Wednesday, 27 December 2023

The far right’s undeclared global war on humanity [Note: Content Warning - links to reports on bigotry/hate, violence/abuse/war. Reader discretion is advised]

Note: CONTENT WARNING - some of this content is about upsetting, disturbing or triggering events & attitudes. Seek competent help - including professional - if you need it. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that linked articles may contains names and/or images of deceased people. READER CAUTION IS RECOMMENDED! For anyone distressed by anything in this post, or for any other reason considering seeking support, resources are available in Australia here, here, and here. In other nations, you will have to do an Internet search using terms such as “mental health support - <your nation>” (which, for instance, may lead to this, this, and this, in the USA, or this, this, and this, in France [biased towards English-language - my apologies]), or perhaps try https://www.befrienders.org/. 

Note: in my “from the news” posts, quotes are shown italicised and blue, my comments are in a different shade of blue, and “good” items are shown in green. I have loosely grouped the posts where such seemed reasonable, but that is subjective (i.e., my opinion - others are free to disagree), and challenging, as some posts belong in multiple “groups”.

When writing about events, it can sometimes be difficult to know how far back to go. As an example, I’ve occasionally talked/written about how World War parts One and Two can be traced back to the Franco-Prussian war  war of 1870-71, and that can be traced back to the (very wrong, morally) desire of the newly created nation-state of Germany (which still had a strong Prussian character) to be the same as other European nations ... which in turn can be traced back to the desire of individuals to feel good about themselves, which them sometimes seek by hooking up with “bigger” people/movements/groups/nations/etc. In the case of Israel, as I’ve written elsewhere, the foundation of Israel can be traced back to at least (likely further) to the world’s failures in the 1930s and 40s.

In the case of what I will term “the far right’s undeclared global war on humanity”, I consider that can be could traced back to the first steps of what is now known as neoliberalism, which is an economic attack on the quality of life of people, and even further back to the rich elite’s secret war against decency and for greed ... A portion of what is driving that can be identified as a reaction against the failures of Marxist movements to recognise that personal property in the form of a modicum of personal possessions and a secure, personalised home are psychologically necessary - although that in turn was a reaction to the inherent problems and excesses of patriarchy over the last five millennia or so, which goes back to complacency and other character flaws in allowing despots to come to power in the first place. 

As an example of that, the psychopath I had the misfortune of working for the 1980s came to power because senior management gave in to the psychopath’s whingeing - they were amathiac enough to miss the warning signs, and too incompetent to take action once the abuses became apparent (was that because the profits went up - in the short term? Unpaid overtime and working at health and sanity damaging intensities might give such short term boosts in what is mischaracterised as a boost to productivity [it is not, because of unpaid work and the social costs of long term damage]).

The limit on how far back to look is probably when such considerations cease to be useful - for instance, considering evolutionary changes that led to homo sapiens sapiens is not going to be helpful, although it may help understand historic psychology. Despite that, in my case, given my interest in what is often described loosely as everyday people and their psychology, I want to go well back (and I will ignore the sock puppets of the elite who pretend to be pedants arguing - quite tellingly - that they do not know what the phrase “everyday person” or similar means) and work out at the level of the individual voter what is going on. 

But then, I dream of a world where voters are unmoved by the propaganda of the rich, powerful, and largely invisible “1% of the 1%” ultra-elite, let alone the war they and their minions are waging against a fairer, more caring, more inclusive ad decent world - one where resources are shared equitably, and all talents and potentialities are nurtured despite race, class, and other personal differences. 

The war I mentioned has become, in my opinion, clearer as a result of the massive damage done by potus45 after 2016, Putin in Ukraine, and now Netanyahu in Gaza - specifically, the rise of unbridled far right wing extremist (aka fascism) thinking and actions in politics - and associated systems such as economies (especially by creating the misconception that economies “should” grow, and that individuals “should” do whatever is necessary to increase their personal PHYSICAL wealth - even at the expense of the survival of the planet [and thus their children]) and anti-discrimination laws. 

