Same Planet, Different Worlds
Where DO we fit in? (And how can we make the world work for ALL of us--not only the fascists in power?)
Same Planet, Different Worlds (Where Do We Fit In?)
by C. A. Matthews
“In an insane world, the sane man must appear insane.” – Charles William King
I’m anxiously awaiting news from the United Nations calling for a Uniting for Peace resolution. I’m wondering how it could have taken them this long to call what’s happening in Gaza a genocide. I’m debating whether or not to remain in a country with a government that shows zero respect for civil rights, human rights, or the rights of anyone not a member of the economic elite.
I’m puzzling, “Why do I live on a planet where some can carry on as if there’s nothing wrong with starving and bombing children simply because they want to steal the land right out from under the oppressed babies’ tiny feet? Where do I fit into a world that is very different from the way I want to imagine it?”
There’s a certain freedom to not fitting in. You revel in a feeling of superiority to those who declare with a straight face, “Newborns are Hamas!” as they clutch their Star of David flag. But really, where do we who are pro-Palestine and anti-genocide fit into a world full of narcissists and neo-Nazi sympathizers?
We may as well be aliens from outer space when conversing with the brain dead zombies who get their news from the mainstream media—if they even bother to follow the news at all. We seem to have nothing in common with each other. Well, we all breathe air and consume food in order to live, but most of us have very poor quality air to breathe and some have little or no access to food.
This is the pessimist in me talking. I know we in the West have a lot more in common with those who nosh on gold plates at Windsor Castle while others are being deliberately starved in Gaza than I’d like to admit. But one thing, if and when the nuclear warheads start falling from the sky, we will all be vaporized just the same. Not a pleasant image admittedly, but an honest one.
There’s no escaping that we all live on the same finite-resourced planet. “We’re all in this together,” as Red Green, a very profound Canadian philosopher and fisherman once said. No matter what viewpoint we cherish or what socioeconomic status we obtain, we don’t get out of this life alive. We just don’t. Surely, this common sense of fatality should bring us all together from time to time to work out our shared problems, right?
But it doesn’t. At least I’m not seeing this currently.
We’ve got a bunch of sadists in positions of power who think global warming or unfettered genocide has got nothing to do with them. They act as if they and their kind were invincible, immortal, invulnerable. We of the 99% are easily disposable on the other hand. What’s worse is that we lowly folk actually believe this lie. We actually think these genocidal maniacs in charge know best.
How did we get to this place, to doubting ourselves and our abilities to take out these immoral mass murderers? We weren’t born with inferior genes that somehow make our sorry fates inevitable, were we?
I recently read a book that made me ponder this issue of where I fit in, Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth. Poor Frantz didn’t live long enough to see his book become a classic. In a way, that’s a good thing. I think he’d be disappointed at how little We the Oppressed (“the Colonized” as he would have said) have changed since 1961.
We still believe in the superiority of our oppressors—those who have “colonized” us both physically and psychologically. We act timid and afraid. We hesitate to take on those who are flat-out wrong and hateful—for instance the Zionists. We might pat ourselves on the back as we march with our protest signs and Palestinian flags held high, but how many of us have actually attempted to take out the war machine and expose Western hypocrisy?
I can only think of a handful, such as the brave souls currently sailing in the Global Sumud Flotilla and the jailed activists of Palestine Action who sprayed red paint on military jets in order to make clear how these planes are being used to further the genocide in Gaza.
If only we could grow the number of those brave hearts exponentially!
Can you imagine if 100,000 activists took direct action against the war criminals all at once? We didn’t just spray paint the jets—we dismantled the planes’ wings and engines. We marched by the hundreds of thousands directly into Gaza with humanitarian aid and didn’t take no for an answer from anyone at the gates—neither Egypt (that thwarted the last Global March to Gaza) nor Israel.
Now what if that number was 1 million activists? Can you imagine that many hearts and hands working to right the wrongs of the genocidal maniacs all at once? What would we be afraid of then? There’s a million of us! Think of our fellow 99%ers—if they saw us acting courageously in such numbers, they might just join us. And then there would be 2 million activists… and then 4 million… and then 8 million… and then 16 million… then 32 million…
Get the picture? Once the revolution of the mind has begun, there is no way to stop it from growing. Brave people from everywhere will step up and fight alongside us. We will conquer the colonizers who have oppressed us and taken away our dignity and trust in ourselves. We will build a world of peace and community where no one goes hungry or dies from sleeping outside in the cold because everyone’s basic needs will be gladly met.
It might not be your idea of utopia, but it will be a damn sight better than the world we currently inhabit.
I know where I’d fit in then. I’d fit in with those determined to make life better for all, not just for a few. I would fit in with those who put the needs of the many above all else. And I wouldn’t feel like a freak for not lusting after a bigger car, a newfangled cell phone, or a ridiculous thing called a yacht. I would fit in simply because I’m a human being, not just a consumer of useless products.
But where do we fit in today? My best guess is we fit in with others who feel the same way about our messed up planet with its different worlds for differently perceived classes of people. So, we’d better start joining forces and work together in order to clean things up. Here’s one way how we can do precisely that.
From United For Palestine:
The moral injury being inflicted upon the entire world is overwhelming and unprecedented, because of how much we know about what is happening with the use of our tax dollars as it is happening.
I invite you to join one of the seven Signal groups to connect in your region and exchange information on United for Peace. You can also join the global group for overall information.
N Africa M East: https://tinyurl.com/3whwcew3
Africa except North: https://tinyurl.com/5akbheua
Asia except ME: https://tinyurl.com/mv37e3k3
Australia Oceania: https://tinyurl.com/44y3rvkz
Europe: https://tinyurl.com/3fkzchjj
North America: https://tinyurl.com/yukuwym8
Latin America and Caribbean: https://tinyurl.com/2b9xvk3y
Global: https://tinyurl.com/33f64sy2
The objective of these chats is clear: A protective force to stop the genocide! We stand united.
