Chastity White Rose

Tag: politics

  • How come Israel killing millions of Palestinians is not considered genocide?

    I sometimes answer questions on a website called Quora. Most of the time, I answer questions about Linux and computer programming. However, when I received this question in my email, I read the other answers and found them lacking in substance. Some people are picking on the use of the word “genocide,” and others are saying it was not “millions” but hundreds of thousands.

    My hope in sharing this is that other people will learn a little bit more about what this conflict between Israel and Palestine is about. I have included some links to books and videos to learn more, from people who know far more than I do.

    But I have a responsibility to say something because to be silent on this topic could be misinterpreted as approval of what is happening in the Middle East. I do not stand with Israel nor Hamas. I stand only with innocent people who have not wanted to fight but have been killed by the actions of violent groups.

    https://www.quora.com/How-come-Israel-killing-millions-of-Palestinians-is-not-considered-genocide/answer/Chastity-Rose-4

    Depending on who you ask, it is sometimes considered genocide, and other times, it is considered self-defense. I am no expert, but for what it is worth, here is my take based on what I was taught growing up and the books and documentaries I have read and watched in the past few years.

    1. Israel thinks the land of Palestine is the promised land, which was promised to them in the Old Testament by God. The Old Testament is also full of violent, bloody wars, sometimes assisted by miracles from God. The validity of these claims is entirely dependent on religious belief and belief in these texts. Also, some of the jews were killed and taken captive by Babylon in the Old Testament, while a few have remained in other parts of the land outside of Judah.

    2. The people who have lived in Palestine for thousands of years, including Christians, Jews, and Muslims, were pushed out when the modern state of Israel was founded in 1948. Palestinians and Jews have both killed each other in conflicts ever since. Palestinians see the Jews as invaders, much like the Native Americans saw the British settlers who came and founded the United States of America. The Palestinians want to remain on the land they have been on for generations. The Jews who came to Israel after World War 2 want to come back to what they think is their homeland, given to them by God in the Old Testament.

    3. There are many good Jews and Palestinians who would like to live in peace and not fight wars. However, the powers that be in the Israeli government and Palestinian groups like Hamas prefer to fight. Meanwhile, innocent civilians suffer. Innocent men, women, and children who have their homes, schools, churches, and hospitals blown up by bombs constantly.

    My opinion is this: I do not care about who is “right” in this never-ending war. I do not care who the land belongs to based on holy books or whatever other arguments are made. I would like the fighting to stop. I don’t want the innocent people to suffer and die slow, painful deaths by starvation or have their limbs blown off when bombs are dropped on them.

    And as an American, you might think my opinion doesn’t matter. However, when I discovered that the USA government is funding the Israeli military and has been sending billions of dollars to Israel, most of which was before October 7. According to a government document I found, they have received 174 billion dollars from the US.

    “Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of US foreign assistance since World War II. Successive Administrations, working with Congress, have provided Israel with assistance reflective of robust domestic US support for Israel and its security; shared strategic goals in the Middle East, and historical ties dating from US support for the creation of Israel in 1948. To date, the United States has provided Israel $174 billion (current, or non-inflation-adjusted, dollars) in bilateral assistance and missile defense funding.”

    https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/RL/PDF/RL33222/RL33222.51.pdf https://www.notmytaxdollars.org/

    Do I want the Palestinians killed? No!

    Do I want the Jews killed? No!

    But more importantly, do I want my tax dollars supporting wars and the military of a foreign country? HELL NO!

    I think maybe we should handle things the Old Testament way. If the God of the Old Testament really were on the side of Israel, we would see miracles on their behalf, just like in the book of Exodus. These divine acts, like plagues, parting the Red Sea, pillar of fire, food like manna, and water from rocks, all happened without modern technology or military weapons that we see in modern times. Our tax dollars should not be required and should instead be used to help Americans who have been paying them.

    The following are some resources that I recommend for more information on this conflict.

