Attrocity Porn

And why I’m not subscribing

Screenshot by author

An appraisal

There comes a point where emotions need to be differentiated from intent. I won’t stop being horrified and heartbroken by the unimagineable attrocities inflicted on the Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Yet paralysis sets in sometimes because the horror and lack of agency magnify, rather than cancel each other leaving only helplessness which simply leads to unnecessary stress.

I won’t skirt the fact that I’m in a very privileged position of seeing this tragedy unfold on my phone and laptop but I could easily ignore it if I chose. I’m not a Palestinian or a Jew. At the moment I’m quite free to express my position without reprisal. So I’m not calling on people to get their shit together, I’m telling my own story in the hope that it might help someone else find a path that navigates outrage and helplessness.

I will continue to watch the videos, read the stories, be appalled and sickened. I won’t allow myself to be inured to the depths of depravity the IDF sink to or to the suffering, humiliation and terror that the Palestinian people face. I have seen the connection between the genocide on Gaza and Nazi Germany but I no longer feel the need to make that comparison and find myself accused of being antisemitic.