#the sweeping of camps - the tear gassing of protestors - the inhumane conditions at the border - the bombs being sent to kill Palestinians. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

oncewild · 7 months ago

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my uncle c was one of the few given conscientious objector status after being drafted during the Viet Nam War, and I can tell you people were not good to him for doing it "the right way" either

because there is no right way to oppose the State in the eyes of people who choose to align themselves with it.

it sounds like a joke but literally so many of you would've been supportive of the vietnam invasion by america and would've accused draft dodgers and draft card burners of being divisive

#that second part though !!#re: the self-centered compassion - this is clearly seen in the different response to ukraine vs. palestine vs. the congo vs. ethiopia etc.#& even closer to home it's deeply connected to how to people see talk about and engage politically about the unhoused & migrants #how some addiction is acceptable and even celebrated while others are unforgivable and deserve punishment #how people think they deserve a vacation in hawai'i when it's a colonized nation whose people are begging you not to come #in general how the must vulnerable members of our society: children & unhoused & elderly & disabled people are not centred in our politics #how people talk about people incarcerated during and after incarceration #etc&etc&etc&#& in particular amongst LGBTQ+ people the reality is that we are disproportionately represented in many of those groups yet #there is a lack of solidarity in those struggles for liberation #so many people would rather align themselves with power because they don't truly believe that the State could turn its force on them next #the sweeping of camps - the tear gassing of protestors - the inhumane conditions at the border - the bombs being sent to kill Palestinians.#they don't believe that could happen to them and so it's fine. deep down they have the same reactionary beliefs as the conservatives do tha #the treatment is somehow deserved.#we should want liberation (and safety and life) for others even if we didn't benefit #but it's so fucking short sighted not to move with the understanding that all of our liberation is tied up together.#I will say I do not think it's an exclusively american thing but that it is perhaps most clear because of state power and how it is wielded #I add that caveat only because this is part of american exceptionalism too #all States are bad States

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