    Resources on Israel and Palestine

    Movies

    1948: Creation & Catastrophe (Full documentary)

    https://youtu.be/Bwy-Rf15UIs?si=nw3BSr1HDUEKH3rs

    Israelism: The awakening of young American Jews | Featured Documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq6J7Q6L0yw

    Books

    Genocide Bad: Notes on Palestine, Jewish History, and Collective Liberation by Sim Kern https://www.amazon.com/Genocide-Bad-Palestine-Collective-Liberation/dp/1623716365

    Palestine Peace Not Apartheid by Jimmy Carter https://www.amazon.com/Palestine-Peace-Apartheid-Jimmy-Carter-ebook/dp/B000MGAU4S/

    The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HLYPNJN

    The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KT5W342

  • Chapter 17: Blessed are the Peacemakers

    Right now, in September 2025, the world has gone mad on social media, with everyone having an opinion on the murder of Charlie Kirk. I have no such opinion about him but I think it is a fine time to remind you why I have been committed to non-violence for many years. Therefore, my only statement that I will ever make is that it doesn’t matter who Charlie was or whether you like the things he said; the fact is, nobody should be shot just for what they are speaking.

    I didn’t know Charlie and I didn’t know who he was prior to his being shot on September 10, 2025. However, I thought it was quite strange that this one act of murder got so much media attention, even though people are getting shot, bombed, stabbed, or starved to death, including many of those who are innocent and have done nothing wrong.

    Although I didn’t know Charlie Kirk personally, I think he had the right idea because he did not commit violence against people, but instead he had debates with them and talked about disagreements rather than resorting to violence. He talked to people, and he said some things that people disagreed with sometimes. After the news broke that he was shot, many people on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok were celebrating that he was shot and said he deserved it.

    The real tragedy is not the death of Charlie Kirk but the death of freedom of speech. If you kill someone just because you don’t like what they said, then the same reasoning could be used to kill you when someone doesn’t like what you said.

    Moreover, I think violence is for the weak. I think it takes a stronger person to have difficult conversations about areas of disagreement and try to resolve them through peaceful means. I personally think that guns, bombs, and all manner of military equipment should be destroyed because nobody should be killing anyone.

    Let me be clear, I understand that others are violent and that they do not follow my philosophy of radical pacifism and peaceful protest. I also don’t think someone can reach this stage without an evolution in ethics and a strong moral framework based on a solid philosophy or religion.

    To be a peacemaker is to take the hard route, instead of the easy path of violence. Living peacefully and resolving conflicts takes time, conversations, studying history, reading books, and considering each new issue as it arises.

    Charlie was not perfect. He was just as flawed as any human is, but he did identify as a Christian, and I think he would have understood that violence is not good. Those who call themselves Christians would do well to remember what Jesus said about the importance of being peaceful and non-violent.

    Matthew 26:47 While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent by the chief priests and elders of the people. 48 (Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I kiss is the man. Arrest him!”) 49 Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi,” and kissed him. 50 Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you are here to do.” Then they came and took hold of Jesus and arrested him. 51 But one of those with Jesus grabbed his sword, drew it out, and struck the high priest’s slave, cutting off his ear. 52 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back in its place! For all who take hold of the sword will die by the sword. 53 Or do you think that I cannot call on my Father and that he would send me more than 12 legions of angels right now? 54 How then would the scriptures that say it must happen this way be fulfilled?” 55 At that moment Jesus said to the crowd, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me like you would an outlaw? Day after day I sat teaching in the temple courts, yet you did not arrest me. 56 But this has happened so that the scriptures of the prophets would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.

    Charlie was not a Vegan, unfortunately, and he did not take a Vegan seriously when they brought up the issue. Although Charlie called himself Pro-Life when it came to humans, he was dismissive of the idea that we should not cause unnecessary suffering and death to animals. He also interrupted a lot and changed the subject.

    Charlie Kirk Deleted This Debate With a Vegan

    I Debated Charlie Kirk – He Deleted The Video

    I bring this up not to say that Charlie deserved to be shot. Rather, I mention it to show why even his attitudes and those who celebrated his death are operating under a culture of violence. People believe that they have the right to kill any animal, including humans, as soon as they disagree with them or are of a difference race, species, religion, or political affiliation.

    Charlie got the Vegan topic wrong, and sadly, due to his death, we will never see him become consistently pro-life.

    There is one thing I do agree with Charlie on, though; he was right to be against abortion. In fact, one of the things many people criticized him for was saying that the 45 million babies killed in abortion was worse than the Holocaust, where 6 million Jews were killed.

    Charlie Kirk Compares Abortion to the Holocaust

    Charlie’s logic is correct on this issue. Deciding that a group of people is unwanted or undesirable and then killing them all is an unjustifiable genocide.

