Capitalists can just be like “dude look at this NPR article socialism is bad”
Meanwhile I have to have an extensive understanding of philosophy, history, science, economics and politics in order to justify my worldview.
Sometimes I forget that people don’t have comprehensive world views, and accidentally say something’s CIA propaganda, then have to go through that whole process of explaining how the CIA having fronts and interfering in global affairs isn’t a conspiracy, it’s just reality, and that finding sources about it isn’t the same as finding sources for an 8th grade book report, because it’s the goddamn CIA! Shits exhausting and sucks balls, I just want to be dumb I know I’m right bitch, get off my dick
Vijay Prashad wrote a history of the 54 coup in Guatemala using online sources from the CIA and I know people who would still deny US involvement. He talks about it during his appearance on Guerilla History with Bhret from Rev Left.
I was getting a tattoo stylised in the art style of old soviet propaganda posters and had to listen one of the artists tell me how Stalin killed a bajillion gazillion people, communism = when gubment do thing, and just the same old shit, man. I had time because I couldn’t go anywhere so I started arguing with them. Same old talking points I’ve heard a hundred times and I’ve read enough to be able to thoroughly respond to any of these but it just doesn’t matter. Like, why even bother knowing anything lol. These people don’t care.
It’s like cool, I’ve read idk how many fucking books and consumed so much information on this, spent fucking years formulating a coherent world view, and they just come in with “nuh uh communism no food” and that’s just it. Goddamn it’s tiring.
I remain unconvinced that most people change their minds through anything like this, for good reason too. They’re only going to be willing to have an internal change of heart when something about their own personal lived experiences contradicts the worldview imbued within them. They can’t simply be told they’re incorrect. They have to experience being incorrect. They have to see their worldview disintegrate from external pressure, as in, becoming a social pariah, experiencing poverty, anything that shows them that standard conventional “western” liberal values are illusory.
After experiencing something like that, then they can start piecing the dots together, because you can offer a more focused lens with a better explanation. That’s how I’ve made people into leftists, focus on what they’ve already felt. Focus on the alienation that’s already there.
I’m willing to bet 95% of you folk did it this way. You felt a greater than average amount of alienation from general society (maybe you had social anxiety, you directly experienced racism, maybe you’re trans, maybe you went through devastating poverty, maybe all of the above). Then after a period of disorientation, something introduced you or reminded you of leftist frameworks, then it all tumbled into place
You don’t need to be.
I’ve been trying to popularise this amongst the left (actual left not synthetic left ie. those that demand as the lowest bar for “being left” the absolute and complete destruction of Western imperialism and Western capitalism. Not the synthetic left labour aristocrats that try to “both sides” shit when it comes to Russia/China/Iran/INSERT_WESTS_ENEMY_IT_WANTS_BALKANISE_AND_DESTORY_FOR_NEW_MARKETS)
Is that we should all be learning from conservatives and particularly Roger Stone
Who’s philosophy is Never defend, Attack, Attack, Attack
Some cuckold brings up the wildly discredited black book of communism “100 million dead under gommies” bring up the fact that British capitalism is responsible for 1.8 billion indian deaths alone so surely 100 million dead from every communist country in the 20th century is a million times better than 1 capitalist nation? If they change tact point out under the metrics of that defined “100 million dead” India achieves that every 20 years
Another cuckold brings up Xinjiang (a recent topic) point out that the US has starved 27 million Yeminis in a completely manmade famine which is over double the population of Xinjiang so why don’t they shut their fucking mouth and focus on a problem they can at least pressure their government about.
They bring up the falsified “slaves picking cotton in Xinjiang” (an obviously emotionally charged call to USsians with US particular history) point out how come they have no problem with slave children farming chocolate in the Ivory Coast , the fact that Burmese slaves are pumped full of amphetamines and tied to the prows of boats and pulled apart if they disobey orders or how come they have no problem with the child slaves of the Congo mining coltan for their mobile phones and laptops?
Bring up the fact that only 2 years the US army was bombing the Uyghurs in the East Turkestan Islamic Movement which the US designated as terrorists up until this year
You can adjust your honesty, disingenuous, vitriol and disgust at liberals and conservatives with depending on how dishonest and disingenuous they’re being but leftists should understand that even the “well meaning liberals” that at least pretend to be based in reality are in fact disingenuous, disgusting gaslighting pieces of shit and you should have no moral qualm about being as disingenuous, flexible with reality or gaslighting in return.
In for a penny out for a pound
These lib and conservative disgusting pieces of shit that now pretend to care about muslim lives in Xinjiang (definitely the human rights they care about and not the geopolitical rivalry opening up between West and China) remind them that they said nothing whilst the US sanctioned Iraq to the point half a million children died in Iraq and the US secretary of state went on TV to tell people “it was worth it” and that they have literally murdered millions of muslims since they began funding the head chopping jihadis in the 80s where Osama Bin Laden built up his networks in the Muhajadeen
You don’t owe these people anything and you should start viewing how you interact with them as a game for your entertainment
The term “whataboutism” was literally invented by the US to deflect from the very real human rights abuses and atrocities the US commits worldwide both at home and abroad
In particular when the Soviets presented the document We Charge Genocide to the United Nations written by black Americans
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Charge_Genocide
Giving it free reign to commit atrocities on a global scale, apartheid at home then whine about “whataboutism” anytime someone brings up their flagrant and numerous human rights abuses
The fact you would use “whataboutism” in a sentence unironically suggests youre still a shitlib
Edit: My bad :heart-sickle:
