A Message Of Love In Palestine
So, it didn't quite happen in time for Valentine's Day, but this is what I gave Ish.
www.sendamessage.nl
There is a wall between Palestine and Israel. The whats, whys, and hows of this wall are highly controversial, but even if you know nothing of the conflicts in these lands, a wall is a wall. If nothing else, it is divisive.
"Send a Message" allows you to send money to the people who are hurt most by this wall; in exchange, they graffiti your message on it. According to their site:
*Emily of Ben & Emily, aka "Bemily," dubbed me and Ish (Peter Bartlett) "PB&K"
www.sendamessage.nl
There is a wall between Palestine and Israel. The whats, whys, and hows of this wall are highly controversial, but even if you know nothing of the conflicts in these lands, a wall is a wall. If nothing else, it is divisive.
"Send a Message" allows you to send money to the people who are hurt most by this wall; in exchange, they graffiti your message on it. According to their site:
Your text on the Wall reminds Palestinians they have not been forgotten. It helps them keeping hope alive. That's the message you are sending to them, whatever the words are.
*Emily of Ben & Emily, aka "Bemily," dubbed me and Ish (Peter Bartlett) "PB&K"
"PB&K" is great.
ReplyDelete- Niz
That's a very nice idea. I think it's cool that they send you pictures.
ReplyDeleteAnd PB&K is cool.
Most importantly, what did he think of it?
cool. one year the mister had a star named after me. that was pretty cool too :)
ReplyDeleteThat is a very cool gift!
ReplyDeleteCan you tell me how you paid for it? (Also, I don't how how much 30 euro is in American money.)
Nate - Thanks, but nothing's better than "Niz."
ReplyDeleteTracy - he really liked it, and thought it was very sweet. Except because we moved the day after v-day, we got a little caught up in everything and so he did not also get me a gift, and so receiving his made him feel bad. Which wasn't the point, but oh well.
mia - That *is* cool. I guess this is like Stars 2.0.
tami - I think all out it was around $60, and they take PayPal (it's run by a site in the Netherlands).
what a super sweet gift..
ReplyDeletewow... that's a great idea! crazy how this internet works sometimes.
ReplyDeleteOh please, Have you and any of your commenters been the victim of a Palestinian attack? I have, and that wall isn't high enough as far as I'm concerned. They made their bed, and now they are laying in it. What makes ANYONE think that they have the right to shoot, bomb, and attack Israeli CITIZENS, plain people in restaurants and shopping malls, and then not only get away with it, but believe that the Israeli's should allow them free commerce and free entrance into their country. It's ISRAEL, not Palestine. Get a frigging clue and stop with the bleeding heart liberal crap. You don't know what the hell you're talking about.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a lovely idea, Kristy!
ReplyDeleteAnd, Margalit, I'm sorry that you were obviously personally attacked. I'm willing to bet, though, that it wasn't the young spray painter that did the actual bombing, so I think it's a little small minded to base one's opinion of an entire nation on the militants. I know that in some instances, Americans have done some pretty unspeakable things...but, I would hate for anyone to base their opinion of me on those disgraceful acts....or, on George W. Bush, for that matter... or the rest of the world would see our entire nation as a bunch of inbred, right wing ignoramuses.
margalit - yes, well. The wonder of the internet is that, despite an entire nation's (or territory's) policies/history, we can have direct access to individuals within those territories who may have a different perspective.
ReplyDelete(ChiChi commented as I was writing this, making the same points I was about to.)
All in all, I thought it was a great use of technology to connect humans in a way that would have otherwise been impossible.
Margalit,
ReplyDeleteI don't think K intended to make a political statement. Obviously, this is a subject which arouses tremendous anger, on both sides. You said K didn't know what the hell she was talking about, but your comment proved that part of her post was right on the mark: "If nothing else [a wall] is divisive."
kristy, i love that you didn't go the flowers or cologne or tie or other lame valentine's day idea. i'm all about different. well done my internet friend. well done.
ReplyDeletethe fact that you put a message of love on that wall just makes me all warm and fuzzy. thanks for sharing the valentine with us.
hellohahanarf
This is a beautiful post and a beautiful message to send to others.
ReplyDeleteI just can't stand the right-wing ideology that would have impelled anyone to build that wall and to sniff at anyone on the other side of it, while simultaneously forgetting the atrocities committed by your own side. And that goes for both parties!
Let's do this with the wall between Mexico and the US, too! I got shivers when my bus pulled up to the Berlin Wall in December 1989. I heard the tapping of hammers as bit by bit people chipped away this divisive seperating wall, which was covered in graffitti. I hope to someday see the wall in Palestine/Israel being chipped away as well as the people there, on both sides, decide to live in harmony.
ReplyDeleteSo well yeah, the situation is bad over there. Terrorist acts on both sides. You guys are over thinking this, you need to enlarge the first pic and see that to the right of the PB&K Valentine, is apparently gay love in bloom between Charles and Gary.... Is Sarang Hae Bhobbo Isreali for "Dude I want you so bad?"
ReplyDeleteI think this is a really beautiful gesture. What a thoughtful Valentine's Day gift!
ReplyDeleteThat is an amazing gift. I love this idea.
ReplyDeleteI found you through the comment you left on my friend, Jenn's blog about volunteering for BlogHer. Thanks for the info!
Hello! That is probably one of the neatest things I have read about. That's a really great gift.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really cool idea!
ReplyDeleteP.S. Thanks for letting me know about the early bird prices for BlogHer!
This is beyond beautiful and thought.
ReplyDeletethoughtful!!
ReplyDeletestupid free glasses of wine at art opening....
I think this is a great idea. And I especially liked Ish's comment.
ReplyDeleteIn other news, I've been out of the loop on blog reading as of late and am just now starting to catch up... I read the post about your mom and just wanted to reiterate some of the loving supportive comments you received. It was a beautiful post.
The night my dad died I felt especially guilty for living in San Francisco, while he and my siblings all lived in LA. Heck, my sister had moved in with him basically to take care of him and here I was living my life off in SF, barely able to call every few weeks. I hadn't seen my dad for 6 months when he died... my sister saw him that morning. My brother discovered his body that afternoon and tried to revive him with CPR. What the hell did I do? I felt so guilty. A very close friend of the family pulled me aside, grabbed both my shoulders, and shook me bit. "Do NOT feel guilty!" he told me. He told me that my dad was proud of me and that he knew how happy I was in SF and that all any parent really wants is for their children to be happy. He told me that my dad loved me and that he knew that I loved him and that that's what was important.
We can't not live our lives. It's not selfish. It's human. I'm sure your mom knew you loved her.
At least your momento is something portable. Mine is a 50 lb curly willow tree. It doesn't travel well.
This doesn't have anything to do with this blog entry... but I just played that buzztime trivia for the first time Wednesday night and I must say I LOVE IT! It is so addicting. I remember you talking about how much your dad loved to go play trivia. I can fully see myself going out to play trivia to unwind from a long day.
ReplyDeleteSo... on a Random Wednesday night, a random IIF of yours randomly thought of you and your family. Take Care. :)
I'm a little sad to say that my first thought here was whether or not we could be sure that this charity, like so many others reported on in the news, wasnt a front for terrorist organizations? Did anyone research whether this was on any watch lists?
ReplyDelete