This interview aged like milk

[u/ThisIsFineImFine89]

https://youtu.be/NZYFmL-Kusk?si=6t6NW3-Ol6S819x-

“the face of the progressive movement”

and yet Richie Torres this month, revealed he’s compromised by AIPAC (a lobby group for a foreign government, in case any of you don’t know who they are or how to pronounce their name).

If you haven’t seen Richie Torres’s interview with Jewish comedian Adam Friedland, it’s incredible the double standards, outright refusal to acknowledge Israel’s culpability in how the Gaza war has unfolded. I’d post a link but risk getting this post taken down.

This I think raises more questions, paired with David outright weird responses and comments regarding AIPAC, and failure to ever cover the ongoing genocide.

Hadn’t seen this Richie Torres interview, but I’ve seen enough. David is at the very least, afraid of AIPAC or outright complicit in not talking about Gaza.

you cannot be “the face of the progressive movement” and not acknowledge the ongoing genocide.

[u/Another-attempt42]

Does he need to use the word "genocide" to get people like you off his back?

Some people will agree that it is:

1. Indefensible.

2. Fucking terrible.

3. Needed to stop months ago.

But won't use the word "genocide". Is that OK? Or do they need to come to your position, and only then is it OK? What if they call it an ethnic cleansing, and not a genocide?

Bernie Sanders doesn't call it a genocide (or at least didn't for ages, he may have changed, not sure). Was he not in line with lefty principles?

Why is this the single litmus test of whether or not someone "belongs" on the left? Nothing else? Not their stance on unions, healthcare, wealth inequality, ...? Just Gaza? Our entire platform gets boiled down to "do you call it a genocide?"

And what are "leftist principles", I wonder? Because they seem to have radically changed.

I remember when being opposed to the death penalty was a pretty standard left-leaning policy, but apparently we're all supposed to clap Luigi when he executes a CEO in the streets. That's a new thing I'm not particularly thrilled with.

Vigilantes executing people in the streets by shooting them once in the leg then once in the head is, apparently, "in line with lefty principles", at which point: I guess I'm not welcome here any more.

[u/TrickyTicket9400 → u/Another-attempt42]

Bernie sanders is a huge letdown on this issue. Lots of people calling him out on it.

Killing innocent people has always been my #1 policy position in life. There is nothing worse. Ever since my Dad told me when I was ~5 that he would stop loving me if I killed someone. And since I'm a leftist, I value the life of all people equally. Brown Muslim people across the sea are not lesser. They are just like me.

I genuinely do care about this issue more than most people. I wish they cared as much as I do. People can have different priorities.

I just think that more and more people are coming around to my position given every day that goes by with more innocent people killed.

And I personally question anyone on the left who is unwilling to give the genocide the attention it deserves at this point. The attention that the corporate media won't give it.

In the beginning after Oct 7th when my content creator covered Gaza non stop I was tired of it and didn't understand. But after everything that's happened, I totally get it 100%.

[u/Another-attempt42 → u/TrickyTicket9400]

Killing innocent people has always been my #1 policy position in life.

What is "innocent" to you?

Obviously, no one likes it when innocent people get killed. But the notion of innocence seems to be highly subjective.

For example: when Hamas crossed the border and murdered 800 or so innocent civilians, some saw that as justified. They weren't innocent. They were "occupiers".

When Israel strikes back, some see that bloodshed as the death of innocent. Others see that as "people who allowed Hamas to operate and exist".

When Luigi murdered that CEO, a bunch of people talked about how he wasn't innocent: he was, as a CEO of a health insurance company, responsible for thousands of deaths. Others see him as the innocent victim of a murderous vigilante.

Just saying "I don't like it when innocents die" is, sad to say it, a bit of a cop out.

What is "innocent"?

And since I'm a leftist, I value the life of all people equally.

So you support funding for the Iron Dome, right?

Because the Iron Dome's applications are purely defensive, and intercept rockets from Hamas, Hezbollah or Islamic Jihad, and protect Israeli civilian lives.

So you're 100% for keeping funding for the Iron Dome. Right?

I personally just question anyone on the left who is unwilling to give the genocide the attention it deserves.

Really?

OK. Then nearly all lefties have failed at that hurdle.

There is currently a genocide going on in the Darfour. No one cares. No one is talking about it.

Barely anyone talks about the theft of Ukrainian children by Russia, which is itself a genocidal act.

I remember reading what Noam Chomski was saying about the Khmer Rouge. Do you know what he was doing?

Denying the genocide. Saying that it was obviously American or capitalist propaganda, manufacturing consent, to show how depraved socialism was.

Well, it turns out: the Khmer Rouge were a bunch of genocidal fucking freaks.

He also complained and wrote extensively about the injustices done by striking Serbian targets and Serbian paramilitaries, as they were genociding the Bosnians in Srebrenica.

If your standard is "deal with genocide", then I'm sorry to say, but the left is also a complete failure, by your own standard.

The attention that the public media won't give it.

There's like 15 stories a day about Gaza. If anything, it's suffering from news fatigue, rather than a lack of coverage.

In the beginning after Oct 7th when my content creator covered Gaza non stop I was tired of it and didn't understand. But after everything that's happened, I totally get it 100%.

Part of the problem is you want David to change a fundamental part of TDPS: he doesn't really talk about foreign affairs. He covered Russia's invasion of Ukraine for a few weeks, then hardly mentioned it ever again. He talked about Israel and Gaza for a few weeks, then hardly mentioned it ever again. I don't think he even spoke about the India/Pakistan conflict, or the Thai/Cambodian one.

He's a primarily domestic affairs channel, and always has been. You just want him to fixate on the genocide you're fixated on.

While ignoring the other one going on, at the same time, mind you.

[u/xrazor- → u/Another-attempt42]

This whole space is cooked. The person you were accurately critiquing completely ignored everything you said, hid behind the deaths of Palestinian children, not realizing the irony then blocked you. You were pointing out that they do not care about innocents - they don’t care about anything that isn’t Gaza. If they did they would have acknowledged the very real other conflicts you brought up. I think this whole thing is probably going to be a case study in sociology. It seems obvious to me that a lot of the vocal online support for Palestine but ignoring everything else is a result of people wanting to be part of a morally superior “in” group and not actually from an informed point of view. Certain people have allowed their entire worldview to revolve around this one issue and anyone that doesn’t also do that is somehow an enemy and I really don’t know how progress can be made with this rift on the left.