#the neoliberal fascist west

[communist-ojou-sama]

Like, this may come as a shock to people like Tumblr liberals who are totally stuck in the Western anglophone neoliberal ideology echo-chamber but like, outside of the west, out there where the majority of the worlds people live, Kwame Nkrumah's thought is taken more seriously than Milton Friedman's. So why will left liberals engage with Friedman's thought, even if only to debunk it, but not engage at all with Nkrumah's writings on neocolonialism, and just write it off?

There's a common charge leveled by supposedly "open-minded" liberals toward anti-imperialists, that we just 'blindly' support any force that's contravailing US the US on a regional or global scale, but how am I supposed to take this seriously as anything but projection?

We anti-imperialists often make specific, verifiable claims about happenings in global geopol, such as that the so-called "Free Syrian Army" consisted mostly of salafi jihadists allowed into Syria through their northern border with Turkey, and that it doesn't make sense that a civil war could simply Materialize in a country like Syria which right before the war started had one of the lowest ratios of guns to people in the world, or that the Maidan coup regime that swept into power in Kiev in 2014 was heavily infiltrated with fascists, and would not have been able to consolidate power without the instrumentalisation of fascist gangs and paramilitary organizations.

The liberal response to these specific claims, then, is to point to reports from corporate media with every incentive to lie, themselves doing no independent investigation but instead parroting verbatim the word of the State Department as fact, and dismissing all independent media investigations out of hand with no further thought.

In a situation such as this, can that response really be considered "open-minded"? It seems that time and time again intellectual rigor is reserved for discussions of technocratic tinkering within the west's iron curtain, and not the lives of people outside of it.

There's plenty of brain-juice to be expended on justifying why the US economy is actually in good shape and the people saying they're struggling more than before are just stupid, but when it comes to considering why African heads of state choose the China Development Bank over the IMF as an economic partner or Russia over the NATO states as security partners, these leaders of millions are dismissively written off as histrionically anti-Western, paranoid, and too mentally weak to see through Russian and Chinese propaganda. Is it this really a 'rational' way to look at the world?

Personally, I think not.

[hero-israel]

One of the reasons for the "Left" becoming more and more like a cheerleading squad for exactly the kind of things Leftists are supposed to hate is because so much of this new coalition of young people are coming from conservative backgrounds, but not doing any real work to deradicalize themselves.

They grow up with these Puritanical ideas of sin and justice, crime and punishment, and instead of unlearning any of this they just switch the targets of their disdain. It's switching teams for them, not learning that they don't have to play the game. Most of them are soft conservatives who just want free healthcare.

And these Leftoid chud debate pervert streamers like Hasanabi are a big contributing factor to this, not the only factor, but a prominent one. He definitely puts this veneer of artificiality and commodification over the Left. American society is under a lot of stress right now, culturally and economically. Instead of the Left organically building coalitions it's mostly unorganized college kids reading Al Jazeera and Russian and Chinese propaganda and running as fast as they can away from privilege and having a toddler understanding of class consciousness. It's so pathetic and basic and it will not save us.

You cannot save a society that you don't think is worth saving. They're just practicing radical disengagement and some kind of edgy nihilism. They purport to hate America and the West and want to burn it all down but they know that will never happen which is why they're so comfortable with the cognitive dissonance. It's why they don't vote, and why organizing and demonstrating is like teeth pulling for them. Either black activists have to do all the leg work for them, or the protests have to be about tearing something down, not advocating for any positive change, right now that's Israel. Soon it will be something else.

Unironically, the pussy hat resist lib wine moms did way more with their women's marches than any of these wannabe philosopher college kids are doing with anything. Like I know for a fact a "Leftist" would read a post like that and be like "L + ratio libshit, imagine supporting the neoliberal fascist colonialist concept of due process?" like we're so beyond the pale at this point. When fascism takes over, I'm sure they'll think they're fighting back, but if the fascists learn to coopt enough phrases about climate and Palestine and healthcare, will they even notice the fascists taking over?

I've got a few friends who were raised hardcore fundie Christian, "gays will burn" creation and rapture types. They went to normal public colleges and wound up becoming very left-wing, all the left memes and slogans you can think of, fastidious in their distinctions between and protections of every conceivable marginalized group (which none of them are, on any axis). And.... you can't disagree with them about anything. Can't point out that a source is questionable or that a slogan is psychologically backfiring and producing skepticism or mockery instead of benefits. They will not hear of it, because they are still fundies. They did a binary flip from one team to another but never moderated their tactics or temperament.

[anarchotahdigism]

The Israeli occupation of Palestine has clearly been herding Gazans into "safe zones" that the occupation then bombs to force the survivors to relocate in a slow but steady effort to push them all out into Egypt or to their deaths yet there has not been a single fucking riot in the so-called west by the so-called left People are being forcibly marched to their deaths, facing summary executions, famine, disease, but all these fucking westerners can manage is a fucking letter writing campaign and some parades that only result in the spread of COVID because it's nearly all performative outrage.. If even 1% of these radlibs got together with friends and fought cops and burned down precincts and blockaded military bases, the Israeli occupation would lose the unmitigated support it's enjoyed from the bloodthirsty Democrats & other vaunted "enlightened" neoliberals. The genocide could be halted quickly if so-called leftists actually cared enough to stop genocide. The only people doing direct actions are also the only people I've seen consistently masking.

