this post was submitted on 08 Nov 2023
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the_dunk_tank

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It's the dunk tank.

This is where you come to post big-brained hot takes by chuds, libs, or even fellow leftists, and tear them to itty-bitty pieces with precision dunkstrikes.

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Rule 9: if you post ironic rage bait im going to make a personal visit to your house to make sure you never make this mistake again

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Dude’s an ultra

Bonus: https://nitter.net/uncle_authority/status/1721967810241335347#m

I guess the Deprogram guys are the Three Stooges now? But the joke doesn’t really work

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[–] [email protected] 79 points 1 year ago (18 children)

It is a principle of dialectics that "contradictions are inherent in nature, the struggle between the old and the new is the process of development". Mixing religion with Marxism is a fundamental contradiction (idealism vs materialism, as pointed out by RD) that many of us leftist struggle with due to our own unique material upbringings, but one that we will ultimately overcome and unfetter ourselves off the idealism that comes with religion.

RD take is the correct one here but this is not the way to address it, it is simply unempathetic to Hakim (we don't know the source of his spirituality, might be related to his upbringing during war?). A private conversation + follow up post would've been the way to address this.

[–] [email protected] 67 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Of the 2 takes I've seen RD make on Twitter beefing with Hakim I've agreed with him both times but he's really the embodiment of "incredibly insufferable ML that needs to learn how to 'just vibe' and not drone out class analysis" when people are just casually chatting/hanging out

[–] [email protected] 42 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

he should use that skill to dunk on liberals not other less principled Marxists.

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[–] [email protected] 69 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I wonder what it would take for people on this website to realize that their parasocial daddies can be and often are incorrect. Roderic took a poor communicative tact, but it's obvious to any Marxist that what Hakim wrote is, well, rather silly in its implications. Being charitable, Hakim's view is likely skewed by personal favoritism and this error would be much less likely to come up if he was discussing other religions. Otherwise, one would be forced to conclude that he was catastrophically ignorant about the political functions of religion and the social basis for its creation, and completely oblivious to this ignorance.

Christman fucks up plenty too.

[–] [email protected] 39 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Christman fucks up plenty too.

But that's because he's our modern Harrier Du Bois. It comes with the territory

[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 year ago

Even Tequila Sunset is only human, and I could never fault him for that.

[–] [email protected] 68 points 1 year ago (7 children)

guy named Hakim from Iraq is Muslim, white people are shocked and appalled

[–] [email protected] 38 points 1 year ago

Who is surprised? Roderic isn't, as far as this tweet goes. It's just the mixing of idealistic reasoning with Marxist reasoning to try to bring people to Marxism from Islam. It's a method that communists call opportunism and claim, because of materialist philosophy, can only lead to incorrect interpretations and failure of socialist movements. Palestinians have material and religious reasons to resist, but the marxist analysis should focus on the material and how religion connects, not the other way

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[–] [email protected] 56 points 1 year ago (12 children)

I do think Hakim's take is pretty bad here. It's a very idealist belief that's fundamentally not compatible with trying to understand the situation trough a materialist lense.

Implying he's a reactionary opportunist is just such a massive overreaction though. You're allowed to criticize other socialists without being insufferable about it.

[–] [email protected] 51 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

There's a case to be made that their religion has become very ingrained with their day to day lives to the point that it's indistinct from any other type of social organization they have. In that case the faith, religious ideology, and texts are a little secondary to things like their family structures, social infrastructure, support networks, and locations where they can organize. So in that sense their religion has become very material, which is often what happens. Religious belief can often be made very manifest in the world, reified through things like very tight social groups. Islam in much of the world, including Palestine, is as much a political organization as it is the more spiritual side of things.

Although I'd criticize Hakim for characterizing all Palestinians as Muslim, or saying that Islam is the primary thing that's motivating them. Rather, it's more the case that political Islam is the most organized game in town due to historical factors of the region. If it weren't Islam, then people who want liberation would have something else, like how many Irish Republicans are Catholics. It is true though that 98% of Palestinians are Muslim, but that 2% who aren't will probably also want liberation.

