Not that you asked, but...

Stop the killing.

Dear friends,

None of you have asked me—in fact, no one at all has personally asked me—to state my “position” on Israel-Palestine. Why would you? I’m no expert; I’m not someone who has ever been asked to opine on the subject (I must stay in my “lane,” after all); I have no immediate personal connection to the conflict; and in a world in which socially constructed identity is everything, and in which lived experience confers (questionable) authority and sets the boundaries (tragically) of solidarity, it would seem that I might best keep my mouth shut. 

No matter. I’m told that my silence, especially as a writer on the left, is itself a statement—the meaning of which will be interpreted (not to say imposed or projected) one way or another, depending upon which “side” the interpreter is on—and I therefore have a duty to take a stand, however belatedly. And there is some truth to that. Furthermore, it’s probably in my own interest; otherwise the interpreters of silence will assume the worst, whatever the worst, in their minds, may be. 

So here’s my statement, which, again, not one of you has asked me for:

Stop the killing. Now. It solves nothing. In fact it only ensures more killing, more suffering, more injustice. There is no solution that does not begin with a stop to the killing. And no atrocity, no amount of oppression, justifies genocidal murder by those with the weapons and power on either side.

So there you have it, for what it’s worth. Not much. It’s not very brave. Not very original. Then again, there is nothing original left to say. 

If you want to read something a little longer and more elaborated than that statement (but, honestly, why would you?), I wrote an essay over a year ago about despair and nihilism, the impetus for which was not Israel-Palestine, though certain of the themes are applicable, and though it now feels like it could have been written in the past week. But in the end it’s simply a long and roundabout way of saying what I’ve just said above. 

If nihilism wins—and it appears to be winning, perhaps not everywhere, but in too many places—then humanity’s future is indeed grim, and possibly short. I happen to believe that whether it wins, and precisely where and when and how, is still up to all of us. There is a choice

I know that some of you will not be satisfied with what I’ve said here. I’m sorry. Truly. It’s the best I can do. 

-Wen