ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 เม.ย. 2019
- A video about the plight of indigenous minorities in WANA and the Eurocentric viewpoints by which we analyse them.
Content Warning:
Scenes/Images of Genocide, persecution etc.
Recommended Reading:
Reforging a forgotten history by Sargon Donabed.
www.amazon.com/Reforging-Forg...
Badmouse's Stuff:
Twitter: / badmouse101
Bibliography:
pastebin.com/xyvKF5Q8
As you've probably noticed the Rojava part has been removed. In hindsight its very opportunistic and reaching a fair bit and when I put it to scrutiny with my collaborator I didn't get many good answers. That doesn't mean I don't find many aspects of western lionization of Kurdish groups problematic, but the statements in that part were not backed up enough.
Why not include the flaws and allow people to critically examine it?
We gain nothing from the ignorance of our own history... In fact why not upload one mega video debunking your own videos much like hunter avallone did with his videos?
Explaining why his views were reactionary and wrong?
I know it's hard but we have to confront our own cringe.
I think deleting videos is worse then trying to re-evaluate our own previous position and let others learn from our mistakes.
Who was the removed Person?
Kardox Fabricanus because Rojava is ultimately good despite their flaws because they’re a libertarian socialist ish, extremely democratic group which is surviving despite living through genocide from iraq and Syria, being targeted by isis and the Syrian government. Like yeah they helped the US in the horrible iraq war but what choice did they have when saddam genocided them years prior? And then the Us just fucking abandoned them even though they promised them a state. I get that our liberal media grossly idolises them for the wrong, often islamphobic reasons but imo they’re ultimately good
what criticisms are opportunistic and reaching?
@@briannawaldorf8485 i agree??? When did I object to that idea???
If we can decry antisemitism and criticize Israel we can do this too
@People Unite yes but we need to clarify the difference between self determination and self imposement. No more illegal settlements or annexation.
@People Unite so in order for Palestinians to get their land back, they need to allow it to be stolen without fighting back? What is the use in negotiating for peace when you're still acting as the colonizer?I expect Isreal, the nation with all the power in this situation and the one with the more secular society, to use their power to actually promote peace instead of continuously exacerbating the situation and then wondering why Palestine won't accept their terms.
@@Feast4Majora Israelis are skeptical of the Palestinian's desire for peace, returning land is of course an option that is sometimes considered in Israeli politics, but let us not forget that historic Palestine is all of Israel + 1967 borders, this means that the conflict could in theory continue even with the rise of a sovereign Palestinian state.
@@CeoLogJM I understand that but I don't care. It doesn't matter if someone's great great great great great great grand parents ruled that land over a thousand years ago. It doesn't give their descendants the right to violate boarders meant keep the peace in modern times.
@@Feast4Majora The point I was making is that even if the borders were to be followed the conflict might not end.
Probably one of your masterpieces. A very pressing topic I unfortunately overlooked way too often when stumbling over your channel time and time again
As a Muslim, I absolutely agree, it is our responsibility as leftists to support the oppressed groups of the world, including Christians in the Middle East, North Africa, and other Muslim-majority areas.
I love this, as an arab communist I see very little care in the western left about islamic radicalism and they think that people criticising that is islamophobia. Us living in muslim countries know how hard it is for people who are of a different religion or for those with no religion. We know how hard it is for the LGBT people here, we know how islamism can be a fascistic ideology while also understanding how a lot of what the west did to muslim countries and their muslim citizens is fueled by racism and islamophobia. (Btw islamism isn't the same thing as islam, I am muslim myself)
literally a westernized libt 4 rd doing the bidding of the CIA and war on terror propaganda for free like an idiot
imagine leaving the faith anf culture of your family to become the worthless unpaid whore of your oppressor, western leftoids only accept you as a token for being 1 of the "good ones" who affirms their sick twisted beliefs, you're beyond pathetic for falling for that
Good and important video. A distressingly large percentage of English language left-wing alternative media has a tendency to filter all their coverage of foreign policy through the lens of either American or British politics and ends up dangerously clueless on that front as a result. Chapo Trap House is probably the best known example, Ben Norton from Moderate Rebels and Grayzone Project another.
I find that I fall into traps like the one you described with the EU far more often than I'd like to. It seems to come from falling into the fallacious trap that 1. you are either 100% with or 100% against any given group and 2. You must be the exact opposite of your opponent. I have fallen into that trap a bunch of times when talking about the USSR, finding myself defending things that are utterly against my beliefs, such as the arrests of many Orthodox clergy.
On the subject of persecuted minorities in the Middle East I find I am also guilty of denying such things, such as the shutting down of Assyrian schools in Rojava. This was a very fascinating video and it taught me quite a bit about an issue that I have heard nothing but vague anecdotes and mentions and the right wing parading their concern for it around as a sign of their moral superiority over the left. I'm also happy to see a specific and detailed criticism of the left from within the left. Its nice to see real constructive criticism rather than "lol revisionist xDDDD" or "gtfo reactionary". If we are too scared to call out wrongs in our own groups because it damages their image, how are we any different than the spineless bastards in our governments who will sell as many people as it takes up the river because their party or their sponsors demand it.
I definitely needed this bollocking now.
Just yesterday I argued with a pro-Guaido Venezuelan young woman on twitter, who accused me of betraying her cause because I retweeted a pro-Maduro tweet by Ajamu Baraka (VP of US' Green Party).
