So here’s a rant. Trump is a vile creature for many reasons (misogyny, hatred of Muslims, xenophobia, racism), and that much is a given. But as someone who is truly leftist I am forced to wonder of my liberal friends how meeting with Putin or the alleged hacking is suddenly treasonous. Apparently the US toppling or interfering in democratically elected governments in (see: way too enormous list of nations the US has toppled in 10 decades alone!) is somehow far less of a threat to global democracy.
And no. It should be obvious I am no fan of Putin the oligarch. But it is pretty common knowledge that the US is an oligarchy, has been for a long time actually. And the “intelligence community,” the same one that surveils Americans and the world, or that killed Fred Hampton, or threatened MLK, or masterminded COINTELPRO, and funded death squads in Central America, do you really want these “institutions” as your allies? And where was everyone when he (or Bush or Obama) met with the Saudi monarch? They literally behead people for being gay or for witchcraft. Or Netanyahu? He is literally a modern day Pieter Willem Botha, presiding over a classically defined, 21st century apartheid state?
But it’s the treason hashtag thing that really gets me. Really. How great or noble can a nation be if ripping children away from their mothers, like in the book (or movie) “Sophie’s Choice,” but repeated over and over and over again, and caging those children and force feeding them psychotropics is somehow considered not treasonous? How about Trump’s threatening of Venezuela with invasion? or bombing Syria? or aiding the genocide in Yemen? or putting a US embassy on occupied land (something recognized by international law) in Jerusalem? Of course none of this is considered treasonous in an empire, and the most violent and powerful in all of human history, by the way.
So the question is, whose war is this? Is it for the powerless or is it really just the powerful against the powerful yet again? I think it is the latter.
So when you go after Trump and ALL of the elitist power class, for the right reasons: for the crimes against humanity (all humanity, not just the telegenic, whiter appearing ones), or crimes being waged against the living earth, or the seemingly never ending nuclear menace, or against capitalism (because really, capitalism is dividing and killing us as a species and countless others), or war and militarism in general, or economic terrorism (essentially capitalism); call me. I’ll join you enthusiastically. Until then, count me out of another McResistance™ to maintain the moribund and ecocidal status quo.
Kenn Orphan 
Thanks Kenn. Excellent article. I’ll be passing your blog address around!
David Taylor, Ireland
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Considering that this country seems to have no problem with the cannibalism going on in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in its proxie war there, and the stash of hundreds of dead runaways that seem to be discovered every few months across this great country of ours that is quickly hushed and never heard of again. Our future is clear; for those of us in the bottom 90% of the income bracket, we are the livestock of the top 10%.
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us elites have succeeded to much oin their softculture attacc; that us domestic politics is covered worldwide is proof of hyperreality
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trump messed up with mic, diplomats are mic connected; i always knew hewould overreach; i guess i had some faith in the backlash…we shall see
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seeingthis nonsense makes me pine for the dulles brothers, kissinger and rumsfeld hahahahah jean baudrillard is rolling in his grave
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ken, i needed that slap in the face badly. who’s war is it? words are powerful and I wasnt reminded of who’s war it is until your rhetorical slap in the face. I appreciate that; it is a class war, pure and simple.
everthing else is fluff and managed/sovereign/class “democracy”.
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I was going to respond (favorably) to the piece I read in CounterPunch today (July 18), but….after reading some of the comments here….I’m thinking that my opinions wouldn’t carry much weight, as I am an American.
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Hello David, you are more than welcome to comment on this post regardless of nationality or citizenship status. Please allow at least 24 hours for approval. Thank you!
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I have added this comment as a response to a liberal reader of my blog on another medium. The points are taken from 1 to 3 as she was dismayed by (1) the perceived defense of Vladimir Putin, (2) claimed the election machines were hacked with sans evidence except that “historians” of the future would find it out and that was good enough for her, (3) and claimed the offense was actually treasonous in a sham republic. Here is my response:
1. Putin is a murderous dictator? Maybe. Definitely a vile authoritarian. But really, is he any different than the previous American one who drone bombed wedding parties and ambulances and grandmothers in their fields, joked about it at the WH Correspondent Dinner, and said he was “really good at killing”? Or the beloved allies like the one that beheads thousands yearly? Or the one that carpet bombs hospitals and mosques and presides over an illegal occupation and apartheid?Or the ones in NATO who systematically destroyed Libya?
