A note to the Toronto rave community · July 26, 2026
What
happened?
It started with a pebble that said “Free Palestine.”
A July 26 video shows a man identified in the linked Reddit thread as Promise organizer Irving Shaw calling a “Free Palestine” message “too political” and telling a woman to “read a book.” The post says she placed the message on a pebble and was later asked to leave; those moments are not shown.
Shared for context.
See the source thread.
01 / A community service announcement
What a great day
for book lovers.
After a recorded exchange about a Free Palestine pebble ended with repeated instructions to “read a book,” we were curious which relevant books might help continue the conversation.
The recorded exchange names no particular book. That’s okay: members of Toronto’s rave community crowdsourced a reading list.
See the list ↓A COMMUNITY READING CHALLENGE
Status: homework assigned
Tap the + on a book to mark it read. Progress is saved in your browser.
01 / The assignment
Welcome to your
learning opportunity.
When a woman was repeatedly told to “read a book” during the recorded exchange, members of Toronto’s community did what good readers do: they made a list.
This is that list—part syllabus, part public service, part extremely generous second chance.
02 / The shelf
Required reading.
No books here. A familiar sort of reading list.
From the original thread
The community
showed up.
“I absolutely love your tone and direction here! You know how to turn hate into love and learning!”
— Nancy
“Thank you for this generous reading list!”
— Lisa
“
Everyone should have
the right to education.
Turning condescension into curriculum.