[-] epicspongee@hexbear.net 12 points 11 months ago

Except it is the specific idea that compels them to resist their occupiers. Because they say it is. Saying otherwise is doing literally exactly the same thing that white Americans did that caused indigenous native Americans to have to change their practices, which they did not see as religious, to fit into the western white European understandings of the word 'religion' in order to receive government funding. Even if a Marxist or materialist analysis of the situation says in general that oppressed peoples 'usually' or 'always' react a specific way because of a specific force, you're missing the point that that is a scientific theory. It is an abstraction. That does not mean it is reality or the only way of viewing a situation.

Your understanding of the situation and how it fits in with your worldview is different than the point of view of the Palestinians actually experiencing the situation. Again, I want to point you to the broad literature of the study of religion that shows just exactly what happens when dudes with white, western ideas of how the world works try to impose those on native indigenous populations.

Your point of view of how the situation works, or your understanding of the powers at play, is not reality. That is your interpretation of reality, a very useful abstraction that is very usually right. But that abstraction has contexts where it is appropriate to apply it, and contexts where it is inappropriate to apply it. And trying to apply it to deny the very real primary motivation that Palestinian people say is motivating them is not a great place to apply that abstraction.

[-] epicspongee@hexbear.net 13 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

I mean no, it's not. The main anti-colonial group left in Gaza, which is massively popular, is an organization whose primary driving force is Islam. Religion is an incredibly important cultural force that is a key driving factor for Gazans and other Palestinian people in this fight. That is a materialist analysis of the situation lol because that is what the Palestinians themselves are saying. Just look at the wording used by the people there: the dead aren't the dead but 'martyrs', and this isn't just a conflict but a 'jihad' (righteous fight).

Hakim is very correctly noting the obvious here in that a vast majority of the Palestinians are Muslim and that their faith is a primary driver of this conflict for them. Painting in broad strokes isn't denying that there aren't any secular Palestinians, but talking about how Palestinians are fighting back and resisting in aggregate / at a zoomed out level.

[-] epicspongee@hexbear.net 12 points 1 year ago

The 'capital' in 'capitalism' means nothing and is there for no reason

[-] epicspongee@hexbear.net 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

"All the they/thems in this thread are bigots, they're actually right-wingers!" - WTF is this take

[-] epicspongee@hexbear.net 12 points 1 year ago

To be clear in the dunking threads folks are not usually engaging in good faith with us. When I was on another server and replied with actual questions to stuff everyone was incredibly nice to me and explained stuff super well. Can agree though that folks can see dunking as alientating. I promise though if you can get past that it's one of the friendliest communities I've found on the web.

[-] epicspongee@hexbear.net 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

took public transportation to get there

We have /c/urbanism so this is doubly true lol

[-] epicspongee@hexbear.net 15 points 1 year ago

I mean that's fair, but what you're doing is like going into a public library and throwing a rave party.

Have you read any of the threads on here? Y'all are absolutely vitriolic against Hexbear users. That is not a 'public library' lmfao

[-] epicspongee@hexbear.net 18 points 1 year ago

No, you are like a cookie in a jar, im a observer.

Genuinely what the fuck does this mean

[-] epicspongee@hexbear.net 28 points 1 year ago

Blowback has done more for my understanding of Cuba and North Korea than any other piece of media I've ever consumed

[-] epicspongee@hexbear.net 28 points 1 year ago

Lord I'm still listening to Season 2 of Blowback and haven't gotten to Season 3 yet but I had no clue about this, that's genuinely fucked up

[-] epicspongee@hexbear.net 13 points 1 year ago

Is this written by ChatGPT

20

It's a nonbinary person and their brother discussing different leftist theory and history each week. They start from first principles and the nonbinary person not knowing anythinggg about communism. They start out reading the communist manifesto, then state and revolution, then some anarchist literature, and so on and so on. I think they lean a bit ML, but they cover both anarchist and Marxist literature.

They've done this completely free for the past 3+ years, almost every single week. There's more than 160+ episodes. They have notes on their Patreon that they write and they donate all the money from their Patreon to a mutual aid fund. They literally earn nothing from it.

I started listening to it when the pandemic came out (was one of the earlier listeners) and it turned me into a leftist faster than any book or Twitch streamer or YouTuber ever has. The format of one person not knowing anything and asking questions while the other person 'teaches' in a chill way works wonders and makes me understand everything so much easier.

It's such a huge resource and not enough people know about it!! I wish more people would recommend it to newbies or folks starting out.

[-] epicspongee@hexbear.net 6 points 1 year ago

I don't hate philosophy tube etc to be clear, I just find their videos to be self indulgent slop

I don't disagree, but I think she and contra hold a special place in my heart cause they were really the start to my radicalization. Contra's earlier videos really got me thinking outside of a capitalist mindset and got me to think "oh, there's alternatives to capitalism, and gender, and blah blah blah", then I read the manifesto, then I started listening to Teach Me Communism, and then I became a chronically online tankie lol. I feel like I'm not the onlyyyy one that did this (I have friends who I think consider themselves socialist and anticapitalist who still like some of Contra's newer stuff), but I definitely feel like the vast majority of her fanbase is annoyingly liberal to a fault. In her recent 'anti-JK Rowling' lane she's been pretty decent I think except for when she steps even slightly out of it.

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epicspongee

joined 1 year ago