The spirit of the Intifada swarmed through the Portland State University (PSU) library as a whirlwind. Computers, printers, and televisions made with Coltan, a mineral extracted via slave labor in the Congo, had been smashed throughout the first floor. Commodified food and drinks were transformed into becoming free stuff that anyone can take to consume without paying any money. Cameras got smashed and the first floor changed from a surveilled stuffy work site into being a community social center decorated with beautiful political art on the walls. The gusts of this Intifada disrupted space and time totally, as anarchy revealed itself for the liberating force it is against oppression by attacking the present state of things.
PSU is a colonial institution that is occupying stolen land, it should not be negotiated with and it should not be spared of the fury. The category of student and “non-student” is an artificial one meant to gatekeep university resources, inhibit the free sharing of knowledge, and to trap designated people into crushing financial debt. Those categories should be rejected in favor of recognizing all participants as partisans in solidarity with the Palestine liberation struggle. The Intifada has no true leader, a truth demonstrated by the plurality of resistance factions that exist in Palestine proper. The rage of this revolt should not be inhibited and should spread outside the campuses as the colonial institutions and their capitalist firms throughout the land are all guilty of this ongoing genocide. Though divestment from Boeing and occupying the library is a great start, much more is needed to support ending the genocide and support the liberation of Palestine. Concurrently, militant care should be practiced toward those who fight by supporting them midst repression. Pay attention to how in the West Bank whenever any resistance fighter faces the brunt of colonial violence their community mobilizes to support them and their loved ones whether by providing safe houses, helping with food, and directly fighting back against arrest raids. The sooner militant offense and militant care is spread in solidarity with Palestinian resistance, the sooner the genocide in Gaza will end.
Remember, smashed glass is a drop in the bucket compared to the tactics utilized by the resistance factions in Palestine proper. Don’t just feel guilty about the genocide in Gaza, take inspiration from how Palestinians within the West Bank and Gaza Strip are fighting against colonialism. We have much to learn from them.
Spread the Intifada outside the campuses into all of Turtle Island!
May every colony and oppressor fall!