[–] [email protected] 46 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I think your comment is exactly showing something that we as communists should be aware of: calling someone an opportunist or a reactionary is not some heavenly stamp which forever makes that person incorrect or evil or some shit. Calling someone opportunist only needs to mean "currently in the process we call opportunism" and nothing more. We decide whether that's true and expect the comrade to change or not depending on that result. If they don't change after being opportunist then they are still performing that opportunism.

Roderic doesn't think Hakim is evil or something, that's more idealist than believing in religion generally, just that the claims to religious power are opportunistic and through that Hakim is performing opportunism. We can disagree, but the idea that we can't call someone something because it's mean, even when that thing is a concrete description of a process, is bullshit that we take from some western Christian beliefs of unwashable guilt (without Jesus or whatever).

Also to be clear, I disagree with Roderic only because I think that Hakim is doing the "their religion becomes material to their lives" thing and it seems probably true based on the form of resistance Palestinians are doing. The fact that he is also religious makes it complexer (and possible that he should not try to connect it to Marxism) but I'm not bothered by it until we're already far enough in socialism that religion's material presence isn't necessary anymore.

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[–] [email protected] 54 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I would maybe shut up and listen to someone who is closer to the situation, but then again I'm just a corgi with a laptop, the fuck do I know?

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[–] [email protected] 53 points 1 year ago (8 children)

Roderick being terminally online is normal for him, like that time he wanted a teacher sitcom to have a school shooting episode and triple down

[–] [email protected] 36 points 1 year ago

Wow he would love this site. Get a lot of kicks calling people fascist for kinda enjoying a Netflix show or something.

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[–] [email protected] 52 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (8 children)

i love red sails, but RD needs to shut the fuck up on twitter. or maybe focus on promoting theory and engaging in legitimate, helpful criticism instead of smearing other socialist content creators on the pettiest straw man shit

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[–] [email protected] 50 points 1 year ago

nothing like a terminally online slapfight between minor e-celebs

antelope-popcorn

[–] [email protected] 43 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Last sigh of the oppresed? how bout you do class analysis smuglord

Gaza is a bunch of lumpenproletariat and kids, jesus christ mate, they don't have anything else to be strong outside of hope of religion. they dont control their lives in any way, israel is the camp guard counting their calories like the fuck

[–] [email protected] 46 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

they don't have anything else to be strong outside of hope of religion

This doesnt seem right to me. Palestinian people resist and persist because they are colonized people wanting liberation, self determination and through their will to live. Just like the Koreans did, just like the Vietnamese did, just like the Haitians or Algerians did. Just like hundreds of millions did under as bad or worse colonial or imperial opression. Palestinian resistance is admirable but it isnt something historicaly unique that needs the "hope of religion" or the "importance of islam" in order to exist or be explained. At best those are of symbolic importance and manifesting due to the particular superstructure in Gaza but the actual struggle and anti-colonial martyrdom and bravery is something that has been replicated again and again across massively different religious and cultural contexts.

Palestinian people persist and would have persisted just as much in the absense of Islam. If they were cristian , atheist or buddhist. As tens if not hudred sof thousands of non Muslim palestinians do and did. The Quran no matter how beautifuly written doesnt actualy provide any insight for a marxist in the analysis of how and why Palestinians persist and reading the biography of the Prophet and some book by a white dude that converted to islam are anything but foundemental in understanding or interpreting the palestinian struggle and neither are they particularly usefull for building or expanding any other struggle, neo-colonial or otherwise

Palestinians have everything most other opressed and colonized people had in order to be strong. And they are strong and would be strong outside of the "hope of Islam" .

[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 year ago

I think you're confusing critique of Gazans with critique of someone who is openly Marxist utilizing religion to explain the Gazans WITHOUT mentioning how their religion is material to them. It's the fact that the tweets talk about Islam as a force above the material conditions. Hakim believes it, and I'm not bothered by that at all and support it, but do not appreciate the mix with materialism without being clear about that relationship. It's kinda impossible to avoid as a believer and is a clear contradiction, but we have many more of those that are more important than religion/materialism at this point.

