Andrew Krinks

Where in TN?

Hind Rajab was killed at 6 years old.

She spent her final hours trapped in a car, surrounded by the bodies of six relatives. A Red Crescent operator stayed on the phone, comforting her as an Israeli tank approached.

Twelve days later, she was found dead. wapo.st/3UCiAjn

we don't actually know what's going to *work* so we need to try many different kinds of things and that means that a lot of what people are trying will not be your choice of action.

100%. To my surprise, after responding to one of the folks throwing 💩 saying we'd love to connect if they're organizing to take action in effective ways and building on-ramps for people to join, they replied "how do you start?" That's the question! There are so many ways.

PARKING: The Downtown Public Library garage is currently closed. Please consider carpooling or riding public transportation. There is some nearby street parking as well as other parking garages and lots.

#freepalestine🇵🇸

BRING POTS, PANS, & SPOONS to bang in protest!

Sunday, August 3, 6:30 p.m.

Federal Building & Courthouse
719 Church St
Nashville, TN 37203

—all funded and enabled by the US government. Witnessing the horror of starved, emaciated, and murdered Gazans, we will join our voices to say “No!” to forced starvation and genocide, to call elected officials to stop it, and to support mutual aid projects on the ground in Gaza.

Middle Tennessee Christians for Justice in Palestine, Nour Nashville, PSL Nashville, and the American Muslim Advisory Council invite people of faith and conscience from across Middle Tennessee to join us to take action against Israel’s active genocide and forced starvation of the people of Gaza.

We'll be gathering folks to be present to the genocide, direct resources on the spot to people on the ground in Gaza, get involved in BDS, call reps, take further action, etc.

A diversity of tactics have always been necessary. We don't see what we're doing as *merely* symbolic. Though I understand the frustration that we can't do more, which leads people to dismiss lower-risk actions as inconsequential. But it's all consequential right now.

I suspect that most leftists throwing 💩 at other leftists who are doing something rather than nothing about Gaza are isolated & traumatized, which breeds despair. One antidote to despair is to put down the phone & do something. Otherwise, as @prisonculture.bsky.social always reminds, keep it moving.

None of us has capacity for planning any action of any kind. We're desperate for the genocide to end. We're doing something rather than nothing. So long as it doesn't serve the imperial war machine, doing something is worthwhile, especially if it brings people in & buoys our capacities to keep going

We aren't made to witness genocide. It unravels us. But the antidote to that unraveling isn't attacking people actively trying to bring people into movement, educate people about the genocide, apply whatever pressure we can, channel resources to mutual aid in Gaza, & invite people into BDS action.

It's understandable. But I really think we will all benefit if people take time to work on building their emotional self-awareness. Comradely critique from a place of relationship, committed collective action, and a track record of building on-ramps for people to join the movement is valuable.

I'm helping organize a low-risk action with others in support of Gaza. Folks who also want a free Palestine are coming out of their holes to throw 💩 saying it's too "symbolic," ineffective. Engaging one of them, it's clear the secondary trauma of watching genocide is leading some to lash out.

Remember when Peter Thiel hesitated when asked if the human race should live on?

Here's something I wrote in my book about Thin Blue Line mythology, using Ronald Reagan's 1981 speech to a crowd of cops as a good case study. It might help clarify the "darkness" and "existential threat" comments from DHS.

Thin Blue Line mythology is always colonial political theology. D. Correia & T. Wall write that the thin blue line casts police in “sacred, mystical” terms as “the very line—the border or boundary—dividing wickedness from the good life, morality from depravity, and the sacred from the profane.”

Thin Blue Line Police Officer Challenge Coin Law Enforcement K9 Coins with Proverbs 28:1 - Remember The Fallen, Respect The Righteous This Thin Blue Line Challenge Coin is a powerful symbol of respect and gratitude toward law enforcement officers. The front showcases a fierce lion, embodying the courage and strength of officers who stand in the face of danger. The back of the coin features the Thin Blue Line emblem and the words "Remember the Fallen, Respect the Righteous," honoring those who have given their lives in the line of duty. With the biblical proverb from Proverbs 28:1, this coin intertwines wisdom with the values of justice and bravery in the police force. Whether you’re looking for a meaningful gift, a way to honor fallen officers, or a unique addition to a collection, this challenge coin represents a deep appreciation for the men and women of law enforcement.

Proverbs 28:1 is a verse widely used in Thin Blue Line culture: www.amazon.com/Thin-Challen...

Classic Thin Blue Line political theology.

From DHS on Twitter:

"TO EVERY CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIEN IN AMERICA: Darkness is no longer your ally. You represent an existential threat to the citizens of the US, and US Border Patrol's Special Operations Group will stop at nothing to hunt you down."

BBC News: Do you think you were a witness to war crimes?

American veteran who worked at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution center: Without question I witnessed war crimes.

The @LemkinInstitute is calling on every leader in the world to step in immediately with measures that ensure food and water gets into Gaza right now. No more discussions, meetings, reports, sessions, summits. GET FOOD AND WATER INTO GAZA NOW. IF YOU HAVE THE POWER, YOU MUST USE IT.

Wow—the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention (named after Raphael Lemkin, a Holocaust survivor who coined the term genocide) says plainly:

"No more discussions, meetings, reports, sessions, summits…IF YOU HAVE THE POWER, YOU MUST USE IT."

"HISTORY WILL DETERMINE THE RECTITUDE OF YOUR ACTIONS."

Please donate to the Sameer Project. The situation is unfathomably dire.

Thanks! The book doesn't talk much about the public prison industry, but a lot of the book speaks to aspects of this convo, particularly the larger function and broader incentives that generate and maintain carceral and police systems.

This is why I think of the fences that surround prisons + the fences that enclose private property as continuous, serving the same function. Likewise, I think of the color line, the property line, and the thin blue line as one continuous partition that functions variably depending on context.

So it's not that prisons directly line pockets through captive labor but that prisons reinforce + protect an order in which a few pockets are lined and most pockets are empty. If prisons are "for" "profit," then, it's because they contain surplus peoples whose insecurity poses a threat to capital.

@oaklandabosol.bsky.social I found this from your original post most helpful: "The main product of prisoner labor is the prison itself," meaning "exploiting prisoners themselves to reproduce their own captivity."

💯!