Hi Lo,

Thank you very much for the care and kindness in your message.    

I am not knowledgeable about this topic and wish to remain neutral please and not get involved in the politics.

 

On Sat, Jul 5, 2025 at 12:49 PM Laura Wesely <lwesely1@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Shirlee,

Thank you for your thoughts about this. I wonder if there's any room to be swayed here? If not, don't read on.

Currently, Apartheid is happening, just like in South African Apartheid and Jim Crow in the US. If we do nothing, it will continue, as it's already happening. 

Is this something you think is right? If so, by all means don't condemn it, don't speak up about it, and stay neutral. 

Or perhaps you don't think it's right, but you're worried about backlash from people who do believe Palestinians (or Black people in the US/South Africa) should be treated this way? Or perhaps you feel like you don't know enough about this topic to make an informed decision and take a stance -- which I totally get because I was definitely in that boat a few months ago too. 

Maybe your desire to remain neutral is coming from somewhere else. I would just like to understand it.

I'm curious if you could share more about what it means to you to remain neutral in this case and why?

If you'd like more information, I'd love to share it but don't want to assume.

With care and appreciation for your honesty,

Lo



Lo 
(Laura Wesely)
Pronouns: She/They

There is no neutral body from which our bodies deviate. Society has written deep into each strand of tissue of every living person on earth. What it writes into the heart muscles of five star generals is distinct from what it writes in the pancreatic tissue and intestinal tracts of Black single mothers in Detroit, of Mexicana migrants in Fresno, but no body stands outside the consequences of injustice and inequality
Aurora Levins Morales

On Sat, Jul 5, 2025, 07:15 Shirlee L <shirleetech@gmail.com> wrote:
Catching up on reading my emails.

About the proposal, as a member, I want to remain neutral.  This stance is a heated political issue and would prefer not to get involved with a stance either way..

Thanks,
Shirlee

On Thu, Jul 3, 2025 at 1:07 PM Jake Watters via sudo-discuss <sudo-discuss@sudoroom.org> wrote:
We're very overdue for a meeting!  Let's plan to really call a meeting next Wednesday and make it happen!

-jake

On Tue, Jul 1, 2025 at 9:29 PM Laura Wesely <lwesely1@gmail.com> wrote:
Hello dear beloved hackers, nerds and SudoRoom-ers,

I am checking back in to see about my proposal: 
Are there any questions I can answer or concerns individuals have about signing onto this pledge? 
I wonder if we are able to have a vote on this proposal at the next meeting? 

Please let me know if there's anything needed from me around this.

xo
Lo

On Wed, May 28, 2025 at 5:29 PM Jake Watters <typeinthenumber@gmail.com> wrote:
This is really wonderful!  Thank you for proposing it.  Let's talk about this at the meeting tonight! 

On Tue, May 27, 2025, 19:37 Laura Wesely via sudo-discuss <sudo-discuss@sudoroom.org> wrote:

Dear Sudoroom members and leaders,

 

For the past 2.5 years I’ve been a Sudoroom “member” (I say this in quotations because I’ve been paying dues and attending but have never been endorsed as a full fledged member), but I’d like to make a proposal that Sudoroom become an Apartheid Free Community!


I am writing as a member of SURJ Bay Area’s Palestine Solidarity Campaign. As a racial justice organization, SURJ believes it is our moral obligation to demand an end to Israel’s system of apartheid, its genocide in Gaza, and its increasing violent seizure of land in the West Bank. All this is paid for by our tax dollars, with the U.S. directly funding the Israeli government to the tune of $35 billion a year. 

 

We invite Sudoroom to join us to support the Palestinian people’s human rights, lives, and lands by taking the pledge to become an Apartheid-Free Community.

 

Apartheid is a crime against humanity. As defined by the United Nations, apartheid includes:

• Acts such as murder, torture, inhuman treatment, and arbitrary arrest of members of a racial group

• Deliberate imposition upon the subjugated racial group of living conditions calculated to cause its physical destruction

• Legislative measures that discriminate in the political, social, economic, and cultural fields

 

We could fill pages with examples of how Israel’s treatment of Palestinians meets this criteria—from arrests and imprisonment without charges to the destruction of Gaza by bombing homes, hospitals, and schools and cutting off food, water, electricity and medical supplies. Palestinians are subjected to entirely different laws and judicial systems, without freedom of movement and economic opportunities.

 

Inspired by the anti-apartheid movement that helped topple the white supremacist regime in South Africa, the Apartheid-Free Communities Campaign is bringing communities together to end apartheid in Israel/Palestine. We encourage Sudoroom to join the over 500 organizations across the globe, including cities, schools, faith-based communities, labor unions, businesses, and organizations, in taking the pledge to become an Apartheid-Free Community. 

 

Signing the Pledge makes a difference! It reflects public support to our elected officials when we press them to divest from Israeli violence. It reduces harm to Palestinian and Arab members of our community. It challenges the official narratives and expands the public consciousness around Palestine.  We ask that you sign this pledge, and take actions, in whatever way makes sense to Sudoroom, to be part of this effort.

 

Be sure to let me know if you have any questions and how I can support your Sudoroom in signing the Pledge and joining this campaign. 

 

In Solidarity,

Lo

 

P.S. We have materials including buttons, posters, and pamphlets you can use to increase awareness and build support. Plus the Apartheid-Free Communities website is full of great resources and educational materials.

--
Lo 
(Laura Wesely)
Pronouns: She/They

There is no neutral body from which our bodies deviate. Society has written deep into each strand of tissue of every living person on earth. What it writes into the heart muscles of five star generals is distinct from what it writes in the pancreatic tissue and intestinal tracts of Black single mothers in Detroit, of Mexicana migrants in Fresno, but no body stands outside the consequences of injustice and inequality
Aurora Levins Morales
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--
Lo 
(Laura Wesely)
Pronouns: She/They

There is no neutral body from which our bodies deviate. Society has written deep into each strand of tissue of every living person on earth. What it writes into the heart muscles of five star generals is distinct from what it writes in the pancreatic tissue and intestinal tracts of Black single mothers in Detroit, of Mexicana migrants in Fresno, but no body stands outside the consequences of injustice and inequality
Aurora Levins Morales
_______________________________________________
sudo-discuss mailing list -- sudo-discuss@sudoroom.org
To unsubscribe send an email to sudo-discuss-leave@sudoroom.org
More options at https://sudoroom.org/lists/postorius/lists/sudo-discuss.sudoroom.org/