Western leftists have personally aided and abetted and embraced one of the largest genocides of the past century by participating in the fascist Big Lie that is the back to normal propaganda. Tens of millions are dead, with more dying every day, because Western leftists could not and would not hold to their principles and resist eugenics. Instead, they embraced Nazi positions about unmitigated spread while clutching pearls at genocides perpetrated by more overt and kinetic means. They have spread suffering, disablement, and death, but still position themselves as "friends" and "allies" to the oppressed. Their labor unions have remained virtually silent on the genocide of COVID while breaking silence largely to support the Israeli occupation. Western "leftists" are fucking worthless, broadly speaking. I am disgusted constantly by the ableism on display by those claiming to oppose one genocide while at best ignoring another, if they aren't merry participants. These deaths could all stop if y'all would fucking put on masks and riot.

[madamepestilence]

A PSA on American Politics

My blog has largely become an America-centric political blog, especially regarding the US 2024 election. I've made a few posts about it, as well as a video essay. (Note: Claudia de la Cruz is no longer a viable candidate; I'll explain in this thread.)

I'm going to speak to y'all directly now.

The Democrats. The Anarchists. The Communists. The Socialists.

Listen to me.

The whole Vote Blue No Matter Who method is only supporting fascism. I'm not sugarcoating it: Biden is a fascist, people who vote for him are voting for fascism, and if you're voting for Biden just because you're scared of Trump winning the election, you are a fucking coward.

I know I'm going to get flak for that, but it needs to be said - I'm not babying Democrats and fellow leftists. We're grown-ass adults and we need to strategize like adults. Both Trump and Biden are fascists; this isn't about, "minimizing the damage," this is about preventing fascism.

So what is my plan? Do I have solutions? Yes, I do, and here they are:

Part I: The 2024 US Presidential Election

Don't vote for Biden. Don't refuse to vote either - anyone who tells you voting is useless is trying to deceive you.

Vote for third party Independent presidential candidate Dr. Cornel West, Ph.D.. Dr. West is a triple-college-educated self-described non-Marxist Socialist candidate for the 2024 US presidential election.

You may initially have your doubts for a few reasons, so let me assuage them for you.

Whataboutism A: What about Trump and Biden?

Biden is not any better than Trump. Trump openly admits his racism, sexism, xenophobia, etc. because the Republican party no longer needs to hide these factors.

We live in a state in which the Democratic party will constantly try to compromise with the Republican party, and the Republican party has had such a significant portion of their party indoctrinated into the alt-right that it's their political base now.

See: (YouTube:) Innuendo Studios: The Alt-Right Playbook: The Death of a Euphemism

Biden just continues using euphemisms to hide his fascist rhetoric. Biden is also directly monetarily and militarily supporting a fascist apartheid colony -- Israel-occupied-Palestine -- who are committing a holocaust in Palestine.

He has also supported known fascist political figures, such as the known fascist Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Trump and Biden are both fascists - the only difference is how openly they admit their fascism.

We cannot let this system continue. In the modern United States, the American Democratic and Republican parties effectively have the same goals. The Democratic party may claim that it wants progressivism, but it has shown quite the contrary.

Democrats get elected by comparing themselves to the Republican party by being, "not as bad," while Republicans have to come up with increasingly jarring reasons for election - as, the Republican party already achieved their past goals, and have to move the goalposts - and make implications that the Democratic party is not advocating for drastic enough nationalism.

Capitalism and fascism are compatible with each other, as are the primary American politics parties - they are malleable and are merging into fascism. This is the main danger of neoliberalism.

See: (YouTube:) Innuendo Studios: (The Alt-Right Playbook:) Endnote 2: White Fascism

For that matter - I would not be surprised if Biden uses the lukewarm world war occurring right now--

(and yes, I'm calling it that - there are global efforts to support Palestine, embargoes against Israel-occupied-Palestine, polarization about Palestine and Israel-occupied-Palestine, a war in West Asia spearheaded by Israel-occupied-Palestine, Iran is bombing Israel-occupied-Palestine for their genocidal fascism, Iran directly threatened the US if the US retaliates for Iran's anti-fascist action, and even Irish Member of Parliament Clare Daly directly called out Biden for fascism and claimed that Ireland disowned him)

--to declare emergency powers to gain an, "emergency," term (fascist dictatorship). If Trump gets elected, he would also have the possibility of doing the same.

We are entering fascism. It needs to be stopped.

Whataboutism B: What about the Spoiler Effect?

The Spoiler Effect is largely a concern I've been presented with by cowards who want to vote for fascist US president Biden in the 2024 election.

Historically, the Spoiler Effect hasn't really been a problem in the US. Our election system may be the worst election system currently in use, but people have been so focused on the parties they care for that it hasn't really been an issue.

Furthermore, most people have a drastic misunderstanding of how the Spoiler Effect works. People assume that because the Republican and Democratic parties are currently in power that there are no other options.

This is not how elections work or have historically worked in the United States.

When parties have fallen out of favour in the US, they have historically been replaced by different parties. This has happened multiple times.

See: (Wikipedia:) United States presidential election § Electoral college results

and compare to

See: (Wikipedia:) List of United States presidential elections by popular vote margin § Timeline

to see the drastic and broad revisionist application of, "Republican," and, "Democrat," to refer to multiple different parties.