    And if Charlie were still alive, I would suggest to him that he use this same logic to reconsider what humans do to animals.

    https://christspiracy.com/

    The Ugly Truth: Most Important Films to Watch

    At this time, people are also trying to blame the transgender people for the death of Charlie Kirk. I must admit that part of the problem is that so many young people, including many transgender people, are celebrating the death of Charlie Kirk. This does not make us look any better in a time when we are the most hated group of people in the United States of America.

    Shortly after the death of Charlie Kirk, I couldn’t help but notice that the attitudes of some of my coworkers had changed towards me. Everyone was talking about the death of Charlie Kirk because it was all over the news media. They looked at me as if I had killed him, just because I am transgender.

    I didn’t want to make a statement about this issue, but I also felt a responsibility to say something because I will not risk my silence being interpreted as meaning that I am in favor of the murder of Charlie Kirk.

    When Transgender people are happy about the death of some famous dude like Charlie, how is it any better than when people murder transgender people?

    When Charlie jokes and cuts off a Vegan who questions him on veganism, how is he any better than those who laughed at him after he was shot?

    In times like this when a single word can inspire people to shoot or bomb people, I am reminded of a quote from Schindler’s List when Oskar Schindler explained what true power is to Amon Goeth.

    Schindler: They fear us because we have the power to kill arbitrarily. A man commits a crime, he should know better. We have him killed and we feel pretty good about it. Or we kill him ourselves and we feel even better. That’s not power, though, that’s justice. That’s different than power. Power is when we have every justification to kill – and we don’t. Goeth: You think that’s power.

    Schindler: That’s what the emperors had. A man stole something, he’s brought in before the emperor, he throws himself down on the ground, he begs for mercy, he knows he’s going to die. And the emperor pardons him. This worthless man, he lets him go.

    Goeth: I think you are drunk.

    Schindler: That’s power, Amon. That is power.

    Similarly, I think true power is to be able to do better than violence. Instead, we can educate, we can peacefully protest, and we can write and record ideas that live long after we die. Which reminds me, I have one more quote to share for this chapter.

    V: “Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof.”

    Killing people does not stop their ideas, their philosophy, their religion, or anything that they stood for. The death of someone solves nothing, helps no one, and is nothing to celebrate. Instead of killing people, become a peacemaker, because that is true power.

    Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.

  • Chapter 14: The Problem With Nationalism

    I understand that Chapter 13 of Walking the Rainbow Bridge has the potential to be greatly misunderstood. It is obvious that I dislike the idea of countries, borders, governments, and citizenship in general.

    When I criticize the United States of America, many people will say: “If you hate America so much, why don’t you move to another country and see how much worse it is!”

    When people say this, what I really hear is: “Yeah, we are not great, but at least we are not as bad as those people over there!”

    And yes, I agree. The USA is not as bad as many places in the world. That misses the point entirely. However, I have my specific problems with the USA government. My issue really is with the concepts of countries and states existing.

    As should be known by anyone who knows something about American history. The USA, as we know it, started as a bunch of white British settlers who came to this land and started their system. However, there were already native Americans here, and these white settlers from Europe killed and/or moved them continually west until the current day, when only a few descendants remain and some live on small reservations.

    As if that was not bad enough, these founders also brought dark skinned enslaved people that they had obtained in Africa. Our history is one of immigrants bringing other immigrants against their will to kill the natives of this land and build an empire that eventually fought to become separate from England.

    The Declaration of Independence, written July 4, 1976, specifies in detail the problems the states had under the rule of the King of Britain and why they wanted the states to be an independent nation.

    https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript

    You see, the start of what we know as the United States of America began by criticizing and breaking free from the previous government that the founding fathers had suffered from. The most American thing that can be done is to criticize the government.

    Unfortunately, the Native Americans and the enslaved Black people were not so lucky. They did not have the freedom as citizens of this new land. They were enslaved, beaten, whipped, killed, and chased off the land they had been on for generations.

    This act of destroying the people of the land and taking over is called colonialism.

    https://www.thoughtco.com/colonialism-definition-and-examples-5112779

    The reason I am not a fan of countries is that they almost always involve colonialism and violence at some point. The European settlers were not born in America, yet they all became citizens. The Native Americans were born here, yet they were not treated as citizens and were forced to give up their land, languages, and way of life.

    How then can we say that someone coming from another country to the USA has any more right as a citizen to live and work here? Declaring someone like me a citizen because I am born here, and yet not someone who came from somewhere else, makes no sense.

    That is why I believe in open borders and equal citizenship for all people regardless of country of origin, race, language, or religion. I am against nationalism. I just don’t believe that I am better or worse than anyone because of my birth here.