This has reached its peak in the USA, helped along quite noticeable by the elites’ tools (or minions or stooges, if your prefer) Nixon and Reagan and every fool who unthinkingly bought into their rubbish, despite criticism at the time. 

In fact, reflecting on that, it was the growth of the Cold War and the associated absolutists binary split in politics and governance that actively facilitated the rise of so many despots and laid the grounds for fascistic thinking being covered up with facile excuses that too many modern “journalists” seem to miss ...

On all that, the prompt for this article is the war in West Asia, and in particular, the following articles: 

  • “Palestine Solidarity Crackdown: Challenges in the US and Europe”   https://www.juancole.com/2023/12/palestine-solidarity-challenges.html   “Israel’s 2023 genocide of Palestinians in Gaza has horrified many around the world and drawn widespread public outcry, with unprecedented levels of solidarity organizing taking place across the globe. Millions have gathered in the streets, issued public statements, and mobilized to block corporate and state-led support not only for the Israeli regime’s recent onslaught but for its decades-long colonial occupation of Palestine. But as this unparalleled solidarity has emerged, so too has extraordinary repression at every level.”  

I want to look at Israel’s war against Palestinians, particularly in Gaza, a bit more.

Israel is committing a genocide - the reports of the desire to drive Palestinians out of Gaza, the reluctance to take actions to get hostages released (and the killing of escaped hostages), the utter absurdity of thinking Palestinian resistance can be snuffed out by destroying _____ [See Note 1] - noting the military difficulties of doing that and the opinions of experts to that effect (and this and this - none of which would exist if Palestinians had been treated with decency and respect, and had a fair and equitable situations for the last, say, half century, since the Arab nations lost the 1973 war ... ), all support that conclusion   ...   and describing it as ethnic cleansing is a cop out - see the links below: 

I was going to make an analysis based on the approach in Samantha  Power’s masterful book "A Problem from Hell" (Pub. Harper, 2010, ISBN 978-0007172993, Amazon), much as I did for the Rohingya in this post, but that was too difficult while still happening - or, at least, too difficult in the early stages of Israel’s invasion. As I wrote at that stage in the draft (still not published, although I may complete and publish that at some future date): 

When planning this post, my conception was broadly to take the approach adopted by Samantha Power in her book “A Problem from Hell”, much as I did for the Rohingya, and apply to what has happened in Israel (in particular, on the 7th October) and is happening in Gaza. 

However, it quickly became clear that the situations are too complex for me to do so at this point in time - in part because one situation is continuing, but also because both situations overlap and have done so for millennia.

In my opinion, what has subsequentlyy become very evident is: 

  • the world order has become ineffective at this form of existential conflict. 
    I was originally thinking that this possibly started with Nixon ditching the  Bretton  Woods  system for the sake of, in my opinion, the ultra-rich, but the Cold War problems were probably more significant (especially in the 1940s and 50s, and 60s), and politicians    ’ fear of, and thus pandering to, conservative voters is also a major issue. That problem is only partly their flaws, as they have real reasons for their fears - including the very real fear of losing elections if they don’t - making us, the voters, and our capacity to be fooled actually the problem;
  • the power of mass movements, which has, in recent weeks, successfully pressured governments into acting in a more decent way - including calling for restraint, and eventually the UN being able to take action. See here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and especially here.

That power of mass movements is going to increasingly be a key response. 

Going back to my broader concern about the undeclared war of the elites on the rest of us, the Ukraine war was an earlier manifestation of this - and conservative stool pigeons of the rich, powerful, and largely invisible “1% of the 1%” ultra-elite are now hindering the opposition to Putin, and limiting dissent/freedom of expression more generally - see article below.

