Glenn Greenwald: "The Cynical and Dangerous Weaponization of the 'White Supremacist' Label" - Kotaku In Action 2

Glenn Greenwald: "The Cynical and Dangerous Weaponization of the 'White Supremacist' Label" (greenwald.substack.com)

posted 2 years ago by AntonioOfVenice 2 years ago by AntonioOfVenice +33 / -2

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– current_horror 6 points 2 years ago +9 / -3

Accusations of anti-semitism are no different, but something tells me he won't be dying on that hill.

Edit because I have more thoughts: the problem we have is the euphemism treadmill itself. They're going to run "white supremacist" into the ground eventually, same as every other leftist buzzword. But how many scalps will they have collected in the process? How much political ground will they have gained before blunting their latest and greatest tool? And what does it matter if they can simply exchange it for another? We need to destroy this tactic at the source. We need to meme the concept of gullibility into prominence again. People should be ruthlessly mocked and ridiculed for trying to adopt the semantic attacks from the left.

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– AntonioOfVenice [S] 4 points 2 years ago +6 / -2

Accusations of anti-semitism are no different, but something tells me he won't be dying on that hill.

You didn't read the piece, because he did exactly that...

A similar dynamic emerged with accusations of anti-semitism and the weaponization of it to demonize criticisms of Israel. It is, of course, true that some criticisms of the Israeli government are partially grounded or even largely motivated by anti-semitism — just as it is true that some championing of the local police or support for Trump grows out of racist sentiments. But the converse is just as true: one can vehemently criticize the actions of the Israeli government the same as any other government without being driven by an iota of anti-semitism (indeed, many of the most vocal critics of Israel are proudly Jewish), in exactly the same way as one can be highly supportive of the local police or Donald Trump without an iota of racism (a proposition that should need no proof, but is nonetheless highlighted by the uncomfortable fact that growing number of non-whites supporting both Trump and the police). But the cynical, manipulative weaponization of anti-semitism accusations to smear all critics of Israel has rendered the accusation far weaker and more easily dismissible than it once was — exactly as is now happening to the accusatory terms "white supremacist” and “white nationalist” and "racist,” which are being increasingly understood, validly so, not as a grave and sincere condemnation but a cheap tactic to be applied recklessly, for the tawdry entertainment one derives from public rituals of reputation-destruction.