    But perhaps because American history is what I was required to learn, and because the current USA government is taking away the rights of the LGBTQIA+ people right now, I am quite resentful of the powers that be at the moment, as well as the atrocities done to innocent people in the past. It is therefore why all of my books and blog posts have a tone of anarchism and idealism.

    I want everyone to get along. I know this will not happen and that wars will continually be fought over land, resources, and religions. I hope that we can bridge the gap between people of different places and cultures in the same way that I want to bridge the gap between people who are straight or gay, cisgender or transgender, and sexual or asexual.

    But let me be clear about one thing that must be understood. A state or country is not the same as the people who live there.

    • Americans are NOT the American Government.
    • Chinese people are NOT the Chinese Communist Party.
    • Jews are not the state of Israel.
    • Arabs are not a terrorist group.

    The people are not the land, government, religion, or anything else. Each geographical location contains many different kinds of people, and they should not be lumped together as if they are all the same.

    Just as I don’t want the actions of Rose Montoya to be associated with me just because she and I are both transgender, I don’t want to falsely assume that anyone of a particular identity is evil.

    And in the past, I have made that mistake. I have been hurt by many people who call themselves Christians, and therefore, I do have a prejudice that I use to protect myself. The link between the interpretation of specific bible verses has been used to discriminate and commit violence against gay and transgender people.

    A prejudice is not the same as hatred or anger. However, when you see a snake, your chances of survival are better if you assume it is venomous and get away from it. Sometimes we have to protect ourselves from those we see as a danger. Having a gut reaction of prejudice is not being hateful, but it is being careful.

    What I am saying is that it is important to get to know people rather than letting those prejudices, which protect us in the short term, become something worse that causes us to be the very monsters we assume others to be.

  • Chapter 13: My Immigrant Best Friend

    The subject of immigration is one that I never researched prior to 2025. All my life, I have personally believed in open borders and that we should not have the concept of countries at all. Of course, I know the legal system doesn’t follow my ideals.

    However, as someone born in Merriam, Kansas, in the United States of America, I am a citizen by law even though I did nothing to deserve it. Therefore, I have no moral right to work or live than someone born in another country who comes here.

    But one day, I started a very special friendship with an immigrant at Walmart who came to work there. I started trying to use Google Translate on my phone to translate messages. Most of the time, this wasn’t even necessary because she understands more English than I do Spanish.

    To protect her privacy, I will refer to her as Fiesta because fiesta is the Spanish word for party. Working with Fiesta was always a party because when we worked together, we sang and danced. She even knew most of the English songs I know. Although I had only known her for a short time, I can tell you she was one of the best workers I had ever seen. Nobody else besides me at my store ever worked with such a smile on their face.

    And then one day she told me that her work visa had expired and she could no longer work at Walmart with me. I was deeply sad about this because I will miss her. I hope that she can become a citizen here or that, at least if she returns to her country that she will be safe.

    But based on my reading about this issue, it seems that it is not very easy to become a citizen or even to get a temporary visa status. These rights are limited in number and given only to a small number of people who government officials deem worthy.

    But the news in 2025 about immigrants in American politics has often made me question why people would go to such trouble to enter this country. All I can really say is that if someone’s country they were born is so bad that they want to come here, then I think they should be allowed to.

    But I also think that if immigrants really knew what this country is like, they probably would not want to. They are not treated very kindly by other American citizens. On top of that, many of them may be in great danger in their original country.

    Maybe they did not do anything wrong, but their homes were destroyed in a war. Maybe people are trying to kill them because they are gay or transgender. Maybe they no longer follow the major religion in their country and, therefore, are considered a criminal worthy of death. Therefore, because such situations happen, it is not hard to see why someone may go to another country, legally or illegally, when they have to save their lives. I do not judge them because I have no right to. I don’t know their situation, and I imagine it must be hard.

    Next time you see an immigrant to your country, I would like you to remember this Bible verse. You don’t have to be a Christian or Jew to appreciate this, just know that anyone who claims to follow these religions must also consider whether they are following this law of treating the foreigner the same as a native citizen.

    Leviticus 19:33 When a resident foreigner lives with you in your land, you must not oppress him. 34 The resident foreigner who lives with you must be to you as a native citizen among you; so you must love the foreigner as yourself, because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

    The average American citizen knows nothing about the immigration system in the USA. Even I don’t know much, because I have never moved to another country. I guess that most of you probably haven’t either. You just judge people and declare them “illegal”.

