Scheduling error
I got double-booked for both a demo against the war and a drag show. Same city, exact same time. Wonderful. On the one hand, my work ethic says to do what I've already committed to- the show. Bailing out on the organizers would be a deeply shitty thing to do, esp. since the line is a group/community effort and relies greatly on volunteer work to keep going. On the other hand, going to the demo is very important as well. As ambivalent as I am about the place of Israelis-against-the-war at a time like this*, I don't want to have done nothing. In addition, prancing around lip-synching to Bette Midler at a time like this feels a little too close to fiddling as Rome burns for my taste.
*I was at a demo on Saturday night with the same mixed feelings. As we left Jerusalem to go to Tel Aviv and march (mainly) peacefully and unharmed down the street, we could hear the police helicopters carrying magavnikim and yasamnikim on their way to stop the demos/riots in East Jerusalem. As Israelis, we got the privilege of being able to protest without bodily harm- yes, there were a few assholes who yelled at us on the way, but no one was injured. The protesters in TA got pics on the front page of Haaretz online- the protesters in East Jerusalem nary a mention, although you can be sure the violence there was much more severe. The main purpose of the demo seemed to be to say that the actions taken aren't in our name, which is important- to show that Israelis aren't of one mind here. But honestly? We pay taxes, we vote- the actions are in our name even if we don't want them to be. And a couple of hundred leftists protesting in downtown Tel Aviv aren't going to stop military actions in Gaza.