this post was submitted on 19 Aug 2026
367 points (99.7% liked)
Privacy
10591 readers
381 users here now
A community for Lemmy users interested in privacy
Rules:
- Be civil
- No spam posting
- Keep posts on-topic
- No trolling
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
in my view, israel is the one writing them off as such. i see myself as trying to look at the state of the world as clearly as I can, which involves yes looking clearly at the actual state of people and not what i wish they would be. to the specific challenge, if israel leaves them a dissolute, defeated mass (i frankly doubt they'll turn to alcohol or gambling, though disparate with the peoples of lebanon and syria seems much more likely), yes i'll observe that fact plainly and without regard to politeness. i dont agree that it is racist to observe that the remaining indigenous peoples of america disproportionately live in abject poverty and suffer extremely disproportionately from alcoholism and gambling addiction, among many other poverty- and desperation-related population effects. i think its racist to pretend otherwise, actually. edit: and further evidence of your ignorance
edit: i checked my figures, and i thank you for encouraging me to do so. i had to downgrade my statements from "overwhelmingly" to "disproportionately." still, 2x more likely to live in poverty (<23k/y) and 4x more likely to die from alcohol-related illnesses compared to the general population is an undeniable statistic. i dont say its determinitive, or that their genetic makeup causes it, i say its a statistical fact, and you can trace its roots to their ancestor's genocide.
I get that more. I'm by no means suggesting rose colored glasses or worse plain ignorance. We do have acknowledge problems and meet the world where it is at. I am just highly opposed to giving up and not take back our symbols and meaning or to throwaway what the people who have fought the good fight because assholes have tried to make it there own too.
We can acknowledge the real harm alcoholism and it's leading cause of generational trauma and continued government restrictions on the res but it is not all we are by any stretch of the imagination. In fact the only reason why it can be a problem is because we are still here, and have the full human spirit with us still. That spirit is also why we are still fighting for each other and why it's worth it. Just like those that came before for those that have still yet to walk with us.
No doubt Israel and too many US politicians are to blame, but oppression is never stopped by the oppressor its up to us currently with privilege and good consciousness fight with them.
hey bud. im looking over my comments yesterday and i came in way too hot. im realizing i missed my happy pills that morning. while i agree with pretty much everything i said (i could have absolutely been more precise in my specific racial claims for instance- i painted with an over broad brush and i think it might be fair to say i was externalizing some latent racism, fair callout), i should have said it more gently and kindly. you deserved better. the anger i had, while perfectly valid, was extremely misplaced.
and im looking back over your comments and i think, we're not actually disagreeing for the most part. its perfectly compatible with my views to observe that the resistance movement in america is very much a part of the american culture. i dont think we actually seriously disagree, now i've had a chance to sleep on it. and come to think of it, by rejecting the premise of the song of freedom (while trite and reductive), i am in fact dismissing the real efforts by the named champions among others.
i think i just feel defeated. i look at all the lawlessness around me and feel hopeless. pedofascists control the fed, thugs control my state, my local council is corrupt and the police collect a paycheck for sitting in their cars talking to each other for hours in the mcdonalds parking lot, and i know good and goddamn well there's crimes going on. its all going to shit and i cant help but feel totally defeated. but i shouldnt have taken that out on you, my ally. its amazing how i can see (i think) pretty clearly, but my emotions fuck up my ability to cope with the information effectively.