If you're completely unfamiliar with the concept of the Spoiler Effect (or are just interested in viewing alternative voting systems),

See: (YouTube:) Primer: Simulating alternate voting systems

With this in mind, and with our collective agreement that the Democratic party does not have the interests of the people in mind, we can fucking replace the Democratic party with an actually leftist party.

Independent leftists, the Communist Party USA, the Revolutionary Communist Party USA, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, even a new leftist party (that might even merge the leftist front into a Commu-Socialist Party) -- any leftist party vs. the Republican party?

It will lay bare to the world once anew what a Leftist vs. Fascist party system looks like.

Remember the drastic contrast between the German Democratic Republic (a real socialist country) vs. Nazi Germany (who, by the way, were masquerading themselves as socialists because it was popular, despite initially building camps for communists)?

Let's not let the fascists in power again. A truly leftist America is the only way to the future. Fuck your moderate politics.

We have a problem right now and we need drastic change right now, not gentle fidgeting while we compromise with fascists and let people suffer in the meantime.

Also See: (YouTube:) Innuendo Studios: The Alt-Right Playbook: Always a Bigger Fish

Whataboutism C: What about Gerrymandering?

I'm gonna keep this one short and blunt: Not voting is only going to reinforce gerrymandering. Vote your fucking representatives out and get better representatives. End of.

Whataboutism D: What about Claudia de la Cruz and the Party for Socialism and Liberation?

To be blunt, De la Cruz has not shaken up enough support to cause the national news concern. Dr. West has.

It's even gotten to a point where national news have been trying to avoid discussing Dr. West -- as it keeps increasing support for him -- to instead discuss known fascist candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr..

On a secondary note, the PSL has an internal Conservative 5th Column, and has frequent issues with discrimination.

This runs the risk that De la Cruz may be a Republican plant, and even if she's not, the PSL is not currently the kind of party we want to put in power.

Whataboutism E: What about known fascist Harlan Crow?

For those unfamiliar, I've received complaints about Dr. West's campaign receiving funding from known fascist Harlan Crow. The primary person who shook up a stir wanted an explanation from Dr. West, and apparently didn't look for one.

This amounted to... $3,300. That's not much.

Crow donated $500 directly to now-dropout Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie, as well as a whopping $100,000 to Chris Christie's political action committee, Tell It Like It Is.

Dr. West only received about 30% of the equivalent donation Crow granted to Christie. Dr. West has a history of interacting with another Conservative, Robert P. George.

During his life, Dr. West's beliefs have not changed and he's wisely using the system he's been placed in -- and taking advantage of smaller Conservative news media as a pinging board to get airtime on national news media -- without being bought out.

Dr. Cornel West actually directly responded to these concerns, having directly argued that any donations he have will not have any strings attached, and that he cannot be bought out.

Whataboutism F: What about poseur politics?

To be fair, I haven't seen a single person bring this up, but I have no doubt this worry is sitting in the back of people's minds. I'd like to assuage this concern pre-emptively.

Dr. West is fortunately not a poseur. Dr. West has a long history of participating in leftist politics, including, but not limited to:

Civil rights protests inspired by the Black Panthers and Malcolm X in his teenage youth

Supporting social spaces in neglected areas such as prisons and churches

Becoming the first black person to graduate from Princeton University with a Doctorate of Philosophy (Ph.D.) with a dissertation called Ethics, Historicism, and the Marxist Tradition (later renamed to The Ethical Dimensions of Marxist Thought)

Protests and divestment to help free apartheid South Africa

Participating in the Million Man March

Being arrested for protesting the shooting of Michael Brown

Being the senior advisor for 2000 Democratic candidate Bill Bradley, then Green Party candidate Ralph Nader

Obstructing the front of the US State Department in protest of Israel-occupied-Palestine's oppression of Palestine in 2000, including similar free Palestine protests in 2007 and 2011

Being an advisor for 2004 Democratic candidate Al Sharpton

Being arrested for participating in the 2011 Occupy D.C. and Harlem Wall Street protests

Affiliating with the Revolutionary Communist Party USA in 2014 and directly contributing to the formation of the Stop Mass Incarceration Network

Rescinding support for Barack Obama in 2014 after realizing his imperialist tendencies

Participating in 2017 counter-protests against the Unite The Right Rally, in which he directly commented that Antifa saved their lives

You don't have to worry about Dr. West being a poseur. He's been doing this for a long time.

Whataboutism G: What about Project 2025?

If you believe that winning a single election is going to make the fascists spontaneously give up on Project 2025 -- which you're likely basing on the specific year in the project's name -- you are a fool.

They're going to continually attempt it until they succeed. We can't let fascists into power, and this includes Biden.

Vote for Dr. Cornel West.

Whataboutism H: What about Ballot Access?

Dr. West has actually been very intelligent with how he's working for ballot access across the US. However, it's not a magic black box - you as a voter need to actively help him get ballot access.

If you don't know how to do that, Dr. West has a website with an interactive US state map, which include instructions for how many votes are required to gain ballot access in each state.

Dr. West also provided the actual necessary legal documents to gain signatures, instructions for how to get votes from people, and even created political propaganda -- both free and merchandising -- to help raise awareness for Dr. West's political action.

He was also wise with how he's gathering ballot access. In states where Independent candidates have an actual chance of ballot access, he's remained Independent.

In states where it's not really possible, he's either joined a local leftist party, or created a new party called the Justice for All Party, which allows him party backing for ballot access.

