This is odd to read on the day that the (Republican, but this ain’t my dead-since-2014 mama’s Republican Party) President is threatening to destroy Iran as a civilization. Sigh.
I know. My comment is not meant as a criticism. More a reflection on how little what one group of extremists do or think matters if another group of extremists has all the power.
I certainly feel your sigh, and was discussing with my (Iranian) wife earlier how his rhetoric is a total circus. In the same day, he’s also saying that he won’t leave the Iranian people with the regime. His comments are not good for the mental state. Personally, I think he meant the regime with his comments, but either way, we just can’t place any stock on the ramblings of an unhinged mind.
Praying for the safety of your wife’s family and all the innocent people in Iran, as well as Israel and Gaza and the rest of the Middle East. Trump enjoys violence and flattery, for these reasons and more, we can never assume that he had good intentions. I hope this ceasefire holds; and I also hope that the new toll doesn’t further entrench the IRGCs power. What a mess.
Thank you, Amy, they are ok (and I echo your hope that all innocent people affected by this conflict are). I don't think Iranians ever assumed Trump had good intentions; just hoped that the regime would be unable to continue to function. It is a mess, and as the proposed deal stands, it would be a catastrophic outcome for the Iranian people.
I don't consider myself part of the "activist left" but I feel like the hypocrisy charge misses a major factor: the policy of the US today and for all of recent history is to support Israel. No American tax dollars, military cooperation, UN votes, etc. go to support Iran or Hamas.
So if you're an activist chanting "down with Iran", what are you doing chanting that in the US? Do it in Iran, or in its close ally Russia. In fact, I think you'd find that the anti-regime protesters in Iran, much like the anti-war protesters in Russia, are basically the "activist left" of those countries and strongly resemble the activist left in the US in terms of their relative position to society on various issues.
The US policy at the time of the massacres was already to launch sneak bombing attacks on Iran every once in a while. So there's not a whole to protest in terms of the US not opposing Iran enough. Now if you think the US should go further and launch a full ground invasion of Iran, sure protest for that. But it's only hypocrisy not to if the activists had pushed for a full US ground invasion of Israel, which I'm not aware of even a single protestor doing.
That’s not really the case though, Ben. GAMAAN surveys, the best gauge we can get of attitudes inside Iran, put opposition at ~80%. That increased over the last few years post the failed “reformist” years and the Mahsa Amini crackdown. Iran is also not a particularly Muslim country: estimates of Shia adherents ~30%.
No one ‘wants war’; this is a strawman and denigrates the Iranians who have tried everything over nearly five decades to create meaningful change. And there seems to be little concern or explanation from the ‘anti-war’ chorus when the regime goes into slaughterhouse mode against its own citizens.
I never made that argument nor the assumption. It’s also not “almost everybody”, hence my call to please listen to Iranian voices in this moment, not just ones that selectively align with your own perspective.
> please listen to Iranian voices in this moment, not just ones that selectively align with your own perspective.
I don’t think Iranians are as opposed to the regime as is claimed, and if they were pre war they probably aren’t now. Nor is your concern actually for Iranians anyway, wars don’t help civilian populations.
The war is hugely unpopular everywhere, even in the US.
Clearly not. Right-wing imperialist propaganda was not even invoked, and most of the sentiment that we can discern from Iranians inside and outside of Iran shows they’re not stupid: they know who Trump is. The Islamic regime is by orders of magnitude, one of the most repressive authoritarian dictatorships in the world. So you might have the luxury of waxing on about ‘imperialism’, but the people suffering under that regime don’t.
Thanks for writing this. It’s the most cogent analysis of the rot that has afflicted the left that I’ve so far seen. Chapeau and may Iran see freedom.
Thank you, Charlotte, I really appreciate that. Payandeh Iran!
You left no stone unturned. Your best yet. Payandeh Iran! 💚🤍❤️🦁
Ta mullah kafan nashavad, in vatan vatan nashavad 🦁☀️
This is odd to read on the day that the (Republican, but this ain’t my dead-since-2014 mama’s Republican Party) President is threatening to destroy Iran as a civilization. Sigh.
None of it should be read or taken as a dismissal and/or apology for Trump and his administration. It’s not an either/or.
I know. My comment is not meant as a criticism. More a reflection on how little what one group of extremists do or think matters if another group of extremists has all the power.
I certainly feel your sigh, and was discussing with my (Iranian) wife earlier how his rhetoric is a total circus. In the same day, he’s also saying that he won’t leave the Iranian people with the regime. His comments are not good for the mental state. Personally, I think he meant the regime with his comments, but either way, we just can’t place any stock on the ramblings of an unhinged mind.
Praying for the safety of your wife’s family and all the innocent people in Iran, as well as Israel and Gaza and the rest of the Middle East. Trump enjoys violence and flattery, for these reasons and more, we can never assume that he had good intentions. I hope this ceasefire holds; and I also hope that the new toll doesn’t further entrench the IRGCs power. What a mess.
Thank you, Amy, they are ok (and I echo your hope that all innocent people affected by this conflict are). I don't think Iranians ever assumed Trump had good intentions; just hoped that the regime would be unable to continue to function. It is a mess, and as the proposed deal stands, it would be a catastrophic outcome for the Iranian people.
I don't consider myself part of the "activist left" but I feel like the hypocrisy charge misses a major factor: the policy of the US today and for all of recent history is to support Israel. No American tax dollars, military cooperation, UN votes, etc. go to support Iran or Hamas.
So if you're an activist chanting "down with Iran", what are you doing chanting that in the US? Do it in Iran, or in its close ally Russia. In fact, I think you'd find that the anti-regime protesters in Iran, much like the anti-war protesters in Russia, are basically the "activist left" of those countries and strongly resemble the activist left in the US in terms of their relative position to society on various issues.
The US policy at the time of the massacres was already to launch sneak bombing attacks on Iran every once in a while. So there's not a whole to protest in terms of the US not opposing Iran enough. Now if you think the US should go further and launch a full ground invasion of Iran, sure protest for that. But it's only hypocrisy not to if the activists had pushed for a full US ground invasion of Israel, which I'm not aware of even a single protestor doing.
The initial problem with this argument is the assumption that opposition to the war against Iran is a left wing position. It’s almost everybody.
That’s not really the case though, Ben. GAMAAN surveys, the best gauge we can get of attitudes inside Iran, put opposition at ~80%. That increased over the last few years post the failed “reformist” years and the Mahsa Amini crackdown. Iran is also not a particularly Muslim country: estimates of Shia adherents ~30%.
No one ‘wants war’; this is a strawman and denigrates the Iranians who have tried everything over nearly five decades to create meaningful change. And there seems to be little concern or explanation from the ‘anti-war’ chorus when the regime goes into slaughterhouse mode against its own citizens.
I never made that argument nor the assumption. It’s also not “almost everybody”, hence my call to please listen to Iranian voices in this moment, not just ones that selectively align with your own perspective.
> please listen to Iranian voices in this moment, not just ones that selectively align with your own perspective.
I don’t think Iranians are as opposed to the regime as is claimed, and if they were pre war they probably aren’t now. Nor is your concern actually for Iranians anyway, wars don’t help civilian populations.
The war is hugely unpopular everywhere, even in the US.
Clearly not. Right-wing imperialist propaganda was not even invoked, and most of the sentiment that we can discern from Iranians inside and outside of Iran shows they’re not stupid: they know who Trump is. The Islamic regime is by orders of magnitude, one of the most repressive authoritarian dictatorships in the world. So you might have the luxury of waxing on about ‘imperialism’, but the people suffering under that regime don’t.