  • “Why has cricketer Khawaja been barred from showing solidarity with Gaza? | Israel-Palestine conflict News | Al Jazeera”   https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/26/why-has-cricketer-khawaja-been-barred-from-showing-solidarity-with-gaza   “Khawaja and his supporters point out that this rule has not stopped other players from displaying such messages in the past.   For example, West Indies players were permitted to wear “Black Lives Matter” logos on their shirts during a test series against England in 2020”    The clear double standards are of the gravest concerns, including concerns about possible racism. The claims that politics can and should be kept out of sport are nonsense, as those who broke the sporting boycott of apartheid South Africa were actively supporting the abuse of human rights  

So ... what to do about this? 

Firstly, I am likely to rewrite this  article to make my concerns about an undeclared war by elites, acting currently through fascism, clearer - and to tidy up a few other point. If I try to do that now, the article risks being a sacrifice to perfectionism and not being published.

However, in the context of the question I just asked:   I have written before (fairly often - perhaps most recently here, but I’ve included a few links below) about making the world a better place, but now, I consider the key points is that everyday people must:      acknowledge they are being treated like mushrooms by the rich, powerful, and largely invisible “1% of the 1%” ultra-elite and their sock puppets (such as conservative media, tame but extremist politicians, influencers, and pseudo-“think” tanks),      then get their heads out of the sand - which requires doing the character (emotional) work (growth/development/evolution) to be able to cope with acknowledging the unthinkable,      and      start holding our elected representatives (yes, this is a duty of democracies - required actions in authoritarian nations are different, but MUST be nonviolent for pragmatic reasons such as success ... ) to account on issues such as: 

  • democratic decay - especially allowing minorities to be demonised and targeted: silence allows that behaviour to spread, and was proven to be a failure in Germany in the 1930s  
  • failing to adhere to the greater enlightened of self interest of small sacrifices to maintain a functional world order 
  • obstructionism presenting as (false) concern about details - which involves silence on principles ...  

Probably the most significant point is the use of mass movements - which have been successful in the past (for instance, on women’s rights, slavery, voting without owning property, in the Philippines, etc), so we know they can work. 

But mass movements have also failed in the past - such as the mass movement against racism, which has made massive progress but is still being resisted - largely because, in my opinion, people did not want to act for the greater enlightened self interest of themselves (and their families) that involves becoming better human beings. 

The solution to so many of these problems - the power of the ultra rich, problematic voting patters, bigotry, and mass atrocities, is for people to become better (less bigotted, more aware, more inclusive, prepared to learn and adapt, able to grieve and let go of now inappropriate goals/desires/wishes) human beings. 

The same applies to nations and the international world order.

With regard to Israel, I have grave concerns about the existential risks that Israel’s actions in Gaza have created. The following is from the current draft of my coming posts next Saturday on events in West Asia: 

When I look at what Israel is doing in Gaza, and the ineffective response of the world as a whole, I think Israel and _____ [See Note 1] could not have more thoroughly destroyed a workable, constructive world order if they had actively collaborated (which, to be clear, they have not). 

I also consider Israel’s actions in the last few months in Gaza have put that nation and Jewish people everywhere at risk - and I fear the massive increase in antisemitic attacks is just a start ... In my opinion, this creation of elevated risk for Jewish people - combined with racism against Jewish people of colour - creates doubt as to whether Israel’s foundational reason for existence is being met - and that reason is: to ensure that the world has a safe place of refuge for Jewish people ... 

On that, anyone who thinks that Israel driving all Palestinians out of Gaza (which is allegedly one of the covert goals of this operation) would mean an end to conflict in that region is incompetent and/or blinded by bias/anything-goes-loyalty and/or amathia - after all, remember that expulsion (see here, here, here, here, and especially here but also here, as fault could be argued to exist on both sides) failed to bring peace back in the 1940s ... 