With this process, Dr. West has successfully already gained ballot access in 5 states: Oregon, Utah, Alaska, Colorado, and South Carolina.

If Dr. West is creating events, he has a page where he show's he's going, of which he's already done many nationally. Alternatively, if you'd like to create your own, he also has a page where you can host campaign-approved volunteer events.

If you're wondering about how well Dr. West listens to people, he largely interacts with any news media - even if it's small - to discuss his campaign and beliefs. I also reported some broken links on their website, and within a few days all of the reported links were prepared.

Dr. Cornel West will make an ideal socialist president.

Part II: Legislative, Judicial, and Local Elections

We cannot let this start and end at presidential elections. We need to seize power in all parts of politics.

Affiliate yourself with leftist parties - or create your own - and run for local elections. It's become clear that socialism is extremely popular in the US right now, and the US has a rich history of socialism.

See: (YouTube:) Second Thought: America's Forgotten Socialist History

We also need to go past that. We need to seize power in the legislative and judicial branches of the US, in that order. Using those same leftist parties, get leftists elected into positions within Congress and the House of Representatives, and push the US into majority leftist legislative power.

Once this has been achieved, we need to combine a leftist president with the majority leftist Congress and House to pass legislation to create term limits for the Supreme Court.

We can then have further legislation passed for SC Justices to be elected by the common people, rather than fucking appointed by whoever happens to be the current president.

This can let us fill the Supreme Court with more leftists, and having seized all three branches of government, we can begin major modifications to the US Constitution - or even retiring it for a new US Constitution - to initiate the socialist age of the US.

Whataboutism I: What about the history of attempts of Socialism/Communism?

Hakim, a West Asian leftist YouTuber, has excellent videos on what actually caused the fall of the Soviet Union, the mistakes of former socialist attempts, a response to a worldbuilder's assumptions about why (socialist) revolutions fail, and instructions for how new leftists can contribute to modern socialism.

(Also, if you're just looking for more blatantly leftist YouTubers, I also recommend Slavic leftist Yugopnik.)

Also See: (YouTube:) Sisyphus 55: The Revolution Will Not Be Uploaded (Also has a donation fund for the Palestine Children's Relief Fund)

Part III: Micronations

Wait, what?

I don't know how much they're going to really help, but it doesn't hurt to have alternatives in the event the US fully sinks into a fascist dictatorship.

If you lead or participate in a leftist micronation, establish mutual recognition and trade routes with other micronations and work on true independence that doesn't rely on the US's assistance (water, plumbing, electricity, internet, etc.).

Utilize your lack of recognition as a country to have dual citizenship, where you can provide for your citizens, but also, more importantly:

PARTICIPATE IN AMERICAN ELECTIONS.

Being a part of a micronation does not absolve you from your duty as an American citizen to fucking vote. Vote in local elections and vote in national elections. Get. Leftists. In. Power.

Micronations are the backup plan in the event of an emergency as a point of resistance against state oppression.

Prioritize voting in American elections. Vote for leftists.

Vote for Cornel West for the 2024 US presidential election.

[mariacallous]

Sunday was election day in my state of Brandenburg. The morning was sunny, unseasonably warm, yet already in autumnal gold. Normally I just cross the road to vote, but due to a lack of poll clerk volunteers, I had to drive 8km to one of the next villages. Following Google Maps, I ended up on a road so rocky that only tractors might brave it. The thin layer of recent asphalt had cracked over the GDR gravel. At the bottom of the potholes lay the Prussian cobble stones.

I was greeted by three poll clerks: a middle-aged woman, a grey-haired bulky man and an adolescent with a decidedly military haircut. Grabbing my voting slip, I couldn’t help being moved for a moment by the beauty of democracy. Here I was, about to make a cross they would probably deem degenerate or totalitarian, knowing full well that I deemed theirs fascist. Statistically, two of them would vote for the far-right AfD. Our parish has again come out with more than 50% for the far right, as it did back in May for the European elections. And yet, neither I or anyone else in the polling station ended up with a black eye. The clerks didn’t even hiss “we know where you live”.

It was a relief to see the results that evening. After months with the AfD ahead in the polls, the social democrats won by a tight margin of 1.7% (30.9% for the SPD, with the AfD at 29.2%). This was certainly not the achievement of Olaf Scholz, the social democrat German chancellor. Brandenburg has been red for about 35 years, and its governor, Dietmar Woidke, is very popular. His primary campaign strategy was to dissociate himself from the government in Berlin. Scholz did not take part in any of the campaigning. And the election posters presented the party affiliation as a bullet to be bitten: “If you want Woidke, vote SPD.” A vote for Woidke was also endorsed by some who might otherwise have voted for the Greens or the Left party. Alice Weidel, the AfD’s co-chair, complained that it only lost due to tactical voting. But lose it did.

Nevertheless, Hans-Christoph Berndt, the AfD’s main candidate in Brandenburg, who recently argued for a segregation-style law banning immigrants from attending public events, defiantly claimed that the future was “blue” (the AfD’s signature colour). The future is open, but it is undoubtedly true that authoritarian populism is on the rise. The AfD is up about 6% from the election in Brandenburg five years ago, and was the strongest party among younger voters.

