Bluegrass_Buddhist [none/use name]
Who are the settlers in Palestine? The poor and dispossessed from Israel and from around the world.
Is this really the case though? I know there are some Israeli Haredi groups (with members living below the poverty line) that sponsor settlers, but I’ve also known some perfectly comfortable Americans that move out near Bethlehem.
Some of the settlements have pretty comfortable conditions even by U.S. standards, and even as nearby Palestinian neighborhoods still have to ration daily water.
The anarchist-to-ML pipeline is real, and as someone who went through it, I’ll say that anti-structure Reaction is also real. A lot of anarchists (at least in my experience) are young and full of piss and vinegar and distrustful of any kind of hierarchy that could constrain their individual actions. It’s a form of liberalism that many outgrow and many don’t.
Then there’s the fact that in the U.S. at least, anarchism is far more tolerated by the state than is any kind of organized ML movement. Other comments have already addressed this, but it bears repeating: when you spend your whole life immersed in anti-communist propaganada, it’s easy to take at face value that ML governments / orgs are “just as bad” as the capitalists.
I also get weirded out by the opposite reaction, where stories of getting in brawls with meth heads and dealing with family members being busted for drug possession are treated with a strange fascination.
I’ve only seen this reaction a few times, mostly vicariously. Like one time me and a couple friends were laughing about the times when dates had turned into drug deals, and the then-partner of one my friends insisted we tell them “more crazy stories.” Flattering, in a way, but also :what-the-hell:
This 10-year-old girl already owns 2 companies is a tax patsy for her rich parents and could retire become a run-of-the-mill failchild at 15 as a multimillionaire
