ravi:
> While this might be interesting in a general sense, I continue to fail
> to see how this relates to Joe’s particular post and Carrol’s
> criticism of it. Joe is not “identifying with the sufferings of the
> most abused”. He is out in Palestine trying to combat it. Carrol tries
> to make the connection via this:
huh?
Joe said that he makes fun of u.s friends on facebook who try to elicit sympathy (fishing for sympathy) because they've lost power. He says that he has gotten a great deal of enjoyment out of abusing them by saying that he and his Gaza friends will be sure to feel really sorry for them.
he got some enjoyment out of telling privileged us'ers to quit whining because people elsewhere in the world are suffering. shut up about the broccoli, kid, you could be starving.
Thus, the first comparison between a weather event (and the related suffering) and the suffering of oppression was made by Joe - not me or carrol. If you don't want people taking your comparison seriously, I'd suggest not making it in the first place!
But... what I'm saying is that making it in the first place is a rorschach test of your politics.
I realize he was goofing off, sure. but he was goofing off to say, "oh geez, these western people whine because they are out of power. big fucking deal. they are western and privileged. they know nothing of suffering. the people who really know suffering are palestianians in gaza."
I think it's a rorschach test of the kind of politics you embrace:
1. you are reading friends on facebook. 2. those friends are living in the u.s. 3. in the u.s., they are from upper middle class families 4. they complain of being without power 5. you, the reader, don't think, "gee, that sucks. i'm sorry you don't have power dudes. chin up." 6. instead, you feel compelled to remind them that there is worse suffering going on in the world.
in this case, joe already said he agrees, withs ome limitation, to the labor aristocracy bit carrol referenced.
in which case, i dno't understand the quibble. my guess was correct, joe does agree that there are some oppression(s) that matter more than others.
carrol's rant goes back a long way in terms of debates over the labor aristorcracy thesis.
shag
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