To understand the shift to the right in Brandenburg, or the former GDR, it is vital to look at global and local trends. First, this isn’t a result of east Germans’ unfamiliarity with democracy, as some commentators suggest. After all, we are witnessing a shift to the right among many voters in the oldest democracies, too, including France and the US. Much more decisive is what the Vienna-based historian Philipp Ther has called “the other end of history”: unhampered neoliberal restructuring after the iron curtain fell. This restructuring affected rural and de-industrialised areas in the west as well, but is most pervasive in the postsocialist regions. Echoing the economist Karl Polanyi, Ther stresses that marketisation corrodes the social fabric. Politics then mainly consists of attempts at repair, attempts that mostly miss the root causes of the degradation.

After reunification, only 6% of formerly state-owned assets ended up in the hands of east Germans. Even if there is some economic growth, as there is in Brandenburg, it comes from multinational investors – Tesla for instance – which creates volatile, non-unionised jobs.

Besides the economic stratification, there is a wounded memory of dispossession connected with the post-socialist transformation. Up to 80% of east Germans lost their jobs, with many of them seeing their training rendered useless overnight. The bitterness that arose from the pandemic era’s quarantine measures – a great source of contention in Brandenburg – was partly to do with people once again being compelled to suspend ordinary life. It is as if the weight of another break in routine was simply intolerable and experienced as sheer sadism, but resolved by declaring any government action an incursion into one’s personal freedom.

The core remedy that the AfD promises is control in another realm: an entitlement to treat racialised others like disposable objects. They promote white supremacy and ethnic homogeneity. At least some of the AfD sympathisers I have been in conversation with argue, in stark contrast to the party’s economic neoliberalism, that they would like to see the state crack down on the super-rich and address social inequality. But they consider this so unlikely, so out of reach, that another demonstration of sovereignty takes precedence: Germany for the Germans.

After I had returned from the voting booth, the older guy among the poll clerks reminded me that we knew each other. We had reroofed a house together about 10 years ago for a friend of his, using shiny new tiles. We in turn were grateful to salvage the old clay ones. In fact, I often refer to this experience when asked by those in metropolitan areas how to talk to your political adversaries. “You can only do so if you have another context that you work together in,” I say. Societies should offer those spaces. If their fabric tears, it’s hard to find enough common ground to say, for instance, that no, open borders are not the problem, or to tell them you simply don’t find that joke funny. That time on the roof, such conversation was at least possible.It hasn’t become easier in the meantime.

At the polling station, the clerks lightly mock me: “Why did you take that idiotic route? There is a much more direct way back to your place.” They know where I live and choose to help me and compensate for my dodgy navigation. We still don’t know how to create a cooperative basis for society. But when I experience small interactions like these, I realise such an ambition is the only viable path away from a bleak, fascist future.

[pattern-recognition]

Just wanna share about the kufiyah. My college campus has a large Arabic student body so it's cool to see a lot people wear it-- usually as a loose shawl but sometimes as a headwrap. Also one time my grandma was just wearing one to church. She didn't know the significance (it was a gift from a friend) and she later gave it to me as a gift as well. Which is good since I was worried she'd get jumped or something while out nowadays lol

the surge of interest of kufiyas in the west, beyond people who are actually arabs, as a symbol of solidarity with palestine is interesting because i can’t remember the last time there was a mass-adoption of a physical gesture of political affiliation, at least to this scale. there have been more half-hearted emblems in recent memory, like when people in the US tried to encourage the wearing of safety pins in solidarity with immigrants, and there are more ‘seasonal,’ for lack of a better term, badges such as poppies being worn in europe to commemorate WWI. those gestures simply aren’t of like calibre though, and it’s worth noting that the kufiya is distinct as it’s a (mostly) left-wing symbol, and unambiguously a retort against the neoliberal status quo and the DoD narrative. all fashion is, at least unconsciously, a reflection of political allegiance or class status. those who still cling to vestigial ‘punk’ ideology emblamatize their individualist neo-anarchism, fascists have a variety of symbolic apparel even if it’s not distinctly theirs or explicit, like archaic skinhead fashion or simple flecktarn parkas, Iranian politicians wear western suits yet forego a tie, etc etc. it’s a near universal phenomenon, and there are as many visual codes, derivations, nuances, rejections, resurgences, etc as their are outfits in the world. in short though, it’s somewhat of a comfort to see/have a left-wing symbol to adopt that’s also taken up by others. occasionally i feel silly wearing my telogreika or modified soviet chore-coat, but every group has their semiotics.

also, political matters aside, kufiyas are objectively cool as hell. i love seeing the variety in them, from the color palette to the patternization. the most emblematic of palestine is obviously the black and white kufiya with the fishnet and grape leaf pattern, but purely aesthetically i prefer the two I own in the more general pan-arabic houndstooth-esque pattern, one in white/red and the other (my Hirbawi made one) in grey. i’m not the type of person to usually own more than one of a specific item, but it’s nice having a spare to lend out when the need arises. i’ve been wanting to get another from Hibawi to gift to my father but, as anyone familiar with them will know, they’ve been out of stock/unable to continue production for months, the former because of huge demand and the latter because of the IOF’s imperialist war

my only caveat with the trends as they are rn is the cheap commodification of solidarity. even when a certain percent of the proceeds of a commodity are donated to a worthy cause, it’s demeaning to see protest diluted into the purchasing of a t-shirt with a catchy slogan, especially when most of them are produced and distributed by virtue of the same imperialist economic system that’s at fault for the whole conflagration. no ethical consumption, etc etc, nothing new to report

[spider-xan]

The amount of historical revisionism and modern misinformation about Hong Kong from the West and Western-aligned Chinese is so annoying, like, look up the history of the Opium Wars, look up how an SAR actually works, look up what actually happened in 1997 (no, China did not invade and annex Hong Kong as either an independent state or steal it from the British), maybe actually look further into the politics of so-called 'pro democracy' people bc they are basically neoliberals at best and fascists at worst, and you would think the US and UK flags and their love of Tr*mp would give that away.

