By Linda Sarsour
What’s the point of getting arrested? Why the spectacles? Why celebrities? What’s even the point of all this. It seems performative.
I’d like to take this as an educational opportunity. Civil disobedience is for SPECTACLE. The drama is the point. It’s a way to take an issue, something that is newsworthy that mainstream media is ignoring and put it back in the spotlight. It forces media and the internet to TALK ABOUT IT. It’s no small feat to get 100 people to risk arrest for something they believe in. In order to get arrested we need to decide not to comply with orders from police to vacate a property or to stop obstructing traffic, etc.
So yesterday - a war criminal with an ICC warrant addressed the United Nations. Almost EVERY headline included that people were OUTRAGED and against Netanyahu in our country. The stories redirected people to remember there is STILL an ongoing genocide. It was another opportunity to center Gaza, Palestine, Lebanon and the war on Iran.
Why celebrities? They have PLATFORMS. They also have different niche media who follow them. Entertainment media like Hollywood Reporter wouldn’t usually cover protest or Palestine BUT if for example, Susan Sarandon and Hannah Einbinder are there - they will report and that’s a whole other audience that will be exposed to why we are getting arrested and not just the who. The same goes for elected officials.
Trust me, getting arrested isn’t fun. There’s always risks involved. We can’t guarantee what the charges will be. If you’ve been arrested multiple times in a given period, it can be more of a risk. We don’t just get a ticket. We have a court date (or at least I do ). To me, I never think about risk because there is NOTHING I wouldn’t do for my people to remind them I love them and I am still fighting for them - and nothing I risk is even close to what they have sacrificed and endured.
Does my mom hate it - yes. But I don’t tell her until after it’s done.
