"Turn Off Your Pity"

Remember there are "two sides"
Remember that so that you
can ignore the suffering of this side
And sound "fair and balanced"

Definitely don't pity their children
Write their suffering off
as "just what happens in war"
Look for "balance" so you can forget

Don't look as they are pelted
with stones by settlers
Don't look at their bruises
Don't look at their scars

Don't pay attention or care
when they are tear-gassed
on their way to school
or huddling at home with family

Don't think about their inner wounds
and the post-traumatic stress from
growing up under military occupation
and the attacks of settlers they protect

Don't think about families
whose homes have been sealed off
or fenced off or taken over
by settlers "possessing the land"

Don't think about farmers
who awake to find that their crops
of olive trees have been uprooted
by militant settlers during the night

Don't imagine what it would be like
if this happened to your children
if "settlers" invaded your homes
and an army protected them

Write it off as a never-ending conflict
that has been going on for centuries
Don't research to see if that's true
or let history challenge your assumptions

Justify, sanctify, and excuse
by using your religion to dismiss
the suffering of these children
Say that it's part of "prophecy"

Don't call peacemakers blessed
But accuse them of anti-semitism
And twist scriptures to show
that they are tools of the antichrist

Preach it to yourself and to others
that Israel needs to have the land
so that Jesus will be able to return
And these children are in the way

Forget the teaching of Jesus
These aren't "the least of these"
He doesn't love these children
He wants Israel to have the land

Convince your conscience
that the situation can't be helped
Vote for "godly leaders" who support
the occupation with your tax dollars

Change the channel if the news
shows the suffering of Palestinians
Hide articles from your newsfeed
Tell yourself it's just propaganda

Turn off sympathy and empathy
Don't imagine yourself in their place
Ignore the cries of their children
Don't look at them as human.

— the spirit of cold love

*****

Art: "Sacrificial Lamb"