[workersolidarity]

British police detain journalist Kit Klarenberg, interrogate him about The Grayzone - The Grayzone

This is just rich...

The West lectures the entire world about "Press Freedoms" and "independent journalism" has nothing to say when three days ago the UK govt detained Kit Klarenberg, questioning him about his work for The Grayzone and insinuating that his work is being paid for by the FSB.

Years now into the farcical Russiagate conspiracies, the West is escalating again by focusing its attention on stifling REAL independent journalists from reporting the truth about the Ukraine War and dispelling myths about Russia and common Russiagate narratives.

Kit Klarenberg's excellent reporting over the last couple of years has made him a target by elites in the media and the National Security State. Now it seems they've decided to take things a step further.

At the very beginning of his police interview, Kit is literally told that he must answer questions put to him by investigators or he would be arrested. Now I'm not familiar with British Law regarding journalism, nor am I familiar with British Police investigatory procedures, but I DO know BULLSHIT when I see it, and THAT is BULLSHIT.

The West has always focused its anti-Communist propaganda on propagating the lie that Communist countries were in fact hellish dystopian Police States where wrong-think can get you thrown in a Gulag.

When in reality, it has always been the West that is completely intolerant of views outside the acceptable mainstream, and though they traditionally did not use incarceration first to enforce journalistic compliance with State-approved narratives, favoring instead to use self-censorship and defunding mechanisms to stifle journalistic adventurism.

The effect is the same regardless: censorship and narrative enforcement.

Regardless, we seem to have entered a new era in which the ruling class no longer feels the need to go through the motions of Civil Rights and Liberties, Journalistic freedom, and public democratic control over the government. They no longer feel required to give explanations when they violate laws or do away with custom.

We are entering what I see as new, more openly Fascistic form of Neoliberal Capitalism and the mechanisms of State Power that serve as the tools of the Capitalists.

We are running out of time to get organized!

[szelkovica]

"Ironically, Western “leftist” voices who claim that so-called Western values—representative democracy, freedom of speech, LGBTQ rights—would not bring any considerable changes to the lives of people living under post-Soviet autocracy usually live in the West and take advantage of those rights, however imperfect they may be.

However, the inability of some segments of the cultural left to recognize the new conditions of “real politics” is understandable. For decades, their discursive work was grounded in a critique of Western liberal democracy, and for good reason. However, after February 24, 2022, when Russia pierced the Ukrainian border, a mere critique of neoliberalism is no longer sufficient for developing a critical perspective on the situation in Eastern Europe, given that the post-socialist countries are at present much more endangered by their quasi-feudal oligarchies and autocratic repression than by liberal democracy. In other words, I am arguing that in a paradoxical twist of fate, liberals seem to have a greater understanding of real politics today than the (cultural) left, which historically had the task of organizing workers and other destitute populations to negotiate their participation in emancipatory politics. The comfortable position that allowed the cultural left to confirm its emancipatory reputation outside the realm of real politics is no longer plausible."

"The formula for the present catastrophe of Russia is the transformation of socialist and post-socialist reality into a quasi-fascist phenomenon: the most unprivileged social groups side with the ruling elites and become the electorate of corrupt autocratic oligarchies. They support war and imperialist expansion, homophobia, clericalism, and anti-Western xenophobia. Meanwhile, the enlightened and globalized intelligentsia, as well as the former meritocracy (i.e., the critical middle class, which of course encompasses not only liberals but left-leaning students and cultural workers), supports human rights, civil liberties, and emancipation. They consequently become outcasts or exiles.

Interestingly, the social composition of the 1917 revolution was different. At that time, the left-leaning middle class managed to find a shared language with the proletariat. We, the intelligentsia today, haven’t managed to form such a continuity with the unprivileged layers of society in Russia. Nor have we managed to construct any agonal buffer zones in the cultural and artistic sphere to influence emancipatory transformation. Navalny’s program was a very basic attempt to do so, but it focused much more on the denunciation of corruption than on social construction. Instead of building agonism on the cultural terrain, we allowed the state and pro-state private capital to appropriate the sphere of civil agency, until it was too late."

[dylanancom39]

The world already runs on doublespeak.

The neoliberal capitalist fascist authoritarian etc state uses "protecting freedom and liberty" as an excuse to take those rights away from the proletariat, LGBTQIA2+ community, minorities, people with disabilities etc.

All the surveillance already takes place.

The US government knows every single thing u do on the internet. And people like Julian Assange and Edward Snowden were trying to expose the west for its imperialistic crimes against humanity.

And guess what, Snowden had to run away to *Russia* to flee the US gov.

And Assange is currently incarcerated in belmarsh.

We need to stand up to the state.

We need to stand up to the bourgeoisie.

We need to stand up for our rights.

We need to start a revolution.

