Frustration, fears over Israel-Hamas War boil over at Sacramento high school
SACRAMENTO — The Israel-Hamas conflict has had wide-reaching effects even here in the Sacramento area, but for some, it hasn't been as easy as unplugging from social media.
At McClatchy High School, groups of students walked out Wednesday in support of Palestine.
"This protest is to protest the bombing of children in Gaza," student Rania Farooq said. "Children that are our age are being bombed every day."
Student frustration has boiled over as news from Israel and Gaza inundated social media feeds.
"I think all of the tension has blown up," student Jamal Crawford said. "All of the colonization and all of the wickedness and horribleness that we've seen in Israel and Palestine has been horrible, so I think it's important that we speak up on it."
Kalene Khan is a licensed therapist and said this conflict has brought back shades of 2020 online.
"It all seems to add more to the general anxiety," Khan said.
She said the combination of a far-off war that feels deeply personal to so many has been conflicting.
"We are really good at soaking up the feelings of our inner circles that are locationally close to us or emotionally close to us," Khan said.
Back at McClatchy, the war was very real for some with connections to the area.
"Luckily, my family is not in Gaza at the moment," Farooq said. "They're in Israel. Luckily, they've been safe. I try to contact my cousins every day. They all say they're relatively good."
So what is one to do? Khan says it may not be as simple as logging off.
"No matter what you lean towards, one minute versus another, if you choose to be in social media or you choose to unplug, there may be a part of you that thinks, 'I'm betraying myself a little bit right now,' " she said.
As the conflict rages on, it once again brings up an important question: how much news is too much?
"Technology has its wonders and its place, and also, these are times when it kind of makes things a little worse for us," Khan said.
The conflict shows no signs of slowing down as forces continue to mass at the Gaza-Israel border.