One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This

In the ninth chapter, El Akkad examines forms of resistance against genocide and injustice, focusing particularly on the concept of “negative resistance”—the act of walking away or refusing to participate in systems that enable atrocities.

El Akkad begins by describing how he copes with the ongoing genocide in Gaza by retreating to a quiet spot in the wooded area behind his home in Portland, Oregon. He notes that his priorities have shifted: Everyday concerns like taxes and deadlines now seem trivial compared to the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe. When he attended an award ceremony in Los Angeles, he felt disconnected from the celebratory atmosphere, unable to maintain the cultural facade that had previously allowed him to blend into Western society.

El Akkad reflects on Aaron Bushnell, a U.S. soldier who self-immolated outside the Israeli embassy in Washington D.C. in February 2024 to protest American complicity in the Gaza conflict. El Akkad contrasts the dismissive media reaction to Bushnell’s act with the reverent coverage given to Mohamed Bouazizi, whose self-immolation sparked the Arab Spring in 2010. He also observes how power structures struggle to respond to “negative resistance”—when someone simply refuses to participate rather than actively confronting the system.