As much as I dislike Vic, I can see that this is a lose lose for influencers. If they do speak up, it gets called performative. If they don’t they are called ignorant.
In reality, could Vic’s voice add anything worthwhile to the discussion?
Guys. It’s Decades long genocide.
We’re not asking her for a thesis. A simple “I am learning about the happenings and so whilst I do not have much to contribute to the dialogue, I stand up for human rights of all, and that includes the human rights of the Palestinians in Gaza” would he sufficient and received with gratitude. Her virtue signaling of telling us monkeys - go read the news if you want to learn, I have no view and I see nothing, hear nothing, say nothing, in the face of genocide and war crimes, is, I’m sorry, but a repetition of all the people who stood quietly throughout history during similar atrocities. There is no equality of arms between the worlds 3rd strongest nuclear super power, and a small “open-air prison” that they call this embargoed piece of land (Gaza) which doesn’t even have an army. The latter is being combatted by the former, so you can appreciate that there is no symmetry or equality in their defence here.
Her post was worded in a way I have experienced people skirting confrontation and accountability of this atrocity for tens of years so please allow me to explain what was particularly thoughtless in her approach:
It refused to even say the word “Palestine” or “Palestinians” because she doesn’t want to affiliate herself with a “side” because she is scared, like most silenced people, of demonstrating that she is choosing one. This demonstrates that she is silent because she fears the repercussion of choosing “the wrong one”
This is the fear mongering that the alt. right has instilled which makes people wrongly believe that this is a Jew vs. Arab problem (it’s not, I’m a Christian and I am against the Israeli occupation), that standing up to the Israeli state sanctioned violence is anti-Semitic (it is absolutely not. Jewish people themselves are in scores condemning the Israeli government and calling to a halt to the apartheid and genocide and what is happening does NOT represent Judaism as a faith or Jewish people as practicers of that faith).
I won’t even touch on the self victimisation, and self centralising she *yet again* employed in her dialogue with a pre-amble on not wishing to state that state sanctioned ethnic cleansing is not a nice thing, because she has been taking steps to protect her mental health ? ? (make it make sense please).
And finally, if someone is more worried about being called “performative” than standing up to an atrocity happening to equal human beings during our time, then that is even worse than anything I can imagine for the state of our society.
During South African Apartheid, during the Holocaust, even during the Suffragettes people risked their lives to stand up for the rights of others - and here we are too scared to use a mobile phone to safely and simply
write down an expression of our solidarity and use the same platforms and reach we use to gain commissions, and secure paid-for holidays, meals and clothes, even if with a simple few words saying: “I stand against all forms of genocide, apartheid, and oppression?”
This is not a lose-lose situation. This is an integrity and moral compass situation. And we must all call on our collective conscience to say something, even if we are challenged, because that is how we learn, that is how we teach one another, and that is how we stand up before it’s too late.
Governments get away with murder only through collective apathy, silence, and willful mutedness/blindness.
To your question - “could Vics voice add anything to the discussion?” Whilst Noam Chomsky she is not, for some reason unbeknownst to me, thousands of people who will truly know nothing about this, can be “influenced” by her setting an example the way she so carefully and successfully did when it suited her image and self-virtue for BLM, to say “hey guys we need to stand up for what is right; and it doesn’t take a PHD to know that we need to condemn what is happening in Gaza and to the Palestinian people. If you have any resources let’s all share and learn together.”
- Imagine how many people might be inspired by a message like that to actually LISTEN. instead of the one she posted whinging and complaining and self centralising, and not even humanising the oppressed by calling them by their name? Followed by a swift deletion of any respectful comments on her post on the matter. I’m sorry but just take a moment to think about what it would look like had she posted the exact same thing and deleted the exact same comments during BLM. Let’s not join the hypocrisy then by excusing it now.
I know it’s exhausting - but standing up for human rights is exhausting. It’s not fashion, fun and lifestyle. It’s life or death. It’s not a pleasant conversation but as members of privileged and free and safe and democratic(ish) societies it is our human duty to do the work.
Thank you for reading if you made it this far
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and are you seriously implying black and asian models are used more than white? You know that’s a lie lol. It’s so easy to say that it’s BoRiNg to obsess over skin when you’re not the one affected, which, judging from your comment I would say you’re white 
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