Rachel Griffin Accurso, also known as Ms. Rachel, had been singing nursery rhymes and homeschool lesson tapes on kindness to her 16 million subscribers for years. This week, however, she dove headfirst into the political breakdown by openly condemning the comment made by former President Barack Obama regarding the Gaza ceasefire.
October 9th, Obama’s statement presented the dispute as “a tragedy for the people of Gaza” and “Israeli families.” For Ms. Rachel, this was more than semantics. It was dehumanizing. In her Instagram post, where she gained over 200,000 likes in hours, she made her case that the Palestinians were deprived of their familial identities by such language despite the death loss of over 20,000 children in the conflict.
Her move was shocking to some, after all, few expect a children’s content creator to weigh in on U.S. foreign policy, but her intervention sparked wide debate across social media.
Ms. Rachel’s Note to Obama
Ms. Rachel wrote in her post:
“Dear President Obama,
I saw in your statement you said ‘Israeli families’ & ‘the people of Gaza.’
Palestinians have families, too.
This kind of language contributes to dehumanization. Dehumanization is part of what caused so many to stay silent as 20,000 children were killed in this genocide.
I’ve sat with wonderful Palestinian families from Gaza. They look at their children just like we look at ours with all the love & hope in the world.”
Her caption continued:
“I’ve always looked up to you, @barackobama. I don’t understand why so many of these statements don’t seem to view Palestinians as equal. All people and all children are equal and deserve the same human rights.”
It was an unexpected moment for her millions of followers, but one that accentuated her resolve to utilize her platform to raise awareness for issues of human rights.
Obama’s Remarks in Context
Obama’s first words had been to honor a potential cease-fire after years of bloodshed:
“After two years of unimaginable loss and suffering for Israeli families and the people of Gaza, we should all be encouraged and relieved that an end to the conflict is within sight… More than that, though, it now falls on Israelis and Palestinians… to begin the hard task of rebuilding Gaza and to commit to a process that, by recognizing the common humanity and basic rights of both peoples, can achieve a lasting peace.”
While the text dealt with reconstruction and reconciliation, the wording, according to Ms. Rachel’s defenders, inadvertently obliterated Palestinian familial frameworks, portraying them as an invisible mass instead of families, children, and parents.
The Power of Language in Human Rights
The controversy highlights a crucial lesson in communication: language shapes perception.
Scholars of conflict studies are aware that discussing one group in familial, personal terms while discussing another group in group, depersonalized terms can reinforce empathy hierarchies. By discussing “Israeli families” but “the people of Gaza,” the text riskily posits that only the Israelis possess familiar familial relations.
Language-based dehumanization has been associated with silence and immobility during atrocities throughout history. By highlighting this inconspicuous but strong contrast, Ms. Rachel’s post has initiated an overarching discussion regarding how politicians and the media construct narratives within global conflicts.
Social Media Responses: Praises, Criticisms, and St
Social media was abuzz after the post by Ms. Rachel. People praising her courage:
- “Ms. Rachel possessing more backbone than Obama and darn near all the rest of the big names among the Dem party.”
- “The way she utilises all her platform to make people aware of Palestinians is amazing.”
- “And some Palestinian kids had a family ONCE & they have NO SURVIVING RELATIVES ????”
Others found her intervention surprising or controversial:
- “Ms. Rachel is going to tear Obama apart.”
- “When Obama won’t say Palestinian families for fear of making the Palestinians too human-like.”
- “Odd that one of the most principled actors under the Trump presidency is a YouTuber.”
However, her critics asserted her comments had the potential to derail delicate diplomatic initiatives, ascribing her words to bad judgment during shaky ceasefire negotiations.