Creating a better world for all humans…
Stop the Genocide--email your UN reps today! https://www.stopgenocide.com/unga/ and https://linktr.ee/stopgenocidestopisrael
Lifeline for Gaza--help individuals and families monetarily https://lifeline4gaza.com/
Mask off Maersk! (Stop arms shipments to Israel) https://www.maskoffmaersk.com/
Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip, UN Commission finds https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/09/israel-has-committed-genocide-gaza-strip-un-commission-finds
Israel Is Committing Genocide. This Is A Fact, Not An Opinion. https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/israel-is-committing-genocide-this
US Vetoes Gaza Ceasefire for Sixth Time, as Death Toll Tops 65,000 https://truthout.org/articles/us-vetoes-gaza-ceasefire-for-sixth-time-as-death-toll-tops-65000/
After destroying 1,600 buildings and 13,000 tents, Israel launches ground invasion of Gaza City https://palestinewillbefree.substack.com/p/after-destroying-1600-buildings-13000-tents-israel-launches-ground-invasion-gaza-city
One million Palestinians 'reject displacement' from north Gaza amid Israeli carnage: Officials https://thecradle.co/articles/one-million-palestinians-reject-displacement-from-north-gaza-amid-israeli-carnage-officials
Israel Bombed My High-Rise Apartment This Week. We Barely Survived. https://truthout.org/articles/israel-bombed-my-high-rise-apartment-this-week-we-barely-survived/
Global Sumud Flotilla Sets Out On Last Leg Of Journey To Gaza https://popularresistance.org/global-sumud-flotilla-sets-out-on-last-leg-of-journey-to-gaza/
Despite Global Condemnation, Aid Still Flows to Israel: The List of Shame – Countries Continuing Exports Despite Lip Service https://qudsnen.co/despite-global-condemnation-aid-still-flows-to-israel-the-list-of-shame-countries-continuing-exports-despite-lip-service/
Israel's bulldozers of war: Finishing what the Nakba started https://thecradle.co/articles/israels-bulldozers-of-war-finishing-what-the-nakba-started
US hosts Syria's ruling fmr. Al Qaeda leader amid sectarian violence at home https://www.aaronmate.net/p/us-hosts-syrias-ruling-fmr-al-qaeda
Why the SanctionsKill Campaign Supports BDS https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/support-bds-movement
A Christian woman is slapped, punched, and spat on as she simply walks around Israel. https://www.thenorthstar.com/p/a-christian-woman-is-slapped-punched#media-7c1e0284-0dfd-4e45-9de4-bc78dd2fc115
Here’s What Life Is Like Inside One of Gaza’s Last Remaining Hospitals https://scheerpost.com/2025/09/22/heres-what-life-is-like-inside-one-of-gazas-last-remaining-hospitals/
"Recognizing" The Rubble Of Palestine https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/recognizing-the-rubble-of-palestine
Global Days Of Action To Build A Culture Of Peace In The Midst Of Violence https://popularresistance.org/global-days-of-action-to-build-a-culture-of-peace-in-the-midst-of-violence/
Slamming ‘Fascist Tactics’ of Trump, Mahmoud Khalil Fights Judge’s Deportation Decision https://www.commondreams.org/news/mahmoud-khalil-deportation
The Women’s Refugee Commission Detention Pregnancy Tracker: A Critical Tool for Documenting the Treatment of Pregnant Women in Immigration Detention https://austinkocher.substack.com/p/the-womens-refugee-commission-detention
Israel: The European Settler-Colonial Project in the Levant https://futuredude.substack.com/p/israel-the-european-settler-colonial
Silence (by Scott Ritter) https://scottritter.substack.com/p/silence
Assaults On Free Speech Go Into Hyperdrive After Charlie Kirk Killing https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/assaults-on-free-speech-go-into-hyperdrive
Trump's visit (to the UK) proved the utter corruption of our political and media class https://jonathancook.substack.com/p/trumps-visit-proved-the-utter-corruption
Top 9 Shocking Facts About US Sanctions! https://realleecamp.substack.com/p/the-top-9-mind-blowing-facts-about
Every CIA Coup Explained in 23 Minutes
Russian State TV Launches AI-Generated News Satire Show https://www.404media.co/russian-state-tv-launches-ai-generated-news-satire-show/?ref=daily-stories-newsletter
The 6 Companies That Own (Almost) All Media https://www.webfx.com/blog/internet/the-6-companies-that-own-almost-all-media-infographic/
Netanyahu Keeps Making Statements Saying Israel Didn't Kill Charlie Kirk https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/netanyahu-keeps-making-statements
Charlie Kirk’s Legacy Deserves No Mourning https://www.greensocialthought.org/thinking-politically/charlie-kirks-legacy-deserves-no-mourning/
One day I hope to wake up and find all the destructive elements of the imperialists gone for good. But it's not going to happen unless we join together and get to work to change the system and out the elites who make our lives hell. They won't go by themselves.
Recently, I saw on Breakthrough News an interview they had with a representative from your Ohio group that is working to stop local jurisdictions from investing in Israel and their genocide. I immediately thought of your involvement in that effort. You are having an impact! I know that things have moved way too slowly around this issue and that too many Palestinians have suffered the horrific consequences. Americans seem particularly dense and slow to move. In this increasingly fascist environment it’s a challenge to counter what’s coming down, but it is being done. It would be way more effective if we could have greater numbers of people involved, like the recent General Strike in Italy. Soon, things might be ripe in the U.S., if not about international issues, then about the degrading domestic situation. Give yourself and your ilk a nice round of applause.