Caitlin, I've had similar personal experiences to Questions 1 & 2 in your article ->

(1) There is no one in my life currently (family or friends) that are interested in talking about the Genocide, Palestine, or anything to do with Israel - and those that are seem to support Israel (either explicitly or implicitly).

It has been challenging for me - as I've lost respect for most of my family and friends (that I have known over a lifetime). GENOCIDE is a red-line issue for me. My conscience is unable to let me compromise on this. I'd rather go through the pain of 'loss of relationships' than live with the alternatives. I understand I have made these personal decisions that not everyone is willing to make. At the end of the day, I have to be able to live with myself, with who I am.

(2) So often when I bring up the topic of Israel-Palestine or the Genocide, I get people around me desperately trying to 'change the subject'. An example: every time I talk to my brother and mention Israel/Palestine/Genocide I get the response "why aren't you talking about Ukraine? Why not talk about Sudan? What is your fascination with Palestine?" I get SO FRUSTRATED and sometimes LIVID with RAGE by these 'intentional distracting/dishonest' talking points.

My only saving grace are 2 things ->

(1) This community (Caitlin's substack) where I feel comfortable exchanging ideas

(2) Socialist groups (leftist, not liberal) that I have joined where I have SO MUCH in common with others that also understand many of the things you talk about in your articles.

I guess life is what it is, and we often do not get to choose our family and friends (or else there are events like Oct 7 that change some of us so much that we cannot continue being the same person that we were before this event - hence the impact on all our 'old' relationships).