I write in gratitude for the eloquent opinion piece “There should be no equivocating over Gaza,”  (June 10) and for the actions of the author, Brendan McQuade, who participated in the extremely effective blockade at the General Dynamics plant in Saco.

Professor McQuade notes that protesters were not able to shut down the factory. However, what they did do was disrupt the functioning of the munitions machine. And most importantly, with their bodies, words and flyers, they unequivocally and nonviolently rejected U.S. funding and provision of weapons of mass destruction to Israel.

It seems to me that each action we take for peace, each thing we do to alleviate suffering, to put a “spanner in the works of the system,” to refuse to quietly sit by and accept the horrendous, unimaginable brutality of the genocide in Gaza … has meaning and is sufficient.

What is not acceptable is doing nothing. No one can use the excuse of “I didn’t know what was happening” because the slaughter and starvation are livestreamed to us daily. I know this is often not the case with mainstream media, so may I suggest expanding one’s outlook with alternative sources such as Electronic Intifada, Al Jazeera and Mondoweiss, to name only three.

It isn’t necessary to lock yourself to a barricade. But do something that will make a difference. Perhaps start by learning about the expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians in 1948 so that Israel might be created.

Connie Jenkins
Belfast