I’m Giving Up on Outreach to Parties and Governments

Published on Sep 26, 2026, filed under politics. (Share this post, e.g., on Mastodon.)

One of several things that I’ve been doing over the last years to do my bit to advocate for human rights and against wars and genocide is to engage with parties and governments, notably German parties and the German government (I’m a German citizen).

When pondering a new operation, “Operation Transponder”—yes, I organize parts of my work this way—, I looked at another round of this outreach and contacting German organizations but also the foreign ministries of several nations, this time including the US and Israel.

But then I stopped, and dropped the plan.

Genocide Supporters Stay Genocide Supporters

I’ve come to realize that this is useless. Not entirely—something may register somewhere, and doing something is better than nothing—, but useless enough to stop and invest in other initiatives.

One reason for this is the feedback I’ve received from German outreach:

None, essentially. ^*

German parties and the German government do not respond to concerned citizens—at least not from what I could tell.

From an angle that’s relevant here, this makes sense: What do you tell someone who’s disagreeing with your policy (e.g., for a nation with a genocidal past not to supply weapons to a genocidal nation)—or who’s showing that there’s a gap between what you say and what you do (e.g., say you support human rights and international law, then look away and provide cover to those who violate human rights and international law)?

Europe Has Decided What Side It’s On

Another reason is that all signs are on disaster.

Europe is a key driver of the War on Islam (more on this separately), and Europe is not respecting Russia (go back to the 90s), let alone seeking Eurasian unity; at the same time, Europe is deprioritizing measures against climate change as well as measures for the present and future education, equality, and well-being of the European people (and those who need us). These decisions all seem made, and these decisions look like being carried out.

No mail is going to change this now, and I’ve come to believe that we in Europe are in for major disaster—an Israel-, US-, and ultimately self-caused energy crisis leading to high inflation, shortages, perhaps famines, a world war in which Europe would be supporting the genocidal, colonial regimes in Israel and the US which already announce unspeakable crimes against Iran, Russia, and/or China, while likely facing human-caused climate catastrophes and far-right governments that may well bring up the people against them in civil wars. ^†

I believe in the European idea, but I don’t believe in this Europe. This Europe is leaderless, visionless, spineless, heartless, and—without a drastic change in how we think about the world, our environment, and other people—hopeless. Although hard to surpass, this does even more so apply to “the West”—there’s nothing that the US would do better than what Europe already does poorly. (Sure, if you’re cynical, you may say that Americans exploit, ruin, and kill more people, faster, and are great at using technology to also destroy the environment on top of it.)

I am, at least for the time being, giving up on outreach to parties and governments.

^* There was one exception to this when contacting my former Bundestag representative in Hamburg, who at first didn’t respond, either, but then, on me following up, had his staff reply that he would be open to a “fact-based” exchange about Israel’s genocide—the what seems to be typical reply by Germans who try to show they’re “good Germans” by excusing everything Israel does and vilifying everything Muslims do. I declined such an “exchange,” pointing at the very facts of the genocide and our responsibility as humans.

^† Do I really believe this? Yes. I hope for the best for everyone, but Palestine has shown that Europe has learned and changed nothing. Israel keeps oppressing and murdering Palestinians while, together with the US, continuously attacking and threatening to annihilate (!) the people of Iran (alongside other Islamic nations), and Europe effectively backs all of this. The way Europe has been treating Palestinians and Iranians, for decades and specifically the last few years, is in line with the way Europe has been treating other people, for centuries, and shows that Europe doesn’t stop—European supremacism that has literally fucked up every continent is as alive as it ever was. This time, Europe may be bowing to and hiding behind the US and Israel, but this not learning, this not understanding that Europeans are not better or more important than other people on this planet, may ironically come to an end in the wake of the US and Israel overstretching themselves, and pulling Europe down with them. Ultimately and fortunately, supremacism is self-destruction.

About Me

I’m Jens (long: Jens Oliver Meiert), and I’m an engineering lead, guerrilla philosopher, and indie publisher. I’ve worked as a technical lead and engineering manager at various companies (e.g., Google); I’m an active web and tool developer (code optimization, digital defense), a contributor to web standards (like HTML, CSS, WCAG), and a book author (O’Reilly, Frontend Dogma).

I love trying things—in web development and engineering management, but also in politics and philosophy, where I hold to one idea in particular: that we can only be well if we take good care of everyone. Here on meiert.com I talk about some of my perspectives and experiences. (Interpret charitably but be critical—and share feedback and advice that makes my work better.)