Pwnallthethings: Orwell said it best — Subium • Bluesky web client

Your regular reminder that I personally loathe Noam Chomsky for the reprehensible things he said in apologia for the Khmer Rouge - and has never really taken back. He was no friend to the Cambodian people. (Not to mention his stance on Ukraine).

Makes me sad that folks on the left like him, ngl.

It does indicate someone who perhaps has not done nearly as much research as they like to think they have

It's a bit funny because how quick the left usually is to cut people loose for failing purity tests, but there's always the few who manage to get into the state of grace where the test must be wrong.

Tbh the left is pretty fucking awful at enforcing the “supporting Russia/genocides committed by vaguely leftist seeming countries” purity test nowadays

If your leftism isn't fundamentally centered on the idea of human dignity and freedom as universal and immutable values of everyone, frankly, what is the fucking point of your philosophy.

I have had leftists screaming at me about Gaza who seem to have not one care about what Putin is doing in Ukraine.

The worst are the ones who think we should just leave Ukraine to its fate for Putin to do with as he pleases because they're "pacifists".

Orwell said it best

Or to put it more succinctly, if their pacifism were remotely principled, it would be in full-throated opposition to the invasion of Ukraine, and that Ukraine should receive any and all resources necessary to unwind the Russian war of conquest back to its pre-war boundaries.

As someone who tends towards pacifism, I think Orwell was spot on. And you are right about the support and defense of Ukraine. Turn the other cheek doesn’t have to be sit by and get murdered. Principled pacifists should always defend others, with force if necessary. Just don’t start wars. It’s easy.

Indeed. It very hard to fathom how an “anti-imperialist” can support Putin war of imperial conquest

I think it's best to start thinking of pacifist as another term for 'collaborator'.

Where is this Orwell quote from? The more things change . . . etc.

From his Notes on Nationalism (which is great and everyone should read it) www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-f...

Notes on Nationalism | The Orwell Foundationwww.orwellfoundation.com "By ‘nationalism’ I mean first of all the habit of assuming that human beings can be classified like insects and that whole blocks of millions or tens of millions of people can be confidently labelled...

Thank you. My eldest has read Homage to Catalonia multiple times. I think it is her favorite book, so what that means I do not know.

mine started it, but put it down (some ADHD, and shit's rough) I have a copy. I should read it.

I have a copy and have also not read it yet

this is great!

That essay was such an eye opener on getting aburdly hung up on other people’s struggles. Not reacting on oppression, but picking some cause in a faraway country and obsess about it.

Wow that was fantastic. Amazing dunk on Chesterton, too.

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