[comingupfrombehind]

NO. I’m going to be voting for cornel west and the democrats and their braindead apologists can suck my fucking silicone dick. I’m sick of being held hostage by capitalists who use and abuse me and couldn’t give a flying fuck about me, all they want is my money and my vote so they can stab me in the back and enact the same fucking policies as republicans would.

You had FIFTY MOTHERFUCKING YEARS to make roe v Wade law and instead y’all fundraised off it crying wolf the whole time. Fuck you. The democrats are also a fascist party, because capitalism in decay IS FASCISM.

Can’t wait to be blamed yet again for the failures of democrats. Instead of running a YOUNG person who works to meet the needs of the electorate they block any primary challenge and instead force this demented dinosaur who caused this mess onto us?! He voted to make student loans inedible to be discharged in bankruptcy. He voted for the 1994 crime bill. He voted for the Iraq war. He’s been in office for like 50 fucking years and I’m sick and tired of neoliberal bullshit and shaming anyone who dares to criticize the democrat PLANTATION.

Oh and obligatory FUCK REPUBLICANS as well. Stop fucking blaming me for your own fucking ineptitude. You EARN my vote you are not ENTITLED to it.

Holding me HOSTAGE is not a fucking flex dipshits.

right now it’s almost halfway through 2023, and 2024 is an election year in the US. I have started to see a growing proliferation of posts suggesting that there is no difference between the republican and democratic parties–the exact same kind of posts I saw an awful lot of before the last major election here. I am unfollowing folks who post or reblog these sort of posts, as I consider these posts to be fascist propaganda framed as leftist discourse, designed to suppress anti-fascist votes and voters. 

[madamepestilence]

I keep seeing people talking about third party candidates' ballot access as though it's this stagnant black box, comparing the ballot access of the Democratic (neoliberal fascism) and Republican (traditional and neofascism) parties to the ballot access of third party candidates, but don't exercise any critical thinking beyond that

I want to politely respond to that, rather than resorting to an ad hominem attack about someone's capability of doing research yada yada

The ballot access for candidates is often viewed from the perspective of what we call a Black Box Model, where people technically know what something does, but not how it achieved that goal - i.e. what the process is

In the case of ballot access, this is determined by having enough signatures from electors - which literally just means your state representative's for your state's Electoral College - in a state-specific petition for ballot access in that state

There are legal documents for these that you can acquire from each state's political party/Independent ballot access websites, or in the case of more intelligent candidates like Dr. Cornel West, Ph.D., they provide the documents and instructions for you on the website, which expedites the process

Here's the thing: you as a voter manufacture the ballot access problem. You can, at the minimum, pledge a signature to a party to grant them ballot access, even if you change your mind by the time of the November general presidential election

If a party receives enough signatures on the ballot access petitions, they have acquired electors, and can officially proceed towards increasing the number of pledged voters for full ballot access

For example, in the time that Dr. West has been running as a Socialist presidential candidate for the 2024 US election, he's gained access in 6 states

That may not seem very fast at all, and you may mistakenly assume that would require him to continue this process for over 4 years, but that's a fallacy of underrepresentative samples and a misunderstanding of statistics via assuming stagnation or steady growth as the only options, rather than considering the voter impact

In order to fix a third party's ballot access, you have to get off your ass and support them - ballot access isn't something just determined by your state governments without your input

YOU - THE VOTER - HAVE TO DO IT

If you yourself are unable to participate due to economic or housing situations making it difficult or impossible to commute to petitioning events, then at least take the time to help other people find them so they can help

Here's the part I will be a dick about: Biden is a fascist. If you are voting for Biden, you are voting for a fascist. Your whole, "damage control," thing isn't working anymore - the only difference is whether your rights are taken away by force or by attrition

Y'all cowards who vote for Biden are the exact type of people who would've opposed past civil rights movements, and you need to come to terms with that

You want fascism to end? Give a damn and try, and don't abruptly stop after one single election. "We'll try next election," has been used for decades.

Do it now. Do it angry. Do it scared. But fucking try.

You can help Dr. West here:

[sublimeobservationarcade]

Blame It On The Poor Immigrant

The conversation among my work crew is a fairly good reflection of the average discursive exchange happening around the nation at the moment, I reckon. Dressed as we are in high viz gear and steel capped boots ensconced in our work ute on the way to the site. Smoko ramps up with the news of the day and plenty of opinions. One of my erstwhile colleagues, a migrant from the old country, was voicing her support for those kicking up a stink in Britain. Blaming it on too many immigrants coming into the country and receiving special treatment to the detriment of those who really belong there. Blame it on the poor immigrant. Arnold Rasnick, Virginia-Pocahontas Coal Company by U.S. National Archives is licensed under CC-CC0 1.0

Revoking The Commonwealth

This is a popular theme here, there and everywhere, it seems. The cost of living and housing crises are biting a lot of working people on the bum at the moment. Blame it on the new arrivals is a perennial sentiment, especially when they have different coloured skin and look different. The thing about Britain is that for centuries the old empire was out and about taking stuff from lands abroad and enriching itself. Colonising places and imposing imperial rule upon their populations was their main game. Some of those coloured folk, their descendants anyway, have come to the United Kingdom to make it their home. Pakistani’s, West Indian’s,  African’s and plenty from other spots too have settled in England. It might be convenient to have a very short memory but there are consequences to historical actions. Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.com

