Great writing as usual. I agree with 99.9% of it, but I rise to defend Joe Biden. Israel has been a US ally for a long time. They are an ally because they are the strongest power in the region and will return our phone calls. Iran won't return our phone calls, so we're stuck with the Israelis. Unfortunately, Israel is run by a right-wing criminal who will do anything to avoid prison. That includes forming a government with fascists who think war crimes are a useful tool. Bibi may also be a fascist, but it doesn't really matter, he's the proprietor of a Nazi bar.
After the attack on October 7, Biden made a very public showing of support for Israel and Netanyahu. This was the equivalent of giving your buddy a bear hug to keep them from jumping into a fight that they will lose. It didn't work, but it was worth a try. (Credit to Beau of the Fifth Column for that analogy.) Instead, Israel went forward with the massive, military response that Hamas wanted.
In the first month, Biden, Blinken, and others made a lot of trips to the Middle East, but didn't say much publicly. They did manage to negotiate a 6 day cease fire and hostage exchange, which is not nothing. Since the fighting resumed Biden, Blinken, and Austin have become more public with their criticism of Israel. I'm sure what they are saying publicly now was what hey said privately from the beginning. That probably means that Netanyahu has quit listening completely.
Israel is committing war crimes, and nothing the US could do diplomatically was going to stop that, but Biden tried. A public rupture with Israel would not have stopped Israel, and may have eliminated any reason for restraint by the war crime caucus in the Israeli government. It certainly would have energized Israels fascist allies in the US House. Maybe Biden could have done better, but I don't see him as guilty of aiding and abetting the war crimes that Israel is committing.
Spot on... as usual. Israel has every right to exist, But I remain unconvinced that this requires killing non-combatants, particularly women and children. They can't ALL be Hamas terrorists. Rep. Elise Stefanik represents the area in NY across from Lake Champlain so is often in our news. Her views and comments seem to get nuttier and nuttier over the years.
So true, mate, thanks for this. As a queer person it’s so tempting to support the suppression of speech because we’re tired of it and have a general sense of unease every time we leave our homes.
But it’s more dangerous to suppress opinions and ideas. I’d rather live with anxiety than a false sense of safety because we muzzled the ugliness of the citizenry. And although this started before Biden, the suppression of free speech and censorship going on under this administration has caused me to leave the Democratic Party.
This is a major reason I support RFK Jr. - he’s the only one talking about it in a substantive way. I’ve been banned from subreddits (TheMajorityReport and Liberalgunowners) for supporting Bobby. In the latter, I never even mentioned Bobby - just mentioned the failure of the DNC and a mod dug around my profile and instabanned me, citing my support for him. (I reported the mod). In the former, merely said I was voting for him. Wasn’t even evangelizing.
When this happens, the only forums for free speech then become the ugliest corners of the web. Very problematic. College campuses should be absolute hotbeds of dangerous ideas where they can survive (or not survive) the crucible of open discussion.
Sorry, if I could edit this comment I’d sidebar the RFK bit - didn’t mean to hijack the thread. Just included because, as a supporter of his, I’ve witnessed the most comprehensive suppression I’ve ever seen.
Excellent analysis, powerful writing, and the central thesis feels both correct and important to me. Thank you.
It seems unfair to me to describe unions as "the only even remotely left-wing force doing anything significant for anyone right now." In particular, I'm thinking about organizing being done in and by communities of color (for an example: https://www.freedomdreamspodcast.com/episodes/ep-5-how-can-we-heal-and-reimagine-safe-communities) and wondering if you don't see that work or if you'd characterize it differently?
Also, one little pet peeve of mine is that Central America is not part of South America. In the English-language schema, it's part of North America.
"Every weapon the left hands the system to attack their ideological enemies will eventually be used against the left." - spot on.
Great writing as usual. I agree with 99.9% of it, but I rise to defend Joe Biden. Israel has been a US ally for a long time. They are an ally because they are the strongest power in the region and will return our phone calls. Iran won't return our phone calls, so we're stuck with the Israelis. Unfortunately, Israel is run by a right-wing criminal who will do anything to avoid prison. That includes forming a government with fascists who think war crimes are a useful tool. Bibi may also be a fascist, but it doesn't really matter, he's the proprietor of a Nazi bar.
After the attack on October 7, Biden made a very public showing of support for Israel and Netanyahu. This was the equivalent of giving your buddy a bear hug to keep them from jumping into a fight that they will lose. It didn't work, but it was worth a try. (Credit to Beau of the Fifth Column for that analogy.) Instead, Israel went forward with the massive, military response that Hamas wanted.
In the first month, Biden, Blinken, and others made a lot of trips to the Middle East, but didn't say much publicly. They did manage to negotiate a 6 day cease fire and hostage exchange, which is not nothing. Since the fighting resumed Biden, Blinken, and Austin have become more public with their criticism of Israel. I'm sure what they are saying publicly now was what hey said privately from the beginning. That probably means that Netanyahu has quit listening completely.
Israel is committing war crimes, and nothing the US could do diplomatically was going to stop that, but Biden tried. A public rupture with Israel would not have stopped Israel, and may have eliminated any reason for restraint by the war crime caucus in the Israeli government. It certainly would have energized Israels fascist allies in the US House. Maybe Biden could have done better, but I don't see him as guilty of aiding and abetting the war crimes that Israel is committing.
Spot on... as usual. Israel has every right to exist, But I remain unconvinced that this requires killing non-combatants, particularly women and children. They can't ALL be Hamas terrorists. Rep. Elise Stefanik represents the area in NY across from Lake Champlain so is often in our news. Her views and comments seem to get nuttier and nuttier over the years.
So true, mate, thanks for this. As a queer person it’s so tempting to support the suppression of speech because we’re tired of it and have a general sense of unease every time we leave our homes.
But it’s more dangerous to suppress opinions and ideas. I’d rather live with anxiety than a false sense of safety because we muzzled the ugliness of the citizenry. And although this started before Biden, the suppression of free speech and censorship going on under this administration has caused me to leave the Democratic Party.
This is a major reason I support RFK Jr. - he’s the only one talking about it in a substantive way. I’ve been banned from subreddits (TheMajorityReport and Liberalgunowners) for supporting Bobby. In the latter, I never even mentioned Bobby - just mentioned the failure of the DNC and a mod dug around my profile and instabanned me, citing my support for him. (I reported the mod). In the former, merely said I was voting for him. Wasn’t even evangelizing.
When this happens, the only forums for free speech then become the ugliest corners of the web. Very problematic. College campuses should be absolute hotbeds of dangerous ideas where they can survive (or not survive) the crucible of open discussion.
Sorry, if I could edit this comment I’d sidebar the RFK bit - didn’t mean to hijack the thread. Just included because, as a supporter of his, I’ve witnessed the most comprehensive suppression I’ve ever seen.
Well said. And very timely, what with Substack management announcing they won't boot the jackboots.
Excellent analysis, powerful writing, and the central thesis feels both correct and important to me. Thank you.
It seems unfair to me to describe unions as "the only even remotely left-wing force doing anything significant for anyone right now." In particular, I'm thinking about organizing being done in and by communities of color (for an example: https://www.freedomdreamspodcast.com/episodes/ep-5-how-can-we-heal-and-reimagine-safe-communities) and wondering if you don't see that work or if you'd characterize it differently?
Also, one little pet peeve of mine is that Central America is not part of South America. In the English-language schema, it's part of North America.