Graphic created & shared by Will, Maine Coalition for Palestine (corrected Jan 23 to more accurately compare Gaza’s population with Maine’s)
While noting the incredible outpouring of support for Palestine globally I’ve heard several friends ask, How can people in the U.S. go about their business with genocide ongoing in Gaza?
Probably because it’s far away and the mainstream news/analysis they rely on deliberately fails to bring the facts to their attention.
But what if it weren’t far away?
If Gaza were in Maine, Israel would have eliminated more than half of our working journalists (200 as of May 2022 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics).
If Gaza were in Maine, these hospitals would have been bombed beyond usefulness: Maine Medical Center (Portland), Northern Light Mercy Hospital (Portland), New England Rehabilitation Hospital (Portland), and Spring Harbor Hospital (Westbrook).
If Gaza were in Maine, the Portland campuses of these universities would already be bombed to rubble: University of Southern Maine, University of Maine School of Law, USM Muskie School of Public Service, and the University of New England College of Dental Medicine. Also UNE’s Westbrook College of Health Professions.
Or suppose the routine testing of experimental weapons on the people of Gaza moved instead to NYC?
https://x.com/ColumbiaSJP/status/1748729253770698944?s=20
It may be hard for people in Maine to see the suffering of Gaza, but it shouldn’t be hard for them to figure out who’s paying for it via “military aid” to Israel, one of the wealthiest nations on the planet.
Perhaps best perceived as what $11 million a year isn’t paying for in Maine: universal health care, free public education K-grad school, or bridge and road repairs.
Join us in Farmington next Saturday January 27 at 1:30pm to protest these bad spending priorities. We’ll be at the intersection of Main Street and Broadway standing with UMaine Farmington students who helped create our event poster:
Co-sponsored by: Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, Maine Natural Guard, PeaceWorks of Greater Brunswick, Communist Party of Maine, Maine Green Independent Party, Citizens Opposing Active Sonar Threats (COAST), Party for Socialism & Liberation Maine, Libertarian Party of Maine, People’s Party of Maine, Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine, Veterans for Peace – National, United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC), and Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights (MVPR).