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The American Age Is Over (www.theatlantic.com)
submitted 1 month ago by to c/collapse@slrpnk.net
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[–] 0 points 1 month ago (5 children)

Further up you listed seven conflicts and complained about people critizising you for the position you took. Of those seven, all but one or two are clearly horrible dictatorships, and the unclear cases are only marginally better, and one of them is even an imperialistic act of aggression threatening the very existence of the side the US supported. So clearly you are applying very different standards in a hypocritical way to these conflicts.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (4 children)

    Just because a country is a dictatorship, does that mean I should support war against it? Do you want to invade Saudi Arabia? Or do you think Saudi Arabia is not a horrible dictatorship?

    There is no "hypocrisy" or "double standard" that I am applying. I am simply applying a different standard than yours.

    So long as the US is as burned out as it is, I will oppose involvement in every conflict, unless it presents an imminent, existential threat that is greater than the threat of domestic fascism. And no such greater threat exists, anywhere in the world. If you think there is, then you are underestimating the threat the American right poses. All other priorities are secondary.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago (3 children)

    Pointing to these conflicts specifically and then complaining about people suspecting ulterior motives, when you could have simply taken a pacifist or even just an isolationist position (which would have been much easier to defend) is usually a sign that you are indeed a campist. If you don't want to be mistaken as one, I recommend you reconsider your arguments and who you associate yourself with (e.g. lemmy.ml).

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

    when you could have simply taken a pacifist or even just an isolationist position

    What? I'm not a pacifist, or even an isolationist, really. You're saying I should've lied about my positions? That's not something I do.

    If I said I was a pacifist, then you could criticize me and say, "Well what about WWII?" And that's a completely valid criticism of pacifism that I agree with. So what would I be supposed to say then? "Well, actually, I was lying and I'm not really a pacifist?"

    If I said I was an isolationist, then you could criticize me based on things like tariffs. In reality, I support international trade so long as it is fair and not exploitative. So once again, I would have to say, "Well, actually, I was just lying."

    That is nonsense. There's a reason (well, several reasons) I don't lie about my political positions, and it's that there's enough nuance and complexity to my views that if I wasted time and energy lying about them, then how could I expect anyone to arrive at understanding or agreeing with what I really believe? Way too much extra work when I can just be honest and direct.

    I recommend you reconsider your arguments and who you associate yourself with (e.g. lemmy.ml).

    Now why would I do that? Marxist-Leninists are some of the only people in the world I've ever encountered who actually have their heads screwed on straight and their priorities in order. They are the only ones who actually take the threat of the American right seriously and recognize that going around playing world police is not the correct approach in these conditions.

    I can't even discuss things with people like you, because the moment I say I oppose war (or most wars), you start assigning nefarious motives to me, trying to descredit me and painting me as a bad person.

    Also, I think you know that what you're telling me is nonsense. If I made an account on .world, and I went around saying that I condemn Russia but I don't support sending weapons to Ukraine, even if I lied and claimed to be a pacifist or isolationist, everyone would still call me a tankie and say that I support Russia, and they'd probably throw in a whole bunch of other stuff too, like that I think Russia is still socialist or whatever. Y'all are constantly making shit up about us like that.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    Typical ML response, trying to play the victim when someone points out the obvious contradictions in the campist mindset 🤦

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago*

    You haven't pointed out any contradictions, nor shown my mindset to be in any way campist, nor am I trying to play the victim. Bullshit as usual.

    The only contradiction in this conversation is your implication that wars against dictatorships are automatically justified, while refusing to answer what I asked about Saudi Arabia.

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