2. So there is zero evidence that voting machines were hacked. I mean, zero. But okay there’s that. Maybe historians will find something. Maybe. But they have actually found the American regime interfering in and toppling democratically elected governments around the world for decades, and under both political parties I might add. But non-Americans seldom figure into such metrics, I know.
The DNC and Clinton emails? yes. Most likely they were hacked by some interested party. At least we have to depend on the FBI for their word (I won’t go into their egregious legacy here) Voting machines? there is no evidence of this. And Clinton actually won the popular vote. It was the miserable electoral college that gave Trump the presidency. No Russian was involved in that. And all of this alleged hacking happened under the Obama presidency, btw. A presidency defined by his crackdown on whistleblowers and adoration of the intelligence community. But I digress.
3. Treason is a very specific legal term (especially if within a sham republic) so if we are going to apply it here then it will likely have to be applied to a host of American presidents. I’m a-okay with that since I loath the lot of them, not sure liberals would be okay with it though since President Obama is on microphone urging “Moscow to give him “space” until after the November ballot, and Medvedev said he would relay the message to incoming Russian president Vladimir Putin.” There is a link from Reuters and I’ll be happy to supply it.
If the KGB had involvement in the 2016 election I am all for uncovering it. But I am not for the red scare nonsense or the myth that America’s sham republic faces more threats outside its borders than within.
You see, the simple argument is that it is the entire American ruling elite who are screwing the public and the world, and the includes the intelligence community. Have been for decades. They must all be opposed for anything there to be any hope for humanity and the living planet. I despise Trump as much, if not more, than most liberals. But the reasons are quite different. Most establishment liberals have little problem with the ongoing genocide in Yemen, or Israeli apartheid, or Wall Street, or corporatism, or Big Oil, or anything to do with capitalism. Just listen to one of the most prominent ones, Pelosi, saying “we’re capitalists” to a disaffected young voter.
So if you want to ally with the moneyed Democrats, and an intelligence community with a horrifying record, against Trump, so be it. I won’t shed a tear if the orange buffoon is deposed. I shudder at a Pence presidency, but that is another story. And I think it is foolish to think these same Democrats are going to suddenly take up truly progressive or left causes. This is solely self interest on their part.
And finally, if anyone incredulously thinks I am pro-Trump or pro-Putin by this rant then I cannot help them. They are frightened liberals who see an enemy in the left, when it really is your only hope against fascism.
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Nice rant, Kenn. The list is long and ugly. The truth hurts.
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What this is about is the American propensity to believe their flawed institutions are working for justice. You’d have to ignore or simply not know about a long history of thoroughly anti-democratic activities and practices by these organizations to believe this, but Hollywood has pumped out a lot of pro establishment propaganda over the years extolling the virtues of these groups. This is why so many buy into the story of some international conspiracy to explain their own horrible state.
Even if there were Russian involvement, Hillary Clinton lost the left and progressives mainly due to her siding with corporate interests and her militarism. And she lost the election thanks to the American system, winning the popular vote and losing the electoral college. To my knowledge no Russian has ever been implicated in devising such a supremely undemocratic and stupid system.
Also, it is worth stating that since this post I’ve received nasty messages accusing me of being a Russian agent (seriously!). Even though it should be obvious through all my work that I oppose Putin and his authoritarianism. Not a stellar “fan” i would say, but it doesn’t seem to matter to Americans eager for a scapegoat. If you are not on the “treason” team you are somehow a Russian troll or bot or sporting a MAGA hat in your closet.
But that aside, the Russian Federation has its own problems and Putin is an authoritarian. But it is the US which has invaded far more countries, bombed more people, sided with far more dictators, supported more rightwing coup governments (like the one in Honduras championed by Hillary Clinton which has killed thousands and sparked the immigration surge). It is the US that has 800+ military bases around the world, including several that surround the Russian Federation in violation of a promise by Nato.
It is the US government which has surveiled its own citizens and foreigners, stripped civil liberty protections (see Patriot Act and NDAA), and magically transformed corporations into living breathing humans with full rights and full impunity for their crimes.
So I ask again, whose war is this anyway?
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You’re in my head again. Thank goodness. I’ve been trying to formulate my thoughts into coherency after being just absolutely baffled by the day-long parade of friends’ over-the-top reactions.
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You hit the nail on the head. Americans can’t look themselves in the mirror and admit to their governments atrocities which occur everyday, including the treatment of any person of color among others not white enough for their liking. And, with global warming the most horrific challenge ever facing humankind and the very real threat of nuclear war, they still don’t take to the streets and remain mostly apathetic, I can only watch and shake my head in disbelief and sorrow.
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