capitalism

“Love Is a Doing Word” Pt. 2

~Zulfikar~

In part one of this post I talked about my experience growing up with the patriarchal western conceptions of Love and Masculinity.

I also mentioned bell hooks who, for me, was the catalyst for me to reexamine and redefine the concept of Love. In particular, I spoke about some of the limitations of the patriarchal conception Love, and the harm those limitations can bring.

There are a few other important issues I discussed, including how narcissism and codependency are born from the patriarchal conception of Love. I encourage to go back and read part one if you haven’t already. read more

Hope and Creation…

~Zulfikar~

A long time ago I wrote my Master’s Philosophy thesis on “Aesthetics, Human Freedom, and Technological Rationality”. Thinking back on it now I probably should have come up with a more simple title like “Art, Freedom, and Capitalism”.

I examined the work of two philosophers Friedrich Schiller’s “Letters on the Aesthetic Education of Man”, and Herbert Marcuse’s “One Dimensional Man”. In short, I was interested in looking at the creative capacities of human beings and how Capitalism basically squashes those capacities. read more

Thoughts on the U.S. and Israel’s Settler Colonialist Project in the Levant

~Zulfikar~

I’m Lebanese-Syrian. I was born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1980. My mother is Syrian and my father is Lebanese. My family and I have lived through and survived Israel’s war on Lebanon, and the Lebanese civil war, not to mention the wars on and in Syria. I would like to say that I’m no stranger to the politics in my two countries and that whole region, but with how much history there is I always felt like I didn’t know enough.

I grew up in Burj-al-Barajneh, a refugee camp that was set up for Palestinians who were driven out of Palestine by Israel. Palestinians are like family to me, there isn’t much distinction, we lived and grew up together. And though I have never been to Palestine, my love for it is born from the love for my Palestinian friends and family. I unequivocally stand in solidarity with them. read more