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SweetLava [he/him] @hexbear.net

Perception of the American left after noticing its settler-colonial nature.

This implies that the US never stopped committing genocide, and now even the most far-left American looks identical to the average Israeli leftist. At least in my view. But this view seems consistent with many others studying the same exact problem.

That begs the question, really: if we saw mass unionization and people going on strike in Israel, or if we saw a left-wing opposition win against Netanyahu and the far-right, or if a bunch of Israelis starting showing support for people in Africa... would we be cheering them on and getting excited? Does it really matter what they read, whether that be Lenin, Marx, Engels, etc., if many of their "Marxist" forefathers read the same work while gunning down Palestinians in 1947, or stealing their homes in 1948?

Better yet, if you were at a concert and your friends fell victim to an "attack" by some natives, would you have more sympathy for your friends, or for the people that attacked them? Regardless of whether or not it served some broader strategy?

And when you consider the many indigenous people who go on to serve in the US military, or the vocal minority that align with the current (and past) administration(s) of the US, would you use that as an excuse in the same manner Israelis point to Ethiopian, Arab and Muslim, Druze, etc. participants in Israeli society and/or military operation to the same extent?

Should we just ask right-wing Navajos what they think, and throw our hands in the air saying "see, indigenous people don't care, it's not a real genocide, our Communists are doing just fine"? Or should we ask Jay-Z about it, or maybe some old-school Chicano nationalists who want their own Aztlan?

I feel like most of the other excuses just remind me of the same Israeli (and former French Algerian) talking points, about how long the settlers lived there and how they have no where else to go, or statements/claims that anyone who doesn't like it should just go to Gaza, go to another country, die, "just don't vote"/"vote for the lesser evil"/"fix the system from within"/"settlers should just get along with the indigenous (and vice versa)"/"it's not a real nation and will never be"/"there's too many settlers"/"it's just impossible or unrealistic"/"liberation will never happen"/"why can't we all just work together"/"share the land"/"the natives aren't ready for independence"/"their resistance isn't good enough"/"they just want to get rid of (or kill) all the settlers", or they point to the well-assimilated non-white/non-french/non-jewish population who speak positively of and enjoy/support the governing colonial entity, etc etc etc.

Let's be real here. Does anyone actually believe a left-wing American organization is possible? Or should we look at Israel's Labor Zionism, or Rhodesia's Labor Party.

Better yet, should we be looking at the "Marxist" now running Sri Lanka, or to the Communist Party of Israel (Maki) and try to use them as legitimate examples?

10 comments

  • America is the belly of the beast. No communist organizing in the United States is going to be remotely possible or productive until that beast consumes itself. The balkanization of the United States is basically a prerequisite to any actual revolution there, otherwise you'll just get Bernie-esque folks who are fine with worldwide oppression so long as the treats keep flowing. Any serious reckoning of America's past (and present) of slavery and genocide requires the widespread collapse of the American imperial project and the American imaginary.

    • This is probably correct. As an American who has seen the scope / political window shift further and further right - I’m told by therapists and others to “journal” my issues.

      I’m mindful of my purchases(hand made local stuff), minimize my impacts, raise awareness when and where I can - but people look at me like I have two heads.

      Work in a non-profit health oriented entity here - and objected to implementing AI for note convenience - asking if bettering the health of our patients is synchronous with AIs energy demands. And was looked at like I had two heads. Competition is more important. Let’s make our note taking more convenient - save us 5 minutes with AI. But cost a kid 40 years from now a glass of water. That’s great.

      Not enough folks like me to organize - so I just “journal”. With social media engineering minds - there is no cause that can be created and succeed to amass the changes needed. Trumpian politics may be the breaking point. But honestly not sure it will be.

      The people you speak of left of the Bernie esque folks - do exist in America - they just tend to kill themselves, leave, or use drugs / something to escape this reality, most of my core group I grew up with and shared ideas with ODed or ended it. There are a couple active communes as well I am aware of trying to break off the grid but often get shut down with legal interference.

      There is a reason why, amongst wealthy countries, America has the highest suicide rate. The system rewards the worst of us, and mulches our best to protect our fucked up roots.

  • Better yet, if you were at a concert and your friends fell victim to an "attack" by some natives, would you have more sympathy for your friends, or for the people that attacked them? Regardless of whether or not it served some broader strategy?

    Of course I would have sympathy for my friends, they're my friends... Anybody who says otherwise is unhinged or lying. This would be true regardless of who attacked them.

  • This is only true insofar as the "American Left" is a part of the ruling coalition in the country and benefits from its imperialism (which it has, on and off, historically).

    But according to Marxist-Leninist thought, as the contradictions inherent in Capitalism sharpen, the tools and oppression of Imperialism will be turned inwards. Many groups within America - especially Blacks - are already subject to much of the same oppression as our neocolonial subjects overseas.

    And, of course, this is why social democracy is the moderate wing of Fascism - it exists to maintain and regulate Imperialism by giving the bare minimum concessions to a favored community.

  • I'm gonna defer judgment on this to people like the Chunka Luta Network.

    And in the meantime, I'm going to be living with an income closer to the global average than the imperial core average, collecting accomplices and land, and piecing together oases of defection from the economy.

10 comments