I, angered by her nosy and outraged attitude, *wished death by hunger* upon her under the new imperialist regime she supported.
Then a mutual block and a massive subtweeting happened.
She accused me of caring about Venezuelans only when it was useful for my narrative.
It was so childish by both of us, but the argument of eurocentrism, and the privilege of being able to choose a story that fits the narrative, really struck me then as it strikes me after viewing this.
Our view is not universal and I find it always so hard to understand it.
Thank you for always being so irreverent.
Eh eh eh, back up you go. Watch it till the end.
Love your videos mate
BadMouseProductions badmouse is back 😭 don’t ever leave me for this long again. I almost had a break down
Make me
FIne!!!
But but but but!! ugh.... FINE
I'm a Palestinian communist from a Muslim family, born in the Palestine in the West Bank and spent most of my life in Jordan, I'm glad to say that chirsitians and Muslims in Palestine and Jordan have a lot of solidarity and unity, I wish the sense of division completely disappears and I wish Christians get justice and freedom from oppression in the MENA region, as I wish freedom of oppression to everyone.
Palestine is a beacon of hope that these divides can be bridged, its in part why its seiged like it is
I knew about the existence of the Assyrians, and I also knew that Christians in Palestine and Jordan co-exist peacefully with Muslims, which is why I had no idea Christians in other countries were being persecuted
Amaury Lannes Same here. As a Palestinian, seeing Muslims and Christians get along well, I thought it’d be the same in the rest of west Asia and north africa
@@user-sx1mm1sl6u While I'm not from the region and can only offer informed speculation, this makes a lot of sense to me, since the ethno-religious differences between colonized people are not the same as the ethno-religious differences between colonizers and colonized. It's about primary and secondary contradictions. It is natural that, while there are some exceptions, Arabs and non-Arabs, Christians and Muslims, would have largely amical relations--the persecution comes from the system, not from individual attitudes like it does with race relations in colonial situations.
Amaury Lannes Christians live peacefully with the Muslims in all of the Levantine,Iraq ( the government controlled regions ) and Egypt, not just in Palestine.
"Our task is that of ruthless criticism, and much more against ostensible friends than against open enemies." - Karl Marx. Great video.
@Giovanni Rougenoir liberals aren't leftists
@TF MS Except he did work as the editor and writer for multiple news papers and he spent 70% of his life trying to organize and arm the proletariat. He didn't live a luxurious life of being bourgeoisie at all. So, you didn't check. You are just spewing anti Semitic bullshit out of your ass and then calling people "degenerates" because you are too lazy, privileged and ignorant to investigate something before you speak.
I’m glad to see someone bring this up without taking the conservative stance on it. Much needed video man. Much needed.
J JESTER I wouldn’t say it’s conservative I’d say it is more of a logical stance communists should hate all types of racism
@@Eazycree but some conservatives use this to justify the idea that Muslims are bad
Hope "protect persecuted ethnic minorities" isn't too controversial a take.
Well this is the nightmare timeline and this is a reasonable opinion on the internet so it probably is
@@user-sx1mm1sl6u not saying the video as a whole but that basic statement
We can quibble about the details but I think we can all agree on the goal.
Edit
I love that your name being in Arabic puts it on the right lol
@@user-sx1mm1sl6u
I think he kind of went into that by stating that Saddam was going after communist.
But if such a political persecution targets a certain ethnicity in particularly it can cause a feedback of resentment in that ethnicity as well.
A necessary critique of our eurocentric view of leftism. I had no real idea that there were even indigenous minorities in this region of the world that were specifically christians, that were also being grossly oppressed and discriminated against.. Glad you brought light to this issue, and I hope more prominent leftists bring light to this too.
I posed then the question of Jews (especially MENA Jews) and Israel. Because obviously it's a major issue when it comes to MENA minorities and the place of refuge they received due to the systematic racial and antisemitic persecutions they received in the Muslim world for decades. It also covers how the Right has appropriated the idea of fights against antisemitism, and the very ideological mainstream of Zionism, while Left Zionists like myself are cast aside into increasing silencing.
Probably one of the best videos in breadtube in a while
Bread tube WE should make that a real thing
@Nspnspker
What do you mean by "so backwards" and "you guys"?
@Nspnspker
Oh, I agree with you there. While I think that the EU is too neoliberal, as it has pushed a lot of free-trade agreements that ultimately hurt the working class the most, I still think that we need the EU. It definitely has to become more democratic though.
And honestly, I don't care about "losing sovereignty" this way. I actually think the EU should have a bigger and stricter impact on its members, but only from a democratic viewpoint (that maybe stops overrepresenting Germans, even though that's good for me as a German).
Leftist Muslim here. Food for thought indeed
@Giovanni Rougenoir shut the fuck you r
Leftist Christian Egyptian/Copt here. I appreciate this video so much.
Leftist coptic atheist here and finally they are learning
Wasn't expecting this. Thanks for speaking clearly and honestly about these questions.
Many Assyrian Christians voted for Trump because Clinton was expected to invade Syria and attack Assad, who they see as a defender
Also because we are generally a conservative people
@@yaqo6577 Voting for Trump because you're a conservative means you're also a degenerate in the literal sense too.