Righteous Racists Blaming People Of Colour

The race riots have been fuelled by misinformation and lies put about on social media by far right groups and racist individuals with large followings. Andrew Tate, Laurence Fox, Elon Musk and the other fascists pulling the strings. The horrendous stabbing murders of 3 girls and 8 others with knife wounds in Southport were immediately and falsely attributed to a Muslim refugee. In fact, this mentally ill young guy was born in Britain but was of the wrong coloured skin for many of these patriotic Brits online. Hundreds of angry righteous blokes have gone on a rampage attacking refugee centres and mosques around the country. The police have copped it in their attempts to defend innocent people and maintain law and order. This is not really about the murders of innocent kids; it is about venting rage and frustration for its own sake. There is a surfeit of violent passion being whipped up by social media and the culture wars happening right now. We are all being screwed by our economies and big business these days. Most folk don’t know who to take it out on and are being manipulated into blaming the state. The state has been sucked dry by private corporate interests called private equity under the banner of neoliberalism. Their political allies hide behind bullshit smoke screens like immigration, LGBTQI gender issues, and the anti-woke puppet show. Cowards and bullies like to punch down upon weaker victims like refugees and trans people, they hardly ever take on the real people who are stealing their lunch. Downward envy is encouraged by the authoritarian right wing parties and the Murdoch press. Divide and conquer by getting people to fight amongst themselves whilst the wealthy dance on our heads is the order of the day. “Nursing leaders have expressed their horror at racist violence across the UK, as two Filipino nurses have been among the targets of far-right rioters. Riots first broke out in Southport, Merseyside last Tuesday (30 July) after far-right agitators began a misinformation campaign on social media falsely claiming the perpetrator of a mass knife attack on a group of children in the town the previous day was a Muslim.” - (https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/leadership-news/filipino-nurses-attacked-as-nhs-community-condemns-racist-riots-05-08-2024/) Jeff Bezos by U.S. Air Force is licensed under CC-CC0 1.0 Identity Politics Playing You For A Fool Identity politics is smoke and mirrors, it is a scam perpetuated upon those who don’t bother to look into things. Here is a tip, much of the stuff that enrages you online is BS. It is purposely designed to provoke you and get you losing your shit and not thinking straight. Demonising gay and trans people, demonising immigrants and refugees, these are not the people getting rich at your expense. Wake up sunshine! Dig a little deeper and don’t believe everything you read online. There are people like Rupert Murdoch making money out of your rage. There are people in Russia misinforming you for their own nefarious designs. There are populists wanting power who are promising you they will make it all better – they won’t. Maybe spend a little less time in the gym and try exercising your brain instead. Ask yourself the question – who benefits? This is the key to every investigation. You know if they kicked out every migrant and every gay person you would still have the same problems. It is a scam. These poor people are not taking your piece of the pie. It is the billionaires and their underlings gobbling up the pie at your expense. It is always the same old story, nothing ever changes. Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump. ©MidasWord Photo by Kelly on Pexels.com Read the full article

[goncharov-propaganda-factory]

mini unfocused rant on the new legislation the knesset just passed

written on discord in response to my friend saying something to the effect of "i want to criticize this but don't want to be antisemitic"

it's a tricky thing, seeing as many fascists or else far-right groups have irrational critique of israel on the grounds of antisemitism. the problem of course being that there's a lot of legitimate criticism, from the borderline-apartheid treatment of palestinians to the ungodly influence haredis have to something as simple as conscription (conscription is a whole other debate but suffice to say that israel is a large nuclear-armed state with american backing, they are not getting wiped out, and doesn't have nearly as much need of it as they pretend). the trouble with the right, at least to my bad opinion that is probably a cribbed subconscious frankenstein of youtube and umberto eco, is that it will arise as a critique of a system under duress, or even a system failing (as capitalism arguably was when fascism was last a relevant political entity-- and at a time when the soviet system had not yet betrayed it's fundamental instability). in this case, not only is the global context capitalism being powered by authoritarianism in the form of china and co, but at the same time failing to redistribute resources adequately as a function of neoliberal market policies. i somehow don't think this will be the end of capitalism as people have been shouting "LATE STAGE!" for over a century. but anyway these fundamental contradictions of the liberal democratic state (authoritarianism and anti-egalitarianism) are inherent traits of capitalism, but have grown to a point where they can no longer be ignored by policymakers and the population alike. in israel this compounds with the aforementioned apartheid treatment of palestinians, on top of the previous mentioned general traits of existing liberal capitalist democracies (the west). the societal dissonance caused by this is hard to properly quantify, but it undoubtedly contributes to the weaponized nostalgia and conservatism embraced by far-right groups.

let me know if you want me to continue this or write more things like it peeps! discussion is welcome

[evilsoup]

Well yeah, "gender ideology" is a term invented by fascists and other elements of the far right to link together feminism and gay/trans rights into a package which they can present as a plot by (((neoliberal elites))) to undermine the west

[yuri-alexseygaybitch]

Homonationalism in the context of Ukraine is kinda unique because it’s something that hasn’t been embraced by the Ukrainian state as an official policy cause they’re, y’know, homophobic. It’s mostly a discourse and affect being promulgated in the West by corporate media and blue checkmark hacks like Maksym Eristavi to trick credulous libs and the pacified neoliberal queer into supporting hardcore blood and soil ultranationalism and support for more weapons and money being sent to literal fascist insurgents abroad. Don’t be fooled by it though; from top to bottom to fucking sideways this is not our fight.