[–] [email protected] 43 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Why are people latching on to this one tweet by Hakim lol

[–] [email protected] 48 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 41 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Muslim man: says something positive about Islam

Westerners: surprised-pika

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[–] [email protected] 41 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Hmm, time to click on this thread about airhead social media personalities. Surely it’ll be lighthearted fun!

gets bowled over by a hundred post arguing about mmt

MMT deez nuts

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[–] [email protected] 41 points 1 year ago

This is just regular Roderic, he takes things to peak seriousness and is allergic to not standing his ground on shit he thinks are fundamental matters of principle and theory.

Pretty much all his other recent posts are about the Palestinian genocide, he just thinks for whatever various reasons that this kind of thinking is opportunism and harmful rather than helpful, and because he is the way he is he feels he has to stand his ground on that point of theory.

[–] [email protected] 40 points 1 year ago

Roderic is probably the most principled and learned marxist I know online. He's a cool dude and he is definitely not taking an L here.

[–] [email protected] 39 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

We should unite with all progressive forces including religious ones. My full critical support is with the PIJ. It totally makes sense for us to look into Islam to understand that perspective and the role it’s played in history and the present. However, ultimately we are materialists and it’s kind of weird to evangelize to Marxists. In this instance Day is principled, but ~~kind of~~ annoying.

Edit: I don’t think Hakim is proselytizing anymore

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[–] [email protected] 38 points 1 year ago

Religion is the opiate of the masses. Opiates are good medicine to help people get through pain People in the middle east have alot of pain to endure. Hakim as a doctor would understand this

[–] [email protected] 36 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I didn't understand a word of what that uncle_authority guy said.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 year ago (15 children)

"The deprogram guys are evil opportunists because: [insert perfectly normal quotes]"

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[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 year ago (9 children)

why is that uncle authority guy so mad about what's a pretty innocuous post, he's made like 20 subposts about it ::: spoiler terminally online malding

[–] [email protected] 50 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Hakim's take is a little cringe but getting this worked up about it is orders of magnitude worse.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

In retrospect, it reads like bait. Reminds me of the time during the Bush / Gore debate when Bush said Jesus was his favorite historical figure and Gore rolled his eyes, then spent the rest of the election apologizing for it.

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[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 year ago

RD is literally the guy from the "no everything has to be serious at all times" meme. This is the level of posting that could kill you via brain aneurysm if you're not careful.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (4 children)

He does this whenever he thinks hes got a hit tweet.

He once posted all day for like a full week about how he epic owned the nordics about food cause he posted "rotten reindeer cock" over and over, it used to be his bio like "destroyer of subhuman nordic cuisine" or something like that.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 1 year ago

Lol hes like the platonic ideal of this site's userbase

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 year ago

Online guy getting mad about religion

Flim at 11

[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago (1 children)

i love the guys that are like, tryin to theorize the best, most marxist, politics while also vividly hallucinating that the year is 1921 and they have been asked to give a speech on how best to collectivize the Russian economy.

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[–] [email protected] 34 points 1 year ago (2 children)

All of these people need to log off and go do some irl organizing

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[–] [email protected] 33 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I feel like Day could've been a bit more tactful, but that doesn't detract from the fact that he's right. Instead of outright rejecting what he's saying, we should examine what he's saying more carefully instead of outright rejecting beliefs we don't like.

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[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Another W for Rod and another L for the deprogram bois. I thought Hakim would be above tailism. Such a shame.

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 year ago

I am not sure why this thinks he can begin to understand what Islam and being Muslim means to Palestinians.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 year ago (7 children)

Roderic has always been a pseud. I don't get why people take him seriously. His takes are passable if he like spends 90% of his time organizing, but as a take-giver-with-no-real-life-organizing-to-show-for-it, they're complete ass. So much mid analysis.

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I mean Roderic is not wrong here, he's just an arsehole. Same when he railed against MMT.

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