10 The unbearable lightness of knowing what we think. The days leading up to Manacor have been intense. The sea has boiled, like a casserole in the oven, in the apocalyptic Ausiès-Marché style. The local cultural organization has canceled a conference on Chuetas and antisemitism because the speaker was to be the historian, and also self-proclaimed Zionist (that's how she describes herself, the label isn't mine), Laura Miró. The episode is incredibly complex, and nothing I say about it will escape accusations of being a Zionist or a Palestinian terrorist from supporters of both sides. I'm not aiming for neutrality. I want a free and sovereign Palestinian state. I'm disgusted by the genocide that the Israeli state is perpetrating against what some still cynically call "Holy Land." I don't want Israeli colonization of that territory, just as I don't want Spanish colonization of ours. Between the state and the oppressed people, my choice is clear. Cancellation is another matter entirely. It drives me crazy that we don't let someone speak, especially when we've already invited them to share their perspective (wasn't this the initial mistake?). If we've reached the point where we can't listen to each other, where we can't speak frankly, with all the nuances, all the complexities, and all the controversies in the world, then we've lost our way in this whole mess.

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