@@MilitanT07 I don't think the majority of voters on either side are actually aware of who and what they're voting for, but thinking voting actually matters is hilarious. I said people vote trump because they're generally conservatives, which means they're obviously not going to vote for Hillary. There are only two real choices vote for
as a diaspora Orthodox Christian thank you for this video
As someone of an Iraqi Assyrian background, I was definitely surprised to see this. Great work!
What do you think of the idea of the Arabic "N" being adopted by Assyrian, or more broadly Middle Eastern, Christians as a symbol to rally behind? Sort of like how homosexuals use the pink triangle as a pro-LGBT symbol, despite it being used by the Nazis to mark them out for extermination
D Dog 2015 Well, it’s provocative. It’s very troubling to have this labeling of people for identification to have happened in the first place, but it’s part and parcel with the destabilization of the area and the ISIS insurgency. Reusing the symbol invoked the reality of vandalized homes that had been marked off.
If I’m totally honest, it’s out of the minds of most people in my Assyrian community. Many of them left while Saddam was still in power and more on their own terms, although my mom’s family experienced bombings when the Baathist regime was committing genocide against the Kurds (ie anyone living in the north who would get hit by a bomb). I had read about some of this in church newsletters and helping Christian minorities is something California house of rep member Anna Eshoo tries to raise funding and awareness for (there are obviously others, Eshoo is remarkable for her Armenian and Assyrian heritage).
However, it’s not really my experience since I was born in the US, and my extended family was lucky to leave Iraq years ago.
Your videos have a rare level of quality and nuance.
As a Christian (with ME Christian Friends) and a Communist. I've felt extra disappointed with Western Leftists on this issue.
But God bless your Channel its wonderful nuances!
@Giovanni Rougenoir See for some people religion is a part of their cultural identity. You can't just tell somebody to "drop their religion". Then you'd be no better than the reactionaries.
Everyone has different views on religion/spirituality. You shouldn't be disappointed because of it. As long as we all believe in love and the collective, we shouldn't care about our spiritual beliefs. We can have a peaceful conversations, sure. But you shouldn't feel "extra disappointed."
@Giovanni Rougenoir Christianity is an exclusive right-wing belief?
@Giovanni Rougenoir I'm merely talking about religious/spiritual beliefs. It should have nothing to do with politics. If it does, like we have in American with Christianity, or MENA with Islam, then of course we have to talk about it because then religion is part of the state. And I don't care what you believe, but I do care if the state tells you what to believe, or, at the very least,, discriminates against you for it. And at the end of the day, as a anarcho-communist, that's where I stand.
@Giovanni Rougenoir Believe it or not, I mainly agree with you. The church is a political institution no matter we want to believe. It creates a hierarchy and a power structure, and as we know, power will corrupt. I am an atheist/agnostic, so I understand everything your saying. Personally, I think mainstream religion has robbed us of some many things... But as someone who doesn't believe in the state or capitalism like myself (thank goodness for that, btw), how do we abolish religion? Let me word it another way if I can... I agree political institutions should be destroyed, because, as you said, they are oppressive in nature. But what's stopping someone from practicing religion on their own? I know there are people out there who don't go to church, but rather, practice it on there own time. Or do you think in the long run, this will only reestablish religion rule? I personally don't think so, but I am very interested to hear your opinion on this, my friend.
Any persecuted group has the right to speak up, regardless of their identity. Solidarity comrades around the world
As a practicing Christian. This was a genuinely moving video. Thank you.
I am a an amazigh, your video made me cry. Thank you.
Here Algeria 🤘
As a leftist christian this video almost made me cry.
Neko .Zombie How can you be a leftist and a Christian considering leftists support abortion which Christianity stands against?
@@randominternetguy1499 that is only one issue. In philosophy they are pretty much the same (to help people) the factionalism make the problems(catholic,orthodox,coptic) (and maois,stalinist,trotskist)
Kevin Hamm Well as a social democrat and Christian I think abortion is morally wrong in most cases, but also think we need to have a better social safety net and better adoption services if we ever want the number of abortions to drop. So making abortion illegal immediately (from a US perspective) would definitely be detrimental to a lot of women who would seek out dangerous underground abortions.
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As leftist jordanian i support all Christian middle easterns and the left in the middle east supports Christians and yes they are prescuted
Shukran comrade
@@lettuceprime4922 3foun , rafeeq
Persecution my ass, no ME government is going around oppressing Christians, it's solely a small group of radicals and terrorists (surprise surprise they also target Muslims).
@@hamooozmugharbel saudi Arabia
@@cottonball5499 there's no persecution in SA, infact none of these groups he talked about exist in Saudi arabia. The only ones there are SEA migrants and they aren't persecuted
oh lmao im technically in this video! (the random reply saying we should nuke england)
edit: ok now that ive actually watched the whole thing i have to say that this was very relevant to me, as a closeted trans woman living in serbia (an orthodox christian majority country which is still very, very rigid when it comes to gender and sexuality) and having to deal with...well, all of that, it can be difficult at times to recognize how power dynamics are different around the world, so i would just like to say: thank you.
B A S E D
Zdravo! I'm a fellow queer though not trans from neighbouring Romania that's also a communist and I fully understand the abolsute frustration of being surrounded by religious conservatives, solidarity and good luck
Greetings from Palestine. Thank you for this, this is very important. Both Arab and Kurdish nationalism have these toxic contingencies against minorities which should be condemned and fought (alas not by imperialism). As long as Christians are oppressed Arabs and Kurds will not be free.
