I'm writing this from my wheelchair, watching news footage of shattered glass and smoke-filled streets in Milan, and I'm torn between two powerful emotions. Rage at the injustice happening in Gaza, and disgust at the vandalism happening in my own country.
Let me be crystal clear from the start: I support the strike for Gaza . The humanitarian crisis there demands our attention, our voices, and yes—our organized resistance. But what I witnessed today in Italian cities wasn't resistance. It was terrorism in disguise.
The smell of tear gas drifting through Milan's Stazione Centrale , the sound of breaking glass echoing through Bologna's streets the sight of masked figures hurling objects at police—this isn't solidarity. It's sabotage of the very cause they claim to champion.
The Strike That Started Right
This morning began with promise. Over 80 cities across Italy saw peaceful demonstrations . Workers from schools, transportation, and even Vatican employees joined the 24-hour strike . The message was clear: "Stop the genocide in Palestine, support the Global Sumud Flotilla, end arms shipments to Israel" felt proud watching thousands gather in Rome's Piazza dei Cinquecento, their voices unified in demanding justice . These weren't radicals—they were teachers, firefighters, port workers, students. Regular people saying "enough" to what UN investigators have confirmed as genocide .
This is how democracy works. This is how change happens.
When Protest Becomes Terrorism
But then the footage from Milan arrived, and my heart sank.
Masked vandals smashing the windows of Stazione Centrale . Protesters hurling transenne (crowd barriers) at police officers. Young men in black using scaffolding poles as weapons, turning a peaceful demonstration into urban warfare .
The acrid taste of hypocrisy filled my mouth as I watched. How can you claim to oppose violence while wielding it? How can you demand justice while creating chaos?
These aren't protesters—they're terrorist idiots. And I'll say it without mercy: anyone who vandalizes cities in the name of Gaza is betraying the very people they claim to support.
The Aha Moment That Changed Everything
Here's what hit me as I watched twelve people being treated for injuries in Milan : every broken window, every thrown bottle, every act of vandalism gives ammunition to those who want to dismiss the entire Palestinian cause.
When Mayor Giuseppe Sala said "vandalism doesn't help the cause of Gaza" , he wasn't wrong. When Foreign Minister Tajani declared that "violence doesn't help Palestinian civilians" he had a point—even if his government's policies are questionable.
The vandals handed them the perfect excuse to ignore the real message. Instead of discussing genocide, we're discussing broken glass. Instead of debating arms shipments, we're debating crowd control.
That's not activism—that's sabotage.
The Sound of Real Resistance
Real resistance sounds different. It sounds like the 50,000 voices chanting "Free Palestine" in Bologna's Piazza Maggiore. It sounds like port workers in Genova promising to block arms shipments: "If they touch the flotilla, not even a nail leaves this port".
It feels different too. It feels like the texture of thousands of hands raised in solidarity, not the rough grip of thrown stones. It smells like determination, not tear gas.
The most powerful moment of the day wasn't the violence in Milan—it was the sight of Bologna's city hall displaying the Palestinian flag That's institutional change. That's progress you can measure.
Why I Stand With Gaza (The Right Way)
From my wheelchair, I've learned something about powerlessness. I know what it feels like when the world seems stacked against you, when your voice feels too small to matter. That's why I understand the rage driving these protests.
But I also know that real power comes from moral authority. And you lose that authority the moment you pick up a stone.
The Palestinian cause is just. The evidence of genocide is overwhelming . The need for international intervention is urgent. These truths don't need violence to support them—they need voices, votes, and organized pressure.
When 20,000 people gathered peacefully in Rome they represented something powerful: a democracy functioning as it should. When hundreds smashed windows in Milan , they represented something else entirely: the breakdown of civilized discourse.
The Path Forward
I support every peaceful striker who walked out today . I support every teacher who closed their classroom, every port worker who blocked a shipment, every student who occupied their university entranceBut I condemn—without reservation—every vandal who threw a bottle, every masked coward who smashed a window, every terrorist idiot who thought destruction would build something better.**
The Palestinian people deserve better advocates than this. They deserve supporters who understand that moral authority is earned through moral action, not lost through mindless violence.
As I finish writing this, the taste of disappointment lingers. Today could have been a powerful statement of Italian solidarity with Gaza. Instead, it became another example of how good causes get hijacked by bad actors.
The choice is ours: Do we want to be remembered as the generation that stood up for justice, or the one that burned it down?
I know which side I'm on. And it's not the side throwing stones.
This article was written specifically for you by Gerd Dani of FreeAstroScience, where we believe complex social issues deserve thoughtful analysis, not simplistic solutions. Sometimes the hardest truths are the ones that challenge our own side.
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