i.
In October 2023,
commentators
scrutinize video footage
from Gaza
to debate whose rocket
hit which hospital.
The question
of how to interpret
all of this
while living in the foley
of the True Crime era.
ii.
In 2002, I think,
I wrote some poems
that mentioned Palestine
because I was reading
too much Z magazine
and wanted to write
more politically
(whatever that means)
in the wake of 9/11
and when I read these poems
under a tree
in a friend’s backyard
I was pulled aside
by the editor
of a local literary journal
to be given a lecture
about the Holocaust.
In an October 27, 2023 article,
The Atlantic compares
critics of Israel’s treatment
of Palestinians
to Stalinists
and Holocaust deniers.
In the poem
“Somebody Blew Up America,”
Amiri Baraka traces something
conspiratorial.
In an October 17, 2023 open letter,
a group of writers against
the Frankfurt Book Fair’s
deplatforming of Adania Shibli say:
“At a time
when the fair has issued
a statement saying
it wants to make Israeli voices
‘especially visible at the fair,’
they are closing out
the space for a Palestinian voice.”
In an October 26, 2023 letter,
Art Forum says:
“Our publication
has a proud history of advocacy.
That the letter
was misinterpreted as
being reflective of
the magazine’s position
understandably led to
significant dismay among
our readers and community,
which we deeply regret.”
It was at that point
I started burying the politics
in my work,
chained to the claim
that I needed more complexity.
I worried about whether
I had the correct information.
iii.
On October 28, 2023,
the IDF releases an internet video
at 8:00 am New York time,
urging Gazans to evacuate
to the south.
The video
is in English.
The internet’s down
in Gaza.
I am
the audience for this.
iv.
In 1991, I think
I witnessed the birth
of the 24-hour newscycle.
CNN voiceover
from a video about
the Gulf War:
“A front row seat
to history
in the making.”
v.
In his 2023 film
Killers of the
Flower Moon,
Martin Scorsese appears on screen
during the penultimate scene,
a re-enacted radio play
of the events just dramatized,
the serial murder of members
of the Osage nation
in a struggle over oil rights
and the control of land,
to read the obituary of Mollie,
played by Lily Gladstone,
and underline the way,
the way that the film,
as critical as it is,
is a form of entertainment.
vi.
Because I am watching
too much news coverage,
I remember
CNN Reporter
Bernard Shaw’s description
of the bombing of Baghdad:
“Seeming starbursts
in the black sky.”
I read posts
about the value proposition of witness.
I spend an hour looking
for video footage of
the 1991 paranoia
about potential
SCUD missile attacks
on Israel.
Ralph Begleiter,
World Affairs Correspondent:
“American officials
have feared all along
the possibility
that Arab members of
the coalition including
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait,
Syria, and Egypt
might find themselves
torn
between sticking with
the coalition against Iraq
or joining
Arab brother nation Iraq
in a war against Israel.”
vii.
Scorsese traces something
conspiratorial.
Information
from both sides of the mouth.
viii.
I think
I am supposed to be
horrified, but
I am numb to
the mediation.
I let the commentator
predigest the content
for me
and you
let me digest that content
for you.
Deleuze:
“Repressive forces
don't stop people
expressing themselves
but rather
force them to
express themselves.”
Have I
denounced Hamas today?
Have I
denounced myself today?
ix.
In 2014, I think,
I had several people
ask me in a snarky tone
why I didn’t know that
the IDF used
A Thousand
Plateaus
as the theoretical bedrock
of their military tactics.
A wall doesn’t have to exist
if you don’t want it to.
Build a settlement on a hill
and let the sewage trickle down.
x.
Bassem Youssef to Piers Morgan:
“It’s fluctuating
like crypto. So,
my question is today:
what is the going rate
for human life?”
Bassem Youssef to Piers Morgan:
“Here are years
of disproportionate response
from Israel. What
will be the twist
that will make this work
this time?”
“a state is put in a position”
“all decent people”
“every right morally”
xi.
Because I am watching
too much One Piece,
I start asking myself hypotheticals
about whose side Straw Hat Luffy
would fight on.
In an October 29, 2023 article,
Variety complains that
Scorsese never addresses
“How Hale himself,
a public friend
and benefactor of
the Osage,
evolved into a
genocidal terrorist.”
Jolly Rogers begin appearing
in crowds calling for
a free Palestine.
xii.
It’s always been about
conquering land.
Can you find
the information in this picture?
- October 28-29, 2023
ryan fitzpatrick [photo credit: Erin Molly Fitzpatrick] is the author of four books of poetry, including the recent Sunny Ways (Invisible 2023) and Coast Mountain Foot (Talonbooks 2021). He hopes for a free Palestine.