Sarah Schulman’s Radical Approach to Conflict, Communication and Change
About this episode
Sarah Schulman explains the thesis of her book Conflict Is Not Abuse: people with power mistake conflict for abuse and abuse for conflict, punishing the powerless while protecting themselves. She recounts the AIDS crisis, when the U.S. government and media ignored a plague for years while gay men died, and how ACT UP's disciplined, patient-centered, big-tent organizing won treatment access — a model of effective social change. Applying her thesis to Israel-Palestine, she distinguishes the Israeli occupation — which she frames as abuse — from criticism of Israel, which she frames as legitimate conflict, and reflects on queer politics, communication, and how supremacy cultures weaponize victimhood.