This might not be fully appreciated outside of the "DMV," but wander around Washington DC long enough, and you'll eventually stumble across one protest or another. Most are small scale and you'd pretty much never hear about them unless you live here. Or are participating in one. Some cities have block parties, some music fests, DC has protests.
This is one I came across last fall, in front of the Organization of American States, which the Council on Foreign Relations describes as "a multilateral regional body focused on human rights, electoral oversight, social and economic development," and includes the United States, Haiti, Canada, and Venezuela so yes, about as dysfunctional as a Walz family reunion, but as appropriate a forum as any for such a protest.
This was, like most, a modest affair, with some homemade signs and what appeared to be a gathering of Peruvians and their supporters genuinely dedicated to the cause of, well, there were quite a few, from being against Pedro Castillo (a former President of Peru), repression and police impunity along with general calls for liberty.
And of course that au courant favorite, accusations of genocide!
Almost certainly plenty of innocent people are being killed and that is genuinely awful, but genocide? Well, maybe. But the problem with charging genocide, a term once reserved for, well, actual genocide, is that it has gotten tossed around so much it's lost much of its impact. Similar to crying "RACIST!", which after having been applied to everything from cheese to saying "good morning" doesn't quite carry the weight it once did.
Look, if preventing the genital mutilation of children is genocide, then everything is genocide.
Another one I came across earlier this year stands in marked contrast, and while more a combination county health fair info. booth and Christo outdoor art project, this one definitely had some money and organization behind it.
"Please, Respect The Flags.," is such a Washington-DC plea for basic courtesy it made me smile. I suppose the same kind of people who would kick over sand castles would mess with the flags. Leave the flags alone, people, they didn't plant themselves!
Clever marketing, too, personalizing the cause and targeting specific constituencies.
Backed by the non-profit "Fight Colorectal Cancer" it seemed otherwise legitimate, although its outreach smacks of a certain desperation.
Groomers against cancer!
Which brings us to a random Palestinian protest I stumbled upon going for a walk. I wasn't looking for one, I didn't have to, you just listen for the yelling. When you hear yelling in DC It's either a protest, or someone being misgendered. This was a protest (thank goodness) taking place in front of the United States Department of Education.
And yes, that's a woman wearing a face mask. Outside. In September of 2024.
What does the United States Department of Education have to do with a Middle Eastern conflict? Other than nothing, I mean.
Apparently, this particular protest was focused on the ways education was suffering in Gaza due to the current conflict, kind of like if they were to protest in front of the Federal Communications Commission about poor cellular service.
As I thought about, it was actually an impressive attempt at careful targeting, in marked contrast to, say, Hamas rockets. The protesters are attempting to soften the image of the brutal Hamas terrorists relentlessly targeting Israeli citizens for extermination by pointing out that brutal Hamas terrorists are parents too, just like you and me, struggling with the same daily chores; getting lunch packed, making sure homework is turned in on time, and redirecting international humanitarian aid towards heavy munitions that can be used to murder Israeli citizens.
Of course, the protesters aren't really concerned about education, they are hoping to use children as shields against criticism much in the way Hamas uses them as shields against IDF retaliation when they launch rockets from school playgrounds. They want to tug on our heartstrings while they pursue their real issue, the one they have been pushing for decades:
COLORECTAL CANCER!!!
Wait, that's not right. Oh yeah, now I remember.
GENOCIDE!!!
Let me start with a tight shot of the protest, the kind the media favors for maximum effect and is routinely used when covering protests they approve of. It creates the illusion of broad popular support and excitement.
Wow! People are truly outraged about Israeli's interfering with the education of children in Gaza!
Here is what it really looked like.
Quite a difference. About two dozen in all. As such, it did not draw a lot of obvious police attention. I counted two Department of Homeland Security SUVs (the one in the foreground to the left and another further up, a few vehicles past the ice cream truck) and one from the local DC Police (to the left and up one from the nearest DHS SUV). The Department of Education is to the right where the protest was taking place. I saw no obvious glowies.
Still high marks for organization and theatrics.
Cinder blocks, overturned school desk, a child's toy, not to mention bloody hand prints across a yellow school bus because if there's one thing Hamas isn't good at, its subtlety.
