Living in the Middle East didn't corrupt me It opened my eyes to Western racism & corrupt
I just want to share some thoughts in response to feedback I've received, particularly since October 7, 2023. Over that time, I've lost a number of followers from the Jules Cruise Companion channel & related Facebook pages. Many of these were people I’ve cruised with or connected with over the decades. Some were fine with the travel content, but the moment I expressed humanitarian or political views, especially those that challenge mainstream Western narratives, I became "too much." 1 person in particular – a Colombian immigrant to a Western country – felt it was inappropriate for me to speak up for the oppressed or disenfranchised. They preferred the light-hearted cruise-loving Julie. But I’m not just that. I never have been. Even when I'm cruising, I'm acutely aware that the people serving us are often from developing nations, earning low wages under tough conditions. Yes, they’re making a living, but that imbalance has always sat uneasily with me. I even wrote about this in my book. We enjoy luxury while others serve in hardship. That's the reality. The person I’m referring to is someone I met on a Panama Canal cruise – we’ve kept in touch online ever since. But when I began sharing my pro-vaccine views during the COVID years – which conflicted with their anti-vax stance – the rift began. Add to that my vocal criticism of Trump, based on his lifelong record of corruption, misogyny, and narcissism – and, well, that was a step too far for them. Then came October 7, 2023, and the intensification of Israel's actions in Gaza. I began speaking more loudly about it, and that’s when the backlash from some followers really escalated. Here’s a message I received recently: "I respected your cruising and travel posts much more than your political and terrorist posts. Seems that being in Jordan has corrupted you. So sad – you were a fun person when we all met." My response? I was a fun person then. And I’m still a fun person now. But I was anti-genocide then, and I’m anti-genocide now. That hasn’t changed. This person is free to have their opinion – and they don’t need to engage with me if they don’t want to. A few weeks earlier, when they made a public post challenging my stance, I messaged them this: "You have two choices: wake up or unfriend me. I’ve never lied to you – why would I start now? America has low education, poor health care, the highest incarceration rate, and is steeped in racism, homophobia, transphobia, and misogyny. Why are you so willing to be blind to the propaganda? The world is watching – and laughing – while being horrified at what’s unfolding." This isn’t a new stance for me. I’ve always been vocal – always stood for social justice, women's rights, union rights, and collective empowerment. I’ve protested, I’ve organized, I’ve spoken out. Never once have I aligned with conservative values like protecting corporate profits over people or denying access to basic human needs. I don’t use the term "progressive" lightly – to me, it's just about believing in equal rights, access to education, housing, and health care. Simple human rights. No, I’m not a libertarian, or one of those "sovereign citizens" who refuse to register their cars or obey police. (What’s the Aussie term for them? It’ll come to me later.) I’m just a person who’s always leaned left of center and believed in fairness and accountability. So if you think Jordan has corrupted me – think again. I've been coming here for eight years. I live among Palestinians, Syrians, Egyptians, and Lebanese people. My beliefs haven't changed – my proximity to suffering has simply reinforced what I already knew. If you think it’s okay for Israel or the U.S. to bomb children, burn homes, and shred lives – and you call that self-defense while condemning anyone who resists it – I don’t want to share a platform with you. If you think freedom of speech includes robbing women of bodily autonomy or racially profiling people off voter rolls – we are not the same. And no, I haven’t become more radical – the Overton window has shifted. We’re being flooded with unfiltered footage from Gaza and the West Bank. Millions of people are waking up. So yes, my empathy is not for an 18-year-old Israeli IO soldier, brainwashed from birth, holding a rifle. My empathy is for the two million Palestinians trapped in an open-air prison. The mainstream media can’t hide it anymore. The truth is being livestreamed. And I will not pretend I don’t see it. So if my words upset you, unfollow me. Swipe me away. But don’t tell me who I should or shouldn’t be. Stay safe. Stay loud. Free Palestine. Like, Share & Subscribe for the latest videos My book HANDY CRUISE COMPANION, Cruise with Confidence is available on Amazon http://bit.ly/HandyCruiseCompanioneBook Check out my website http://www.julescruisecompanion.com.au/ Follow me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/julie.burgess.5011 Follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/julescruisecompanion/?hl=en Copyright JCC