“Well, if identity is only a game, if it is only a procedure to have relations, social and sexual-pleasure relationships that create new friendships, it is useful. But if identity becomes the problem of sexual existence, and if people think that they have to ‘uncover’ their ‘own identity,’ and that their own identity has to become the law, the principle, the code of their existence; if the perennial question they ask is ‘Does this thing conform to my identity?’ then, I think, they will turn back to a kind of ethics very close to the old heterosexual virility. If we are asked to relate to the question of identity, it must be an identity to our unique selves. But the relationships we have to have with ourselves are not ones of identity, rather, they must be relationships of differentiation, of creation, of innovation. To be the same is really boring. We must not exclude identity if people find their pleasure through this identity, but we must not think of this identity as an ethical universal rule.”
— Michel Foucault, “Sex, Power, and the Politics of Identity” (1984)
Palestine is the home for several wild, edible plants. Za’atar and akkoub are popular herbs in Palestinian culture and cuisine. In 1977, however, Ariel Sharon declared za’atar a ‘protected plant’, rendering its foraging, possession or trade a criminal offense. Akkoub suffered a similar fate when it was labelled protected in 2005. Those who pick za’atar and akkoub subsequently became lawbreakers and in many cases were indicted and convicted. Despite this, several Palestinians, especially the elderly, are willing to defy these laws.
as you get older, you realize that you’re not always right and there’s so many things you could’ve handled better, so many situations where you could’ve been kinder and all you can really do is forgive yourself and let your mistakes make you a better person.
sports is about picking one favourite special guy who can do no wrong and running with insane (sometimes baseless but always intuitive) agendas against the people you don’t like . good luck to the rest of you
