1. In Praise of Point-Blank.
- Author
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Al-Shaikh, Abdul-Rahim
- Subjects
- *
BLACK humor , *RED , *PRAISE , *PALESTINIANS , *NEGOTIATION , *WIT & humor - Abstract
The Dignity (al-Karama) Uprising of May of 2021 broke many "rules of engagement" between Palestinians and the settler state of Israel, including that of sarcasm and humor. Spreading swiftly from Jerusalem to all of historic Palestine, the uprising defied cooptation by the Palestinian Authority, an entity that has long maintained a buffer between its people and the settler state. Hence, and throughout the confrontations, a point-blank range was created allowing for the usage of all sorts of "weapons" in the Palestinian people's humble arsenal, humor included. This essay, originally written during the uprising and in Arabic, records the Palestinians' ability to ridicule the Israeli settler violence to which it is subjected, through black comedy - "sprinkling sugar on their own death." By contextualizing the grand event of 2021 politically and culturally, and de-theorizing humor to its core, this article brings to the historical record the Jerusalemites' invention of "red humor," colored with their blood, that appeared in different performative acts targeting Israeli human power; military machinery; repressive policies; and modes of "negotiation." Tracing the "black" into the "red" in expressions of humor as a tool in the arsenal of this uprising offers a record of a powerful, and often used, means of empowerment and resistance for Palestinians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023