podcast friday

[sabotabby]

 There was a lot of great content this week but one particularly moved me, and that's Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff's "If Not Us Than Who: The Russian Partisans at War Against Putin." (Part 1, Part 2).

My biggest disagreement with people who I'm otherwise in political lockstep with is Ukraine. Most (North American) leftists are wrong about this. I know this because I have actually been to Ukraine (and Russia), not just in touristy areas, and they for the most part haven't and don't know what they're talking about and are generally basing their opinions on either Cold War nostalgia, residual anti-imperialist trauma, or the appalling behaviour of some diaspora Ukrainian communities. My shitlib position is that you shouldn't invade other people's countries and kill them because you want their land or resources. Even if—and this is critical when we're talking about Palestine or Iran too—you don't like them and some of them are bad people. If that makes me a NATO stooge or CIA asset so be it. 

Margaret and guest Charles McBryde share my opinion and also argue with other leftists about this, so you already know I'm going to agree with them. (Though not totally—we are all leftists here after all.) And you know who else does? A fuck of a lot of Russians. These two episodes focus on the frankly heroic actions of the Russian activists who resist Putin's authoritarianism, including Ruslan Siddiqui, who is genuinely cool not just for his political convictions but with the truly brass balls panache with which he acted. Margaret refers to him as the most cyberpunk guy she's ever heard of and this is true. I should write to him.

Anyway, it's a really wild ride about how to resist authoritarianism when regular political channels are cut off, which is of relevance in Russia and only in Russia, given that it's the only country that disappears people off the streets, murders its dissidents, and cracks down on freedom of expression.

Comments

[greylock]

My shitlib position is that you shouldn't invade other people's countries and kill them because you want their land or resources.

Wait... what? Is that controversial?
Is this were we are now. *gestures at Lebanon*

[sabotabby]

So if you're a liberal, it's bad unless it's Iran or Palestine (because, respectively, the Iranian government and Hamas), if you're a leftist, it's bad unless it's Ukraine.

[greylock]

We don't use liberal here, because Liberals.

But, FUCK ME. The world has gotten so fucking stupid.
I'm not super-smart, one might say, but I know my history.
(And, as someone who lives in NotCanada, the HATE for Trump that has exploded among the people is remarkable).

[kore]

Whaaa

[kore]

Leftists WHAT?

-- I see you explained it, but, Jesus.

[ioplokon]

Yeah, I had to drop Le monde diplomatique because their slant got too russophile for me (& it shows up in other areas, like them constantly commissioning translations of English articles against le wokeisme). I take it more seriously when it's media people or people with some power because to me it indicates alternate interests that are going to undermine our bigger project on the left.