlMbvRH]
[IG account: https://t.co/orz9SDRKrA]