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#leftists

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Ember

This is an analysis about Palestinian national liberation groups, and how anarchists should engage with or support these groups--but I think it applies very strongly to all people who support Palestine.

It is well researched, and it very strongly argues for why it is so important that we don't listen to colonial narratives about Palestinian liberation groups being "terrorist organisations" (the analysis brings it up, though it doesn't focus on this too much; there is a longstanding history of the language of terrorism being use as an imperialist/colonial tool). It argues for why it is so vital that those in the west who support Palestine recognize Hamas as an anti-colonial and national liberation movement. It also explores important context about the October 7th attack such as its motives, its place in the wider Palestinian struggle, and its failures openly--painting a much more complete picture than what I think many western leftists often hold.

As I read through it myself, I found a number of misconceptions that I held about Hamas were challenged. Although I believed that Hamas should be considered a part of the global left as a resistance group against colonialism, I was under the impression for some time that their internal politics had a number of elements of religious fundamentalism and conservatism. The media and even many leftist groups greatly overestimate those aspects though, and I realised that I had overlooked an area in which I was uncritically following colonial narratives about national resistance groups. As someone who is generally against religion, there are some conclusions I have which differ from those in this analysis--but it still is very important to recognize that Islam has had an important position in Palestinian national struggle and identity, which Israel has persecuted and murdered them for--and that not recognizing this importance is a failure to acknowledge many aspects of the genocide and Palestinian resistance to it.

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Hamas, anarchists in the West and Palestine solidarity: An analysis

libcom.org/article/hamas-anarc
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libcom.orgHamas, anarchists in the West and Palestine solidarity: An analysisIn the West, it is practically impossible to speak publicly about Hamas in any way that isn't an outright and total condemnation. Behind such remarkable limitation of the spectrum of public debate lies the idea that Hamas represents an "evil" so deep that it lacks any complexity. In parliaments, universities and newspapers, Hamas is never discussed, simply because -- it is assumed -- there is nothing to discuss. The idea that Hamas is simply a "terrorist" group that wants nothing but death and destruction has become public and common knowledge among the social and political elites, a fact so well-established that it doesn't even need to be argued for.  Western radical leftists have unfortunately not been immune from this logic of misrepresentation and thought censorship. Whether through internalization of state propaganda, anti-arab racism and islamophobia, or due to ideological dogmatism, before and after October 7th many leftists have dismissed Hamas with little-to-no argumentation. Hamas gets brushed off as "reactionary" and "anti-semitic", and is characterized as an obstacle in the way of Palestinian liberation. This dismissal is often accompanied by baseless statements repeated over and over again, such as the notion that Hamas has no real support among Palestinians, or that the group was created and funded by Israel to undermine the Palestinian struggle, or again that Hamas has no regard for Palestinian lives and Palestinian liberation, and all it wanted to achieve with its October 7th attack was to provoke Israel into killing as many Palestinian civilians as possible. In some cases, leftists will even go further and completely mirror the most inane islamophobic tropes and talking points of state propaganda. One such example is represented by the article "Capitalism's Death World", published on "Internationalist Perspective" last October. The article begins by equating Hamas to Al-Qaeda, stating that "Both [...] are guided by an Islamist ideology, based on myths of a glorious past and an even better future in heaven".  It continues, stating that Hamas has "utter contempt for human life, including sometimes their own. They are a clear expression of the death culture that capitalism in this epoch produces."  Again, these ready-made phrases are given as "established facts" that everyone accepts, and hence they do not need to be supported with arguments. The fact that they belong to the collective imagination of the worst islamophobic right, and that they are repeated almost word-by-word by the supporters of Israeli colonial violence should alarm us all. This piece has two aims. The first aim is to present some elements to help leftists in the West better understand Hamas. At this point, a disclaimer is in order: I have no scholarly expertise on Hamas. My limited knowledge comes from the literature on the movement that I have been reading, publicly available primary sources (official statements and interviews) and conversations with Palestinian and Arab comrades. The elements I will present here are by no means an exhaustive account of the history, politics and philosophy of the movement. They are just meant to highlight some important aspects which are often ignored. The conclusion that I hope will come out from this part of the article is clear: Hamas is a movement of national liberation. Its stated aims are to fight the settler-colonial project that is Zionism and to achieve national self-determination for Palestinians. Hamas is a movement-party; it uses a variety of methods -- from mass mobilization, to participation in liberal democracy, to armed struggle --  to achieve its goals. Its political leadership has demonstrated to be both pragmatic and resolute. As every national liberation movement in history, Hamas is a complex phenomenon with no shortage of oppressive tendencies and contradictions.  The reader will notice that in the article I don't reference many important topics. For instance, this article says almost nothing about Hamas's role in reproducing patriarchal oppression in Palestine, or Hamas's relations with repressive and authoritarian regional actors, such as the Iranian regime. These are terribly important topics, but they are secondary for the purpose of this piece. I am not trying to give good and bad marks to Hamas, whatever that might mean. What I am trying to do is much more basic: to show that Hamas's way of functioning and operating, its tactics and strategies, are those that we would find in any other national liberation movement. Therefore leftists should understand it and address it as such. Hamas does not warrant the exceptionalism, the over-simplification and the misconstruction with which it is often approached. This brings me to the second aim of this article, which is to sketch a response for the question: What does this mean for anarchists / libertarian communists in the West? Clearly, none of us are likely to ever need to answer the question of how to materially respond to Hamas in our own geographies. This is a question that our Palestinian comrades have to navigate [1]. However, a rigorous understanding of Hamas is extremely important for us, I argue, for the following reasons: 1. to move us forward in our work of solidarity with the Palestinian struggle; 2. to help us better understand national liberation struggles, particularly those fought against settler-colonial projects, and our role in (solidarity with) them; 3. To prepare ourselves, theoretically and practically, for a present-future in which national and religious lines will become even more central to the struggle between states and their populations. Some quick notes and definitions before starting. In the text I frequently use the expression "political pragmatism/dynamism": what I mean by this is the ability of an organization to adapt to difficult circumnstances and focus on the best path to achieve its objectives. Throughout the text I use the terms "libertarian communist" and "anarchist" interchangeably: who I mean to address with these terms are essentially anarchist-communist revolutionaries that are favourable to organizations. In the context of Palestine, I also use the terms "national" and "(anti-)colonial" somewhat loosely, essentially equating "national liberation struggle" and "anti-colonial struggle", or "national oppression" and "colonial oppression". Given that the Palestinian national oppression is colonial in character, I don't see this equivalence as problematic for the purpose of this article. All emphases in the quotes were added by me.
#Palestine#Gaza#FreePalestine
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Turtle_Island_Wobbly