I personally think that the kurdish nationalism part is incorrect since the KRG promised the assyrians a autonomous state in Nineva if they the referendum had succeeded
@@MalaKrekar The KRG is actually very opressive against Assyrians, but they try to do it subtly and deceitfully. One example among many is forcing an Assyrian mayor to be replaced by kidnapping and beating him. He was replaced by another Assyrian mayor who supposedly supports Kurdistan and tries to speak on behalf of all Assyrians and says that they don't want autonomy.
@@barnosho1611 I live in the KRG and have never heard of that before, that is fucking disgusting if the assyrian people want autonomy then they should have it, its hypocrisy at its finest that we want independence on the bases that every nation has the right to self determination yet prevent the assyrian people from doing the same.
thank you for sharing that information .
Nice critique of the left
Who would've guessed religious nationalism in countries that have had wars and dictators in the last century is bad for minorities?
Awkward attempts to be flippant about something so serious aside - I find your comments about Eurocentrism really hit the spot. People talk about it in so many contexts, but never consider it in this one.
Religious nationalism is bad end of the story
@@waterwaters Unnecessary addition, but yeah.
Nice video,
as a turk it's pretty obvious that radical muslims especially in the middle east hate themselves and eachother lol not to mention the people who are not muslim, in turkey for example we have a religious group called alevis similar to alawites and even though they themselves consider their religion as a part of islam many people do not thus the many hate crimes against them. I can't even imagine what the christians have to go through over there
My sympathies
Why do some of your country folk hate the Alevis in your opinion?
@@ruairidhlloyd282 i doubt there is a legitimate reason for hate but stupidity and fear.
@@ruairidhlloyd282 aside from the fact that they don't consider them "muslim enough" and therefore are "kâfir" aka infidel I don't really know... Alevis are really nice people and as our country needs it greatly educated, it's sad to see the hate against them growing with the islamist govenment too though...
I have some alevi friends from iskenderun, I think one of the reasons is there's a lot of parallels to be made with orthodox christianity - their places of worship have a similar aesthetic, they view god as a triune, not much distinction between men and women (no veils for example), they drink alcohol for religious purposes, etc.
@@LuisAldamiz it's more about how being a turk was viewed in the late ottoman empire, I'm of georgian origins for example but I can easily identify as a turk because "turkishness" is a weird concept to be honest. When muslims of greek or slavic origin in the balkans were called "turks" it's pretty easy to see why we still can't explain what it means. Being a turk was associeted with being a muslim no matter your ethnic background or your native tongue but as Atatürk wanted his newfound country to be based on nationalistic values instead of religion he made up a new version of turkish nationalism, aka every person with a turkish citizenship is considered a turk, thus trying to make it a nation state. I don't know how much he succeeded as the new generations don't see a difference between turkish nationalism and turkic nationalism lol
Oh and also I don't believe turkey is 99% muslim as everybody who doesn't state othervise or not of recognized religious catagories get defined as muslim automatically. Many of my friends are atheists and deists but their ids say they're muslim, though with the new eu approved ids this isn't much of a problem anymore
OK, I was prepared to dismiss this video, but damn, you're right. You're just right, if we think this way, then we're no better than them.
This is a good video.
As a maendian and leftist, I think you gave this topic a very nuanced and fair reading. Thank you for bringing attention to this, and for remembering us.
Thank you for your necessary critique.
Much needed video for sure.. I knew the right would seize on the Sri Lanka attacks to call the left hypocrites, and they did.
They did, and they were right.
@May they probably WON'T acknowledge it, continue justifying further marginalizing and oppressing Ethnic Minorities and say FUCKED UP SHIT like "Jesus isn't fucking real, you're stupid, Jesus didn't exist" and laugh in their Brown and Black faces.
...fucking Liberals....
I'm lookin' at AAAAALL the White-asshole-White-First Worlder-White-Atheist-White-Satanist-White "Leftists" out there who say stupid shit like "fuck Jesus in the ass, hail Satan"/"you don't know Oppression, I'm an Atheist, I am one of the most oppressed peoples on the planet". 🙄
🐸☕🙏🏽🌹✝️🌹🙏🏽
🐸☕🐸☕🐸☕🐸☕
This is difficult and disheartening to watch but also eye opening. It made me realise the extent to which Eurocentrism or Westcentim has made me ignorant to such issues. Thanks for making this video.
amazing, enlightening and honest video! we need more content like this on youtube
That was quite possibly my favorite video from you luv, and you'e so right. As hard as we try to self critique as leftists, we do often fall into this trap of relying on accepted dogma and not questioning the things we believe. Hell I do that on occasion despite my best efforts. It's always worth it to remind comrades to step outside their bubble and question the things they believe about specific topics. And it's frustrating and hard to not do that when sections of the world are so different from what we're used to, but for any progress to get made, like you said, we've got to.
Thanks for this, I need things like this to remind me of that :)
Quick reminder that radical islamists and western fascists are ideologically similar and should be treated as equal threats. Anyone who founds their ideology on hatred is an enemy, regardless of where they come from.
Fascism is regional, yes. It's dependant on your culture: a russian fascist, for example, will celebrate the 9th of May and scream slava stalin, not because they believe in socialism, obviously not, but because they see Stalin as a national hero that fought against the nazis, kinda like what german fascists (or well, any white supremacist) think that Hitler is a hero.
