News

It is a formidably important article.

We can see the schism clearly here on this site.

Under the Bush administration the 'left' here was overwhelmingly concerned with geopolitics, that is to protect the autonomy and security of Iran as a nation against outside aggressive forces. This was most often done at the expense of ignoring or whispering about internal human rights violations, and for this reason these people were labeled 'apologists.' They implicity justified this 'obscurantist' regime by their silence.

I myself began to refer to them as the 'geopolitical left' because  a 'pure' state of the art Leftist makes no distinction between human rights violations from without or from within, great or small. One stoning x 1000 = one bomb. One bomb/one thousand = one stoning. Same.

But this was the way it was. Geopolitical concerned were privileged over internal human rights to a sometimes appalling degree. Then would come the monolithic arguments and the covert 'bullying' (whose side are you on if you questioned Hamas throwing people out of windows..). Fascists in petticoats I began to call some of them even though supposedly we were on the same 'side.'

With the removal of the Bush threat this stance softened and most of these same people began to come out and if not shout at least speak in a normal voice about these 'obscurantist' barbarisms within the Regime. In fact some of them campaigned for Obama out of sheer fear of McCain.

With the advent of the Green Wave they dared to speak up louder against this 'obscurantism' and now many of them are screaming it and this is excellent. Iin my opinion this should've always been the case. Truth must come before ideology and strategy. However, we do not live in a perfect world.

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Now this more outspoken 'green Left' is finding itself at loggerheads in a strange schism with those that appeared to be staunchly in their 'camp' previously-the remaining' hardcore geopolitical Left', which has had to become ever more strident in order to be heard at all above the 'waves'. And strident they are.

Suddenly it is all so glaringly obvious-their over-simplifications, rationalizations, manipulations, black and white thinking...they would be the real dyed in the wool die hard hard core apologists except that the apologize for NOTHING. Ever. They are quickly becoming antiquated here, as they ally themselves now with a brazenly Fascistic regime with the excuse of a foreign threat that really doesn't even exist the way it used to and project it inward onto this 'foreign' creation of the Green Wave as though the million Iranian people marching in Tehran facing death and imprisonment and expulsion from university and so on had no autonomy or agency or a single grain of sense in their heads. While their former 'geopolitical; left allies become increasingly embarrassed about them.

It is certainly a fascinating dance to watch.

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Now you see this green/geopolitical Left making easy alliances with liberals, center, sometimes even right for common cause than with these others, these last of the Mohicans...

while there are also those still squirming uncomfortably between the two Left factions, unable to make the adjustment yet embarrased to rationalize any longer.

..and then we have a couple of brand new Obscurantists who have popped up to make the clarion call...very loudly...

fascinating.

I posted this a couple of days ago

Good article. I also crossposted it to a couple of leftwing lists I subscribe to and the discussions are firey, to say the least.