Why People Can't Process What Aaron Bushnell Did

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Hi all,

Big news! As you know, we want to help as many people as we can seek Jesus and resist the idols of the White, American church. That’s why we write this email every week to give you resources to help you in discipleship and healthy, informed political engagement. That’s why we center and elevate marginalized voices. And that’s also why this newsletter is going to be free for everyone starting today! So please share it with a friend, and if you can, please become a subscriber to support our work!

This week’s newsletter includes:

-        Why people just can’t process what Aaron Bushnell did

-        The University of Florida Eliminating all its DEI programs and staff

-        Praying for the Increasing Instability in Haiti

-        How the young nation of Israel stamped out critique from Jewish Americans

-        Jonathan staying grounded with a song from a Palestinian father-daughter duo

Jonathan’s Recommendations

Why People Can’t Process Aaron Bushnell’s Self-Immolation

(content warning for self-harm) Professor Deva Woodly of Brown University believes that Aaron Bushnell‘s protesting Israel’s war by setting himself on fire is a radical form of protest that requires deep reflection. In an interview on NPR’s It’s Been a Minute (beginning at the 14 minute mark), Woodly unpacks why the media has such a hard time talking about and understanding self-immolation as a protest against injustice. She also points out that Bushnell’s specificity in the letter and video he left explaining his actions prevents many people from co-opting the story for their own political ends. Bushnell’s biography is accessible, and his active-duty status in the Airforce makes many people pay attention. His circumstances and story resist ready-made social narratives, particularly that of the troubled and isolated young, White man who resorts to shootings or other acts of violence against others. Instead, he seems deeply disturbed by the injustice he has witnessed, and in which he may have participated. As a follower of Jesus, I mourn his death. He had the value of all people God created, and his family no longer has their beloved. Simultaneously, I will seek justice and liberation for the people for whom Aaron died.

-        Listen or read the transcript

University of Florida Eliminates All DEI Programming

To comply with a new law that prohibits state funds from going toward diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, the University of Florida has eliminated all DEI staff positions and programming. This is the public approach to accomplishing the same goals as the privately funded anti-woke University of Austin Sy mentioned in this newsletter last week. The goal is a return to the status quo before the Civil Rights Movement when BIPOC, women, and LGBTQ+ people had much less power and influence over culture. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has institutionalized prejudice and presented it as redemptive, saying, “DEI is toxic and has no place in our public universities.” Followers of Jesus must pray and work against his ideas about education, which are now both entrenched and advancing all over the country.

-        Read more on this story

Sy’s Recommendations

The Increasing Instability in Haiti

This one is largely a prayer request. The political and security situation in Haiti is deteriorating quickly. The gangs politicians have used to reenforce their power for years have grown more independent and developed ambitions of their own. They have been trying to take over key government and infrastructure sites in the capital, including an attack on the airport to prevent the country’s president from returning after his trip to request the aid of Kenyan security forces. America is implicated in many aspects of this situation, from our wildly unregulated supply of guns arming the gangs, to the origin of these gangs in the US-backed dictatorships of the 20^th century, to our 19-year occupation creating deep distrust among Haitians of international security forces. Please pray for peace. But also pray for a radical shift in the thinking of Western countries about Haiti—that supporting Haitian civic society and the flourishing of Haitian people would be our priority, not exploiting the country’s poverty to manipulate its politics in our favor.

-        Read about the rise of gangs in Haiti

How Israel Stamped out Critique from Jewish Americans

It may be difficult to imagine now, but in the 1950’s, some of the most prominent Jewish organizations in America were openly critical of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. What changed? According to a new book by Emery University Professor Geoffrey Levin, Israel worked to silence American Jews with non-Zionist positions. It had them fired, got their writings pulled from publication, tarnished their organizations reputations, and much more. At one point, Israeli diplomats worked with the Jerusalem Post’s young Washington Correspondent, Wolf Blitzer, to publish articles discrediting one organization that the New York Times had said was making a real difference in correcting the popular perception that criticism of Israel was anti-Semitic. Professor Levin wonders how much easier it would be today for American Jews with misgivings about Israel’s policies to speak out if it weren’t for these early McCarthy-esque tactics.

-        Read about Professor Levin’s findings

Staying Grounded with Jonathan

We are streaming endless videos out of Palestine, most of death, destruction, and immense suffering. But a viral video of a powerful anthem of resistance from a Palestinian father-daughter musical duo named Muad and Zayaan reminds us that amidst so much violence there can be creativity, beauty, and love. Something I constantly remind myself about the suffering of Black Americans during enslavement is we still celebrated things like the birth of children, weddings, holidays, and so much more. In so many ways, we thrived amidst injustice, which is to say we received the fruits of the Spirit when the Enemy would have had us defeated and destroyed. May you receive the joy of the Lord today, remembering that it can come upon you anywhere, anytime, and in any circumstances.

-        Hear Muad and Zayaan sing

Thanks for reading, and see you next week!

Jonathan and Sy