Fascism is just the evolution of reactionary thought, adapted for capitalism. Islamism, and more concretely ISIS, is fascism, fascism from the middle east, as easy and simple as that.
Edt:Just changed the date of victory day.
ISIS are anti-racist internationalists
As a middle eastern communist who have lived in the west before western perception of race and religion always seemed artificial, almost arbitrary to me. While the western left criticize the right for being too eurocentric, they always use eurocentric perceptions themselves, and divide the world based on those terms. I think this is a kind of orientalism in one sense. No, whites face persecution in some countries as well and no, christians face persecution in some countries as well. This is basically a question of what the wealthy elite prefers in such countries. Falling into the rhetoric that racial diversion based on color and religion applies everywhere is falling into the alt-right trap.
My culture is Islamic and Arabic, I would appreciate if this video is transelated into Arabic.
It would help the majority in WANA understand.
you could contribute translations for this video
@@tesso.6193
Great, tell me how?
@@3aZM see the "settings" button on the bottom left? click it then click "subtitles/CC" the "add subtitles" et voila.
you can do that for any video though other contributers have to review it too enough times for youtube to accept it.
btw are you tunisian?
@May
Not yet, I brought a laptop to start.
I need some time to experiment and figure this out.
Excellent video. I've taken a step back from activist and organising roles in the past while. Partially because of personal issues, but also because I increasingly am unsure about the rhetoric I use without thinking.
wow this was so eye opening and its a lot of brain food. thanks for this video
I'm just lookin at AAAAALL the White-asshole-White-Atheist-White-First Worlder-White-Satanist-White "Leftists" out there who say stupid shit like "fuck Jesus in the ass, hail Satan"/"you don't know Oppression, I'm an Atheist, I am one of the most oppressed peoples on the planet". 🙄
🐸☕🙏🏽🌹✝️🌹🙏🏽
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Really brave of you to talk about a subject that might otherwise be controversial in leftist communities. I definitely think that this is an issue we should pay more attention to.
Just like the native Americans the minority groups in North Africa and West Asia will never be recognized
Or in Latin America
Keep saying that and they never will, fight for them and maybe we can change that
At least Native Americans have self determination and have rights. The latter doesn’t. A very bad comparison if you ask me.
@@danielandres1579
Indigenous American and Christian Communist here, you said Indigenous Americans have rights here in America???
🤔
Interesting, it doesn't feel like we do. We damn sure do not have fucking Sovereignty, but SOMEHOW we got "rights"??? 🤔
@@gaybroshevik4180 I concur. The US government CONTINUALLY abuses the rights of Indigenous American communities.
As an Orthodox Christian and a socialist this was a very well put together video. Thanks!
Palestinian here, self crit is really important. I dream for a day where the Mid East can be a hotspot of various ethnic groups and religions coexisting and acting in solidarity.
as a muslim, i think this video is important, with its nuance and i salute you for doing it. i think a lot of muslims and arabs know what it's like to have a lot of negative stereotypes and hatred towards us, yet we completely lack the self awareness that we can be quite racist to our neighbouring black countries and mean towards the christians minorities as well, and we don't talk about it enough, or rather, talked about in a civilised way that doesn't demonize muslims as well. in the end, we're all the same, no matter the culture, the race, the religion, there's ignorance and blind hatred. nothing is white or black, and we should try to help minorites whoever they are, no matter their identities.
Same with south asians
I'm a leftist in Pakistan and here we raise our voices for religious minorities like Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, etc. What you talk in the video is something I've observed abroad is that sometimes expat Muslims who face Islamophobia project their real anxieties sometimes unconsciously onto leftists and progressives in muslim countries who are fighting the status quo.
Powerful and very well done video. The plight of Christian minorities being ignored by the left was something I took great issue with for some time, especially since many simply chose to ignore it in order to romanticize governments and movements they supported blindly. True leftists must be critical of a movement and acknowledge their flaws, otherwise we will fall into delusion that ignores the material realities of today. By being critical of our historical mistreatment of Christian minorities, we learn of the mistakes and failures of our movements to help further strengthen or own.
Btw Meia fucking owns, thanks for shouting them out
And it's a great thing you mentioned racialization, too. A lot of leftists- at least, those who grew up here in the West- seem to think or pretend as though, "Systemic racism is mainly or primarily a 'white man's thing'", but... not quite. At least, not globally. For example, the oppression of Muslim Chinese in Xinjiang by the Chinese government probably has its fair share of 'racist' (and bigoted in general) elements, I'm sure! And the Japanese haven't exactly treated their indigenous minorities "The best", historically (esp. burakumin and Ainu). So many leftists get caught up in critiquing Western colonialism and racism that they "forget" that leaders and majorities in several *non-Western nations* do a lot of similar shit at home! I may be white and have come from a 'white nation' (historically until fairly recently, at least, more or less; US), but that doesn't mean I " can't give a shit about" oppression in non-white nations, lest I be accused of "serving Western imperialism" or some crap. I just care about HUMAN RIGHTS! I didn't ask to be 'born white' or 'born in the West', and I would *hope* that, at some point, I'd be able to 'wake up' and be just as concerned about this stuff now if I *were* born either non-white or non-Western :)
Our ability to stand up for oppressed peoples *anywhere* should not be hindered by 'anti-racism' that *prevents* us from speaking out if said victims are non-white in a non-white nation. They're STILL BEING OPPRESSED by a brutal regime or society!
