General Politics Discussion (III) [ARCHIVED] • Page 5

Against Literary Nationalism | Jacobin

 

I understand what you're saying and I think that we do need listen to what people are saying, in order to drill down into the rational kernel of their sentiment. On the other hand, we should not indulge the reactionary aspects of the ideas they hold; we have to argue against Islamaphobia, precisely because, regardless of who espouses it, it shores up white supremacy, thereby reinforcing the global divisions on which the current relations of power rest. The point of discussing the role of the "white working class" in the election, for example, isn't to legitimize the racial and gendered grievances they feel, regardless of the trauma attached to it; rather, the point is to articulate, in my mind, a radical anti-capitalist politics that understands oppression as a part of the fabric of accumulation and takes as it project the systematic disassembly of that which animates such stratified world. We have seen that sort of liberatory politics work before, as in Egypt, when Coptic Christians and Muslims stood side by side and protected one another when they were challenging Mubarak. In those moments, one can find hope, because, while not all difference was erased, each saw in each other a hope to build something new. And it was crushed. However, we would do well to learn from those experience and to offer a similar vision for folks who see the enemy in the wrong people, and by doing so, reify the relations of oppression.

As for people who respond by email, Noam Chomsky always replies to emails and promptly I might add.

 

Ok Trump. Whatever you say man.

 

Making Waves (Part 1)

Excellent article, and this is perhaps the best summary of the limits of social democracy I could never articulate this past year.

This material makes me want to seek out a PhD far earlier than I had anticipated lol.

 

Loved this article. Viewpoint has been producing really good pieces this past year.

 

Sorry. I didn't read the post in the context of the larger conversation with Dom. But I agree with you. The experiences of MENA minorities and white America with Islam are incomparable and to call the former reactionary is false. I do believe that it is important especially for the left to recognize and listen to the experiences of MENA minorities or else they fall to the right. But in doing so it is important to steer the conversation away from right wing talking points, despite understanding why someone like your Father would find them appealing. Because at most, MENA minorities falling in with the right will give them model minority status, not full recognition of their culture, humanity or experiences, something MENA people and South Asians had to a degree before 9/11 and we all know how easily that was taken away.

 

I do like the fact that Viewpoint's online output is so much less frequent than Jacobin's as well. Especially over the past 6 months, Jacobin has been putting out 3-4 pieces a day, often on nearly identical topics. That's not to say the quality of the product has necessarily declined, and it's good that many contributors are getting their works out, but it's nice when these articles are spaced out.

 

Soooo

I saw one big plane followed by a bunch of little planes and releasing some weird blue and red gas in the air behind them (took maybe 10 minutes to completely dissolve) they went one way and then came back the other way.


Totes normal. Everyone's seen that right?

 

chem trails

 

No, those are usually just white streams. I've never seen actual big clouds of blue and red gas.

 

Maybe a patriotic air show in your area?

 

Hahaha no this was really big plane followed by those little ones but the gas didn't look like that. It was one big cloud of blue and one of red. It was bizarre af

 

Lol of course

 

One of the terms of surrender is to "beg for forgiveness"? Haha

 

I think they mean they should beg for forgiveness when they ultimately meet their maker (God).

 

How long until trump tweets that the crowd at the pizza gate rally was bigger than obama's inauguration crowd?

 

Someone needs to crowd fund a pizza delivery to the rally

 

Maybe a local high school can deliver the pizzas and donate all the funds to public schooling ha

 

Well this guys certainly creepy

 

Those people probably think the earth is hollow too