477 out of 564 schools destroyed by Israel.
Or, put another way, 477 out of 564 Hamas rocket bases destroyed by Israel.
There were other, similar signs, "Book Bags Not Body Bags," "Bombing Children is Not Self Defense," and so on.
This is not to make light of the horrors of war and the innocent children who always end up suffering one way or another, but rather to note the hypocrisy and the use of such tragedies as stage props to further a cause that wants nothing less than to wipe the Jewish state, along with all its school-age children, off the map.
You may have noticed that I have been conflating the protesters with Hamas. That's not entirely fair. However, the protesters are definitely Hamas sympathizers, even if some are unwitting ones. Why draw that conclusion?
Here's what they were handing out at the protest:
There are four mentions of October 7, 2023. Not what happened on October 7, 2023, just the date, like the Israelis woke up that morning and said, "Hey, how about we spend billions of dollars and imperil the lives of our citizens by bombing our peaceful neighbors in Gaza thus drawing widespread condemnation and worldwide isolation? Who's with me?"
Here are the four mentions.
Before October 7th, there were 625,000 school-aged children in Gaza. As of today, none of them are attending school.
Every day, 10+ children on average have lost one or both of their legs since October 7.
Since October 7th, at least 41,764 Palestinians have been killed by Israel with countless people unaccounted for under the rubble.
Since October 7th, Israel has dropped 70,000 tons of bombs on Gaza, more than WW2 bombings in London and the nuclear force experienced in Hiroshima.
The flyer, and the protest in general, was backed by "Teachers Against Genocide," which isn't really a thing and consists of an Instagram page and useful idiots.
Of course, this is not "Teachers Against Genocide," it is "Teachers Against Israel." The first post appeared about two months after the mysterious events of October 7, 2023, and there is nary a word about my Peruvian friends' charges of genocide or any other genocide. In fact, this is the first title card from the "Resources" page purportedly for learning about stopping genocide.
You don't learn about stopping genocide. You learn about stopping Israel. It includes this short video that Instagram won't permit me to embed in which an evil Israeli is a bully which in no way is depicted as an anti-Semitic caricature who steals all the toys from a 100% innocent and appealing Palestinian child. For good measure, the United States is depicted as stepping in and enforcing the theft.
Their most recent post was from the demonstration I had visited.
Teachers Against Israel, er, Genocide, is a front group for Truth About Palestine, which naturally takes the same approach mentioning all the horrible things that have happened to Gaza since October 7, 2023 without actually mentioned what happened on October 7, 2023.
Here's what happened on October 7, 2023.
In total, 1,139 people were killed: 695 Israeli civilians (including 38 children), 71 foreign nationals, and 373 members of the security forces. 364 civilians were killed and many more wounded while attending the Nova music festival. At least 14 Israeli civilians were killed by the IDF's use of the Hannibal Directive. About 250 Israeli civilians and soldiers were taken as hostages to the Gaza Strip, alive or dead, and including 30 children, with the stated goal to force Israel to exchange them for imprisoned Palestinians, including women and children. Dozens of cases of rape and sexual assault reportedly occurred, but Hamas officials denied the involvement of their fighters.
I've been hard on the Palestinian protesters and their enablers, but they've made it hard on themselves. I'm perfectly willing to have a discussion about the proper escalation of the use of force. About conceding Israeli's own misdeeds, and for that matter, those of the United States, throughout the history of the area before and after 1948. There is certainly plenty of blame to go around and many misdeeds. We are, after all, imperfect, sinful beings. But I can't do that in the face of intractable dishonesty, of trying to gaslight me right to my face and expecting me to nod along agreeably.
Incidentally, there are STILL hostages being held in Gaza.
You don't reference a horrific attack purposefully targeting civilians, families, and kids, perpetrated by a democratically elected terrorist organization that had wide support for the October 7 attack (71% by some accounts) by simply noting a date on the calendar and nothing else.
You honestly want to stop the bloodshed? Start by being honest.
I'll leave you with this little ditty that the protesters were singing. Fair warning, this song is designed to be an ear worm, a deliberately manipulative melody with vapid lyrics that will take you the rest of the day to get out of your head. Think Taylor Swift, only without all the fabricated fan-service-inspired romantic drama.