In the long run, oppression
is
oppression
regardless of whether it's being done by a white man or brown man.
True
Love from USA to all Kurdish, Alevi, Assyrian, Druze, Zazaki, Gorani, Sabean, Amazigh, Copt, Yezidi, and other persecuted peoples!
Well, maybe stop supporting regimes that persecute and massacre our numbers.
Ramez Hamarneh I don’t support the USA’s regime at all. What do you think I’m doing on LeftTube?
love from ireland also
@@ramezhamarneh4608 stupid to assume that he supports them
Props for tackling an important issue that you knew could potentially yield backlash from the ideologically possessed tribalists. It's easy to pander but you showed great humility in this piece especially at the end
christ didnt know you watched his vids. btw fan of your work
Bro are you Assyrian?
Latin America has been receiving millions of Christian Arabs from the Middle East for centuries, the Christian diaspora was a real thing back in the day. There are actually more Lebanese people in Brazil than in Lebanon, but they (together with like Syrians) were mostly Christians escaping the oppression of the Ottoman Empire.
And also, non-Christians have had even worse. A forgotten clash of Civilization that has actually been on the way for a millennium is between the Buddhist and Islamic world. Buddhist Afghans and Pakistanis were a thing until Islam conquered them over - as it happened everywhere East of Mecca.
I think it's a fair point to be made: muslims are people and therefore have their human rights and should be respected; but Islam can be criticized, and it has been undeniably an Imperialist force in the world.
Afghanistan hasn't ever had Bhudists U dope!
@@LionKing-ew9rm That is not even controversial. Just google "Buddhas of Bamyan", and look at the pictures of the massive Buddha statues carved in the hills of Bamyan, in Hazarajat region, central Afghanistan. They were there since the 6th century, but unfortunately the Taliban destroyed them in 2001.
I love this video, I am from Sri Lanka and our Socialist country being recently bombed by the Far Right Islamic State Terrorist group was done as revenge to another Far right attack on a mosque in Christchurch New Zealand by a White Supremacist in New Zealand. ISIS and White Supremacists are both Far Right ultra-conservative and ultra-religious Extremists, and they are trying to ravage our small country in their own battles! Our country did nothing to either White Nationalists or Islamic Extremists, but they are dragging us into their Fascist hellhole little by little.
So my point is, none of these acts of oppression were committed by normal everyday Christians or Muslims, but by the Far Right elements of these communities. Whether it's the western Christian community or the middle Eastern Islamic community. The problem is the *RIGHT WING*
So whether Christians are oppressed, or Muslims, we should always stand by the oppressed side and oppose the Far Right where it occurs!
peaceful coexistence should be the main goal of the Left.
Too many different nations, countries, alphabets and one tiny planet for all of us. Impossible to live peacefully.
Hey, ME person here from a Christian background. I'm from Lebanon, from a family whose house was bombed by the Assad regime and with close comrades who were killed by the regime in Syria.
Thing is, that this sort of dismissal is essentially the mirror image of Islamophobia. I wouldn't even say that it's a Western problem. It's very common in the Arab world as well. There is a sense of not taking the plights of minorities seriously. The example that you gave of Syria is a good one. Assad isn't really 'popular' as you said (no one is really 'popular' as that implies that people feel they have a choice), but I got your meaning. The point is that there are minorities who feel stuck in supporting tyrants because they at least know how the tyrants function.
One of the major failures of the FSA in Syria was not taking this problem seriously enough. There were many factors ofc, and I can't summarise everything in one common. But while it is true that Assad used sectarianism to terrorise sects against one another, it is also true that the FSA completely failed to understand how this was being used against them and why that mattered. And that's *before* they started allying themselves with conservative groups and, in some cases, even extremists. The FSA did have Christian leaders, but they rarely understood the importance of explicitly supporting minorities in Syria (with some notable exceptions).
With the PYD it's even more complicated because it has essentially turned into a one-party state. As you said, PYD supporters would accuse minorities who fly the regime flag of being Baathists without understanding that no one in Syria actually feels like they have a 'choice' in deciding their country's future anymore. This has been true since at least 2013 or so when Hezb/Iran's presence became more and more obvious. Those same ppl would then ignore the PYD-Assad connections.
None of this has ever been useful and by ignoring that the Left has essentially abandoned minorities. As you showed, this has left the space wide open for the right to step in and pretend they support the minorities instead.
I see hope. Its good that us the left critisize ourselves. Greeting from Iraq!
This is why we need communism
@Will224000 You suck! Besides, what is wrong with sucking anyway?
Dr. Tiggy you are a rich dog and we all hate you
@@DrTiggy666 do me a favor, prove you know what communism is. Go ahead and define it.
Dr. Tiggy if you aint rich then thats worse; you’re a class traitor, like a scab or a tow trucker or a cop. Either way you are anti-human and deserve thought reform.
@@DrTiggy666 Do you even know what communism means?