Another point to keep in mind here is that Israel’s unquestioned past military supremacy (albeit with US help) has been changing. This site now ranks Israel’s military strength at 18th, which is below that of Egypt (14th) and Iran (17th), and makes US military support even more critical. If political support in the USA for Israel declines too far, that military support could be put at risk - already, in my opinion, Israel’s loss of support exceeds the loss of support for Palestinians that _____ [See Note 1] caused on 7th October ...  

 The world is in a perilous state. 


PS - I wonder if Netanyahu is trying to get his mate re-elected as US president by making sure the war goes on long enough to impact on the next US presidential election?

 

Note 1: as with other mass murderers/serial killers/and the like, violent extremists crave publicity, so I refuse to give that to them - I will avoid using their names (which is a policy adopted by good law enforcement and media for other mass murderers), and I will not give them the satisfaction of being described with the T word. 

Note also that the genocidal intent of the VEs I refuse to name is clear, according to this from experts in that topic.

 

My links for activism post may aid any activism  you may decide to do on any/all of these.

The following reference links, including some items from my news posts, may also be of some use/relevance/interest:

  • “Gaza: Why all Civilian lives matter Equally, according to a Military Ethicist”   https://www.juancole.com/2023/12/civilian-according-military.html   This begins with an examination of international law, and then proposes a test for consideration of the issues of proportionality:   “ask what a military force would accept if it were “their” civilians who were at risk of harm from military action”   Something I have occasionally thought about - but not written - is that Iraq’s retaking of Mosul including minimising the use of heavy artillery to reduce civilian casualties   and   an opinion piece arguing that “Charging Jews with genocide is to declare them guilty of precisely what was done to them”   https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/03/charging-jews-with-genocide-declare-them-guilty-precisely-what-was-done-to-them-middle-east   This opinion piece is, in my opinion, (1) being naïve about the possibility of people who have been oppressed subsequently committing acts of oppression, (2) being possessive over the term genocide, (3) making a bad faith and universalist assumption about motivations, (4) making an unjustified argument that use of words advocating for genocidal acts is an essential prerequisite for the use of the term, (5) wrongly assuming those who consider Israel is committing genocide automatically have the view that H____ is not (which is clearly absurd, but not commented on enough, IMO, by pro-Palestinian advocates), and (5) ignoring the reality that there ARE experts who have made capable and objective assessments about a term that was created for the Armenian genocide in a wide range of situations   
  • “Jewish groups rally at White House urging Biden to push for Gaza ceasefire”   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/16/ifnotnow-jewish-voice-for-peace-protest-groups-white-house-biden   “Accusing Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of planning “genocide”, several hundred volunteers from campaign groups IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace chanted slogans, carried placards and sang ancient Jewish songs in protest of what they said was an immoral response to the deadly assault on 7 October by the Palestinian group _____ that killed at least 1,400 Israelis”  


Possible flaws 

Where I can, I will try to highlight possible flaws / issues you should consider:

  • there may be flawed logical arguments in the above: to find out more about such flaws and thinking generally, I recommend Brendan  Myers’ free online course “Clear and Present Thinking”; 
  • I could be wrong - so keep your thinking caps on, and make up your own minds for yourself.

 

If they are of any use of interest, the activism information links from my former news posts are available in this post. 

 

If you appreciated this post, please consider promoting it - there are some links below.

Remember: we need to be more human being rather than human doing, and all misgendering is an act of active transphobia/transmisia that puts trans+ lives at risk & accept that all insistence on the use of “trans” as a descriptor comes with commensurate use of “cis” as a descriptor to prevent “othering”.

Copyright © Kayleen White 2016-2023     NO AI   I do not consent to any machine learning aka Artificial Intelligence (AI), generative AI, large language model, machine learning, chatbot, or other automated analysis, generative process, or replication program to reproduce, mimic, remix, summarise, or otherwise  replicate any part of this post or other posts on this blog via any means. Typo’s may be inserrted deliberately to demonstrate this is not an AI product.     Otherwise, fair and reasonable use is accepted under Creative Commons 4.0 on an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike basis   https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/  

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