OK. It is time to debunk some oft-repeated #misinformation about #Socialism / #Marxism / #Communism. A common talking point you will hear from people with #rightwing #political views is that the #Nazis were not on the right; they were actually #leftists. To "prove" this claim, they will point out that the word " #Socialist " was part of the official name for the #NaziParty. The full name for the Party was the "National SOCIALIST German Workers' Party". Boom! Argument over! Right? Wrong. The claim that the Nazis were not on the #politicalright—that they were really on the #politicalleft—is a #RevisionistHistory" LIE. ⬇️

The inclusion of the term "Socialist" was actually a very #cynical ploy, meant to deceive #Germans into supporting the Party. You see, in the early 1900s, Socialism was skyrocketing in popularity with people around the world belonging to the #Proletariat (more commonly referred to as the #workingclass). Back then, the word "Socialism" did not have all the negative connotation it has now. To the average worker, "Socialism" was regarded warmly and was thought to be a pro-worker ideology (which it absolutely is, regardless of all the attempts to smear it). The Nazi Party very intentionally appropriated the term in an attempt to win the hearts and minds of working class Germans who maybe had not read the Marxist #literature but, through #CulturalOsmosis, had a vague notion that Socialism was good.

In reality, the Nazis were staunchly opposed to Socialism and its concept of working folks of all races, in all countries united in #solidarity with each other. REMEMBER, the Nazis were horrifically #racist! They wanted to conquer the world and rule over any "nonGermans" as #oppressors. This #racism and aspiration to conquer the world were in direct opposition with the principles of Marxism.

Quoted from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum:

"In September 1919, Hitler attended a meeting of one of these groups in Munich, the German Workers' Party. This small political organization sought to convert German workers away from Marxist Socialism. At the meeting, Hitler's public speaking skills attracted notice. He was recruited to a leading role.

In 1920, Hitler changed the Party's name to the National Socialist German Workers' Party. "National Socialism" was a racist and antisemitic political theory. It had been developed in Hitler's native Austria as the antithesis of Marxist Socialism and Communism. Marxists, for example, advocated for the global solidarity of the world's workers. They called for the abolition of nation states. National Socialists, however, sought to unify members of the German Volk in complete obedience to the state. They called for a strong state to lead the "master race" in the "racial struggle" against "inferior races," especially the Jews."

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-nazi-party-1

encyclopedia.ushmm.orgThe Nazi PartyThe National Socialist German Worker’s Party, also known as the Nazi Party, was the far-right racist and antisemitic political party led by Adolf Hitler.
#politicalrightthat#politicalleftis
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David Fleetwood - RG Admin

Liberals want it both ways. They want to claim #leftists cost them the election while also claiming the country is not left leaning and thus they need to ignore leftist policies if they want to win elections.

You can't have it both ways. Either the left is a significant bloc and you need to integrate their views with your party platform, or you ignore them and can't blame them for your electoral losses.