Thank you so much for making this video BadMouse... The struggles of minorities in the Middle East and North Africa is something that I feel quite strongly about, and I really would like to commend you on broaching the topic. I may disagree with some of your videos, but you really are a great TH-camr and a great leftist. I only wish you talked more about some of the non-Christian minorities and their struggles, but I do understand that such broad topics would require even longer videos, and would muddy the waters on the topic of how the left needs to redefine our approach to these topics, especially with the anti-Christian slant you mentioned. I was just wondering, what do you think of nationalism? namely with regards to how the dividing of people into in-groups and out-groups through the ideology of nationalism leads to the kind of violence and repression you examined in the video... I feel like a commitment to internationalism would be a good, encompassing, embracing alternative to the kind of grand civilizational narratives that the right peddles. Sorry to just ramble, I just felt really strongly about this video... thank you so much.
Well the good thing is that the left in the Middle East isn't afraid to talk about this, just as much as they are not afraid to talk about Westren Imperalism. Wow I didn't know you would know who Yusuf Salman Yusuf is, good job!
This is the sort of political nuance that needs to be delved into. Thank you
3:35
Which is ironic, considering how many MENA Christians are literally called "Orthodox".
Wonderful, wonderful video. I'm not from one of the persecuted minorities, but as a white Muslim in the US, I'm often so torn over these issues. I've never been able to articulate my position in a coherent manner as you have here. People will say that Robert Mugabe committed genocide, or that other leftist, anti-colonial leaders around the Global South have done the same. Controversial though he may be, Pol Pot comes to mind as well. But Westerners want there to be a binary: either someone is a progressive anti-imperialist, or a fascist dictator (and a comprador, leftists will say). But it's not that simple. Ethnic relations in the post-colonial/neocolonial era are complex and can't be reduced to the racial binary that make sense in the US and Europe, between white people and people of color. We forgive plenty of chauvinism in our own circles in the interest of critical support, yet when it comes to the Global South, there's always this awful imposition of Western realities onto the perception of the South. We assume that the racial hierarchies that exist in our countries due to colonialism must be similar to the ethnic hierarchies that exist elsewhere. It's not! Different phenomenon entirely. On the same note, we MUST listen to these marginalized minorities. Must must must. It's not just a question of humanism and fighting against oppression. It's a tactical question: if we are anti-imperialist, do we really want to alienate large swaths of people and push them to the right? Of course not. My heart goes out to these people. I cried listening to this video. Again, as a Muslim, it's hard when on the one hand you have to defend against right-wing attacks yet also protect minorities. Especially when no one will listen when I fail to articulate what you have articulated so lucidly. I'm saving this video, and I'll dissect a lot of the language in order to improve my own communication of the problem. Thank you so much!
You're getting really damn good at making these videos.
I'm not sure how to move forward with my support for Assyrian rights in WANA, though. Agitating for refugee rights within my country can only help so much, when Assyrians are being marginalized on an international scale.
Thank you for opening my eyes to this. You've given me a lot to think about. Will definitely check out Meia's blog for more info.
This was eye opening. Thank you for exposing me to this. We need to break the Eurocentric tendencies on the left
You continue to impress me with your videos, BMP. The nuance in your recent productions, and especially this one have given this burgeoning ML some really good food for thought.
Solidarity with the oppressed peoples of the world...ALL of the oppressed peoples of the world.
You outdid yourself on this one, both in style and content. Bravo!
This was wonderful. I study church history extensively, and had ancillary gained a lot of awareness of Christian minorities in the Middle East. I'd bring these issues up, but I got tired of being called a reactionary, or watching reductionist-leftists say their oppression is good because of the oppression European Christians perpetrated. I hope this vid takes off.
I want to say welcome to our friends in the western left, we have been taking about these "complicated" issues and thanks for making this video.
This has opened my eyes. I was one of those leftists who completely wrote off Christian oppression. Thank you for the education, comrade!
I loved the video it was really great! Thanks for the y'all did in making it!
Remember kids. If you want to keep capitalism, you’re not leftists!
Liberals are not leftists.
I've seen these views expressed by "The Left" and the liberal left. We have to win support by being supportive.
The decision to call out to all the left including the faux left was good. These people should be heard by everyone.
Toàn Khánh I feel like you can acknowledge a spectrum though, some right wingers don’t care about economic policy, I can accept moderate leftists who mostly focus on social issues of labor stuff.
Liberals are Leftists.
stalker Yes, but only by Amerimutt’s ideology-filled brains.
@@bruhb7611
*retardation-filled brains
This is a great video. Improved so so much with this one. Big ups
Thanks for this, my dude. It’s as interesting as it is troubling, and moving.
I just recently had a short exchange with someone about leftist narratives and attitudes surrounding Islam and Christianity, and it really made me think, and bothered me. I mean, after that exchange I really hunkered down and tried to think of any instances where I thought leftists I respected, and then more broadly, and if the left treated Christian supremacy/fundamentalism close to equivalently as they talk about Islamic fundamentalism/supremacy (these are the only cases in which I take massive issue with religion, and still largely view this the way I did when I was in my “Hitchens/Dawkins” phase). I was brought to an instance, in the not so distant past, of my being viewed as a crypto-right winger, just for using the word “Islamist”, which I thought was a term to distinguish Islam from the fundamentalist/oppressive types. I can’t remember getting any similar sideways glances, or being questioned, when mentioning fundamentalists/evangelicals, who I distinguish from Christians in general, and view as the oppressive type.. I really was bothered by thinking about how the left talks about Christianity vs Islam, and the relevant oppressor/oppressed as they relate to these groups, even though I was able to pretty easily chalk it up to recent (post-9/11) events in America and Europe, and general cultural biases... not that these are excuses for laziness, or getting the facts wrong..
