QOTD

Martin Bright, political editor at the U.K.'s New Statesman, interviewed in the August 6th Guardian (U.K.):

There is a tendency on the British left to believe that the 'wretched of the earth' have some sort of moral superiority to us in the West. That same tendency also associates anyone who opposes American or British so-called imperialism with the wretched of the earth. There is a big problem here, particularly within Middle-Eastern and South Asian politics. What you are talking about is a totalitarian ideology which represents itself as speaking for those people, when in fact time and time again those [who espouse it] are in fact the oppressors. The idea that people on the left, who call themselves socialists, should believe that it's proper to support Islamists as somehow the authentic voice of the Arab street or the downtrodden of Pakistan or Bangladesh is a contemptible misreading of these organisations and movements.

Sigmund, Carl and Alfred was more explicit on Tuesday:

The leftist European and leftist Americans have defined their support the dysfunctional Arab and Muslim world tyrannies, are nothing more than a 'feel good' pill of support for 'victims'.

That 'feel good pill' of support for victims provides a kind of false moral euphoria and sense of fulfillment. . .

The Arab world is mistakenly identifying temporal support for 'victimhood' and anti American sentiment as commitment and a real relationship.

Real relationships are predicated and built upon real commitments and shared values (turning a blind eye to Arab world dysfunction is not the same as 'shared values') In the end, westerners will not submit to a threatening sword hanging over their heads.

(via Norm Geras)