I think a lot of it is expecting him to be something he's not. Oliver is still a mouthpiece for capital, he still dunks on China, North Korea, etc, but he gets people maybe 60% of the way there in terms of conceptualizing what the major problems are with our societal system and some potential solutions. He's an important piece in the pipeline, and deserves critical (emphasis on critical) support. He at least recognizes that a lot of the problems are deeper than "orange man bad" or "political gridlock." They're not going to let anybody further left than him have any sort of major television talkshow thing, and pretending otherwise is disingenuous.
if you constantly attack the enemies of Empire, but highlight domestic problems, it's not a pipeline to leftism, it's a pipeline to Soc Dem Imperialists. American leftists need to realize that nations getting bombed and starved by its Empire is far greater than free college and healthcare.
That's actually a good point, can't argue with that. The collapse of the United States is more important for global wellbeing than universal healthcare in the US or whatever. I know John Oliver does at least talk about the military industrial complex though.
You're right that people America is bombing and starving should take precedence over Americans getting free college, but absent a cataclysmic nuclear war, the only way to shut down the imperial machine is from the inside. That's going to require some form of mass political movement. I don't think it's possible to build one of those around dismantling empire (something that goes far beyond opposition to a particular war, or opposition to the scale of military spending).
I do think it's possible to build a mass movement around education and healthcare, and I think that movement can be a stepping stone to an anti-imperial movement.
I don't hate him, but he does quite a lot of lib takes. He's good on a lot of things, but can be intensely wrong. I think overall he's a positive honestly.
I honestly don't understand the hate for him on this site.
I think a lot of it is expecting him to be something he's not. Oliver is still a mouthpiece for capital, he still dunks on China, North Korea, etc, but he gets people maybe 60% of the way there in terms of conceptualizing what the major problems are with our societal system and some potential solutions. He's an important piece in the pipeline, and deserves critical (emphasis on critical) support. He at least recognizes that a lot of the problems are deeper than "orange man bad" or "political gridlock." They're not going to let anybody further left than him have any sort of major television talkshow thing, and pretending otherwise is disingenuous.
if you constantly attack the enemies of Empire, but highlight domestic problems, it's not a pipeline to leftism, it's a pipeline to Soc Dem Imperialists. American leftists need to realize that nations getting bombed and starved by its Empire is far greater than free college and healthcare.
That's actually a good point, can't argue with that. The collapse of the United States is more important for global wellbeing than universal healthcare in the US or whatever. I know John Oliver does at least talk about the military industrial complex though.
You're right that people America is bombing and starving should take precedence over Americans getting free college, but absent a cataclysmic nuclear war, the only way to shut down the imperial machine is from the inside. That's going to require some form of mass political movement. I don't think it's possible to build one of those around dismantling empire (something that goes far beyond opposition to a particular war, or opposition to the scale of military spending).
I do think it's possible to build a mass movement around education and healthcare, and I think that movement can be a stepping stone to an anti-imperial movement.
I mean he’s a :LIB:
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He married a chud who was stationed at Abu Ghraib.
It's called critical support
And there's a lot to be critical of
I don't hate him, but he does quite a lot of lib takes. He's good on a lot of things, but can be intensely wrong. I think overall he's a positive honestly.
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