You cover this same thing here, more or less, but just from a different angle. I quite love the way you approached it, especially pointing out that *the left’s silence, or worse, is the far right’s gain!* THAT, is basically as troubling to me as the general fact that leftists turning their heads to this is a hypocritical betrayal of real oppression... it’s maybe even more troubling to me, bc it means having to do even more work to get such oppressed people away from far right propaganda and lies.
This is incredibly important, and I respect the fuck out of you for focusing on this. Frankly, I hope this goes viral, and I hope it has a real impact, if only getting the left to do some self-crit, and/or some serious self-examination. Leftists are flawed human beings too, and we cannot expect to get everything correct, but we must strive to get these things correct every single time, bc it’s the difference between fighting or perpetuating injustices. We know our basic principles are what’s right, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t subject to the same cognitive biases as everyone else. We just can’t get cocky and expect we know the facts every time, bc unless one is well read on a topic, they likely don’t know the facts. This video is the best general, “do better”, message I’ve seen in a long time, and so much more than that.
Again, thanks so much, and thanks for your hard work, as always, Mouseboi.. ✊🏾✊🏿✊🏼✊🏽❤️🏴♾
It is nice to see you take the time to ponder things, criticize yourself, and admit you were in the wrong, videos help me understand alot too (I have trouble reading and comprehending what I read.)
Great Video, great eye opener. Please do keep up!
great video comrade.
love the warm color grading.
As a copt, who disagrees with you on many things, thank you *very* much for this video
@May
Well for starters, I'm not a communist
But that's not the point of this video, and I don't want to deteriorate this into a left/right debate when the topic of the video is about genocide
My own house in Egypt was marked with a "Noon" as shown in the thumbnail of the video, making it clear to everyone that a Christian was living in that home. I covered it up as fast as possible when I found out, because other Christian homes and business marked with the Noon were later looted and lynched.
This really hits home, and it's troubling to see he western left, who claim to be sensitive to discrimination and targeted groups, almost ignore and even dismiss us entirely.
I've had cousins beheaded on Libya for being Christian. I've been rejected work because the manager said "we don't hire Christians". My sister has been called a whore and a slut just for being Christian.
So that's why I'm thanking for this video. It's a real problem we face, and I am lucky that us Coptic Christians do not face the same genocide the Assyrians did.
Great video, self-crit has to become an integral part of commmunists/leftists, and you lead by example! Kudos from Germany, comrade Schlechtmaus!
The crusades, more than any series of events in history, have no meaning or identity independent of contemporary politics. Even during the crusading era, they were spoken of in anachronistic terms to discuss contemporary issues. They were not early imperialism--if anything, they demonstrate exactly *why* feudalism is not a colonial mode of economics.
They were not justified by the rise of Islam, which occurred much earlier. Each individual crusade meant its own complex event, and they do not form a cohesive whole. So instead, they stand in for discussions about modern middle east imperialism. But this is bad because it makes Western empire seem inevitable, natural, unending-- rather than sloppy, unique to capitalism and changeable
@@user-sx1mm1sl6u I'm referring to common modern right wing claims
Damn your videos just keep on getting better and better!
Extremely important video, thank you so much !
This is part of the larger issue of people in the west looking at issues in the east through their western lens, and if not that, at best, through the lens of the most dominant groups (in this case, Muslims) in the east. An improvement, for sure, but not by much. I see leftists cheering for dictators elsewhere in the world just because they're vaguely anti-west. They see imperialism as "that thing the west does", and fail to see it as what nation states do, and they do it to varying degrees of success in their respective regions. In fact part of what made me steer towards anarchy was my attempt to arrive at a worldview that addresses this failure.
And of course, the dominant lens of the east ignores religious minorities and minority ethnic groups in our regions. And I'm glad you addressed that here.
im so glad u made this video badmouse i had no idea of the extent of this.
An informative and useful video. It highlighted some very glaring (in hindsight) gaps in my understanding. I'm about to go and look at your friend's blog. Thanks for making me remember I need to keep learning more.
Thank you for making this video, it is important that left-leaning people start discussing these issues.
Another important point is that even within the West, there are Christians who (although they are not persecuted) are not fundamentalist or right-wing. As a lifelong Episcopalian, I am often discouraged when non-Christian leftists use the word Christian to describe only Western Evangelical Protestants, who I do not identify with.
This is a really good criticism of anarchism (not the philosophy but the culture) that's coming from a good place. I respect that as an anarcho-communist.
You made me want to get back to video making! Thanks for the fantastic video; it was very enlightening and on a topic I'd been wanting to know more about lately.
Thank you for this great video on this important topic!
And also 28 million christians in India, some or many of them also are persecuted. Almost nobody knows about them.
Thank you for making this video. It genuenly completely changed my point of view.
This was a fantastic video! I love it, and this is the type of content we can definitely use more of. Keep kicking ass. :)
My favorite video of yours so far
Awesome video my dude. Love when a blind spot is revealed.
Such a good video!!! Keep up the good work 👊🏻
This is the best video you've made so far
Yet again, I find one of your videos changing my whole outlook
Thank you for this video, this was incredibly important to hear and it is making me speculate certain views