    Many other people were also born in the USA. Some of them, I wish I could deport to another country so that they would no longer be here to abuse people they consider less valuable than themselves, based on the chunk of dirt they were born on.

    And to my friend Fiesta, I want you to know that you were always the kindest friend to me at Walmart. You did not treat me as less than you because I did not know your language, or because I am transgender. We danced and sang together, and every night was a party just because you were there. I will remember you, no matter what happens. If there is anyone who has a right to work in any country, it is you.

    Immigration Links

    https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/fact-sheet/why-dont-they-just-get-line/

    https://americasvoice.org/blog/immigration-101-why-immigrants-cant-just-get-legal/

    https://www.flowofhistory.org/the-problem-of-citizenship-in-american-history-2/

  • Chapter 10: Consistently Pro-Life

    In this chapter, I know I am going to lose some readers because if there is anything that is more misunderstood than the religious or political debates over LGBTQIA+ rights and identity, it is the abortion debate.

    I know you are not expecting a Transgender person with rainbows all over their social media and book covers to be Pro-Life because the “Pro-Life” movement has traditionally done things that are very “Pro-Death” involving the LGBTQIA+ community.

    Most of the Pro-Life organizations and charities are strictly Anti-Gay and Anti-Transgender. Most of these groups are religiously based, and this causes them to only work with people who meet their standards based on their faith. Since many passages in the bible are interpreted to forbid homosexuality and even imply that homosexuals go to hell, the Christians who believe these things seem to prioritize their fight against LGBTQIA+ people even more than they do their fight against abortion.

    But let me be very clear here: there is nothing Pro-Life about denying gay people the right to marriage. There is nothing Pro-Life about denying the ability of gay couples to adopt children that straight people did not want or could not afford to take care of, and there is nothing Pro-Life about taking away life-saving hormones and surgeries from Transgender and Intersex people who rely on them for their physical AND mental health.

    Nobody has the right to call themselves Pro-Life unless what they are doing actually keeps people alive. You don’t get to murder a transgender person on the street and then go to church and talk about being a follower of Jesus. If you do, you are a hypocrite, and even Jesus would tell you so, just as he did the Pharisees and Sadducees.

    For me, being Pro-Life DOES NOT EQUAL BEING ANTI-ABORTION. Rather, being Anti-Abortion is probably 5 percent of the equation. I follow a consistent life ethic, and this includes Veganism to save the animals and supporting human minorities who face additional challenges because of their race, religion, gender, skin color, disability, or whatever other excuse people use to murder them and take away their jobs, housing, and healthcare.

    Therefore, by writing these chapters about the Rainbow people, I am doing my best to be Pro-Life for the LGBTQIA+ community. I hope that even though you may not agree with my opinion that abortion is immoral because it is murder, you can at least see the parallels to the other topics.

    There are two important Pro-Life organizations I want to share with you. The first is the Rainbow Pro-Life Alliance. I have been a board member since 2022 and attend the Zoom meetings. What I can tell you based on my experience is that all of these people come from different places and don’t share the same opinions on every topic. We do agree that abortion is wrong and that LGBTQIA+ people certainly have a place in the discussion, even though we have been excluded by mainstream Pro-Life organizations and events. After all, most of us are either extremely gay or are straight allies.

    https://www.rainbowprolife.org/

    The second is Vegans for Preborn Rights. Because I am an ethical Vegan who does not eat or wear anything from an animal, I want to be involved with them, too. I don’t know them as well, but their website is full of helpful resources explaining the Pro-Life and Vegan connection. Also, they fully support LGBTQIA+ people.

    https://www.vegansforprebornrights.org/

    Oddly enough, the reason I became a Vegan was because I was Pro-Life for humans, and then I just extended it to other species of animals. I have answered many questions about Veganism over the years. I would say I have faced more criticism from co-workers at the jobs I have worked because I am Vegan than I have for being transgender! However, if I had to choose between being called by my correct pronouns and saving the lives of the animals, I would choose the animals every time.

    If you want more information on Veganism, I recommend the book “Why We Should Go Vegan” by Magnus Vinding. It is available free on Smashwords and is an excellent summary of the reasons it benefits the animals as well as humans if we adopt a vegan diet. I also recommend Magnus Vinding’s other books because most of them are about philosophy and ethics. He is an amazing author, and he introduced me to Smashwords even before Draft2Digital purchased it. Draft2Digital is the company I use to publish my e-books to this day.