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David Fleetwood - RG Admin

White men and women in the USA elected #Trump, full stop. If you feel the need to blame #leftists & PoC for not coming out to vote you are wildly misguided. Claiming the left needs to compromise with a center-right party to block Trump, that they are to blame for the actions of white people, and that Arab-Ameicans are supposed to support a party that was helping genocide their brothers and sisters abroad is peak white liberal.

retrogaming.social/@TonyStark@

Progressive CafeTony Stark (@TonyStark@progressivecafe.social)The day anti-Trump Americans understand how to build coalitions and become a giant tent in opposition against Trumpism is the day we can start being happy again and that includes having some people in your tent you’re 90/10, 80/20, 70/30, and maybe even 60/40 in idealogical agreement with or some others who annoy you in one form or another.
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Xamanismo Coletivo

"There is perhaps no organization with a better reputation among #leftists around the world than the #MST. Its admirers will tell you that the group has managed accomplishments that elude #progressive movements elsewhere: It maintains a radical approach, pushing for revolution in the long term while providing homes and incomes for working-class #Brazilians in the short; it has adapted to shifting conditions without suffering major rifts; and it fought to get Luiz Inácio #Lula da Silva, Brazil’s once and current president, out of prison in 2019 and back into power, all while keeping its independence from the ruling #WorkersParty."
#VincentBevins
thenation.com/article/world/br

The Nation · The Power and Symbolism of Brazil’s Landless Workers’ MovementAfter mobilizing to defend democracy and meet people’s immediate needs, the radical Marxist organization emerged from the Bolsonaro regime stronger than ever.
Replied in thread
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harryprayiv

@npr @science-npr leave it to NPR to rest squarely on the side of #neoliberalism in the “culture war”.

They loudly report injustices in Red states (understandably so) but remain NOTABLY quiet about runaway #realestate #inflation #medicaldebt that kills 70,000/year, funding actual #genocide , & other crimes when they are perpetrated by their corrupt #Democrats.

This is why no one trusts pandering #limousineliberals .

~2 ACTUAL #leftists have seats in #congress.

Replied in thread
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Ben Royce 🇺🇦

@CStamp @RobotDiver @RegGuy

a lot of the #toxicIdealism you see on #mastodon in terms of "they're not perfect, so don't #vote" is the same as a russian #troll putting an american flag on their #twitter handle and goosing #kremlin narratives targeting #maga

fake #leftists on the #fediverse with lazy easy #left bonafides to do their #psyop

they do it, because it unfortunately works

toxic idealism is a real problem with #leftist rhetoric

they suppress the left vote and we get #trump

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Sarah IO

i'm always extra-incensed by the extreme disconnect my entire queer theories or sexuality studies classes operate from around covid! we can talk about hiv/aids, informed consent, eugenics, etc all the while everyone in the room is maskless & there is always at least one coughing someone was talking about feeling safe in queer spaces w/their multiple marginalized identities, which is very real! but even still it's ironically not inclusive to further marginalized folks. so vexed by the incessant disconnect so i had to share this:

folks really gotta start questioning how radical they really are because not being covid cautious during this mass disabling event is at odds with being inclusive, accessible, intentional, community oriented, creating safe space, practicing consent, siding with the marginalized.

#covid#leftist#leftists
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Raptor

This dude can punch Nazis, provide first aid at protests, and teach others those skills. He's unhoused and living out of a broken car (though hopefully it's been fixed since his February update). His gofundme stalled out at 50%, or really 25% of his 20k debt. Please boost!

gofundme.com/f/Nomad-Grab-Bag

@mutualaid
#LA #LosAngeles #OrangeCounty #SouthernCalifornia #Cali #CA #MutualAid #MutualAidRequest #GoFundMe #Fundraising #Fundraiser #Begpost #CrowdFund #Homeless #Unhoused #Antifa #Antifascist #Antifascists #Antifascism #Leftist #Leftists #PunchNazis

gofundme.comDonate to Help Ryan fix his car\home, organized by Tough Cookie“Ryan is a beloved and invaluable member of our community, and we want to support him in any w… Tough Cookie needs your support for Help Ryan fix his car\home
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Nathaniel Gregory

Follow up...

"Here's something that really irritates me.

#Democratic voters & partisan shills (ie. fake CGI imaginary #leftists such as #SamSeder, Kyle cucklinski, thereverse-Midas Touch Network ect.) will deliver scathing condemnations of the #republicans, they'll go from "were living in the end of history" to "were living in the end of times" ...

mastodon.social/@Faithslayer20

MastodonNathaniel Gregory (@Faithslayer202@mastodon.social)Follow up... "When #America invades & destroys #Iraq, #Syria, & #Afghanistan, (& basically most-all of the rest of the world) nobody bats an eye. Suddenly, #Trump threatens to #tariff / annex #Canada, making it the 51st state & everyone loses their mind. I guess it only counts as illegitimate adventurist conquest when it's done to white westerners right? https://mastodon.social/@Faithslayer202/113980352278854487 #Politics #Democrats #Republicans #Liberals #Conservatives #Dems #DonaldTrump #JDVance #JoeBiden #Biden #Democracy
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