In my opinion it’s not a good idea to play the liberals’ game of supporting only the good rebels (the ones that Western media tells Westerners to like) because it is disingenuous and idealistic from the get go. Liberals picking sides like sports team while sitting in their colonial ivory tower hinges on a complete disregard for history and colonial realities. It would be super cool if the largest armed organization in Palestine was leftist and secular but Hamas is the preponderant organisation for a reason. Israel has specifically worked to make Islamic fundamentalists the face of Palestinian resistance because they are easier to deligitimise. This is in line with the wider history of colonial powers robbing sovreignty from the Arab world.
Also, if you look at history, those who liberals considers “good rebels” were usually either reactionaries that rebelled against the liberation, got killed off or at best turned their country from colonial to neocolonial. Ever relevant example is Vendee, which was rebellion explicitly aimed against liberals, but they praise it anyway since it was reactionary even when the bar was much higher.
I absolutely agree! I was trying to coyly bring it around to supporting Hamas (like, if I support the “good rebels” and they directly support Hamas, then I do too, at least for now).
I was thinking that could cut off the usual talking points, but I could probably work on it.
I think you just need to elaborate that if they have critical support for Hamas that you do too, or something like that to explain where you’re going with it
I support the fighters in the PFLP, the secular communists.
They’re fighting alongside Hamas, though.
In my opinion it’s not a good idea to play the liberals’ game of supporting only the good rebels (the ones that Western media tells Westerners to like) because it is disingenuous and idealistic from the get go. Liberals picking sides like sports team while sitting in their colonial ivory tower hinges on a complete disregard for history and colonial realities. It would be super cool if the largest armed organization in Palestine was leftist and secular but Hamas is the preponderant organisation for a reason. Israel has specifically worked to make Islamic fundamentalists the face of Palestinian resistance because they are easier to deligitimise. This is in line with the wider history of colonial powers robbing sovreignty from the Arab world.
Also, if you look at history, those who liberals considers “good rebels” were usually either reactionaries that rebelled against the liberation, got killed off or at best turned their country from colonial to neocolonial. Ever relevant example is Vendee, which was rebellion explicitly aimed against liberals, but they praise it anyway since it was reactionary even when the bar was much higher.
I absolutely agree! I was trying to coyly bring it around to supporting Hamas (like, if I support the “good rebels” and they directly support Hamas, then I do too, at least for now).
I was thinking that could cut off the usual talking points, but I could probably work on it.
I think you just need to elaborate that if they have critical support for Hamas that you do too, or something like that to explain where you’re going with it
That makes sense, thank you!