Thoughts from the Candidate- Gaza and the Normalizing of Human Suffering

Last week was a busy one: a visit with Las Animas Democrats, a chat with Colorado Newsline’s Quentin Young, sitting in on the John Hickenlooper Town Hall in Colorado Springs, and Saturday’s Hands Off rally at the state capitol. We also had a Tiktok video get traction, so lots of comments to respond to also.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8jV1nQV/

But what is on my mind today is human suffering, the suffering that is underway now in Gaza. The suffering of the individuals trapped in CECOT under conditions that are barbaric and inhumane. The suffering of people who go to bed with too little food, or without medical care. Haven’t we as a species evolved past these blights on human existence?

Apparently not.

In fact if anything, barbarity and cruelty are becoming normalized again. As a young person drawn to the human rights work of Amnesty International and other human rights group, as a graduate and law student who studied international law, I am unable to understand how and why people in power look away from the suffering of Gaza, among other horrific conditions.

Amnesty concludes Israel is committing genocide in Gaza

Israel’s Crime of Extermination, Acts of Genocide in Gaza | Human Rights Watch