Saying “I don’t care what you do, not my problem” is very much losing “moral authority”.
For decades (really centuries but…), The West (Western Europe and North America and the paler parts of Oceania) have claimed to be the moral arbiters of the world. Much of colonialism was built around the idea of “civilizing” savages. And many of the wars (cold and otherwise) of the 20th century were similarly built around this.
The US is speedrunning the erosion of any form of credibility or high ground. But The West as a whole aren’t that far behind. But the “good” news is that this is nothing new? NOBODY cared about Palestine until it got caught in the news cycle a few years back (and the Uyghurs, among others, can pound sand because anything else might hurt the supply chain). And there is a reason we all expected the most recent War in Ukraine to end with russia murdering a bunch of people, stealing more land, and doing it again in another decade.
This is part of what the article is saying, in a way at the end.
The ‘west’ needs to hold the pariah to account and demand change or formally disassociate with the pariah completely in order to have any scrap of moral ground in this. With each day that passes - hell with each fresh atrocity, further erodes that ground into complicity.
I think we’ve been well past that point for a while due to the western support for Israeli genocide. No one lifted a finger and Israelis can still travel the world acting like the worst tourists ever, like they always have been.
Don’t drag other countries into this, there is no “West” including the USA anymore. You’re on your own.
Saying “I don’t care what you do, not my problem” is very much losing “moral authority”.
For decades (really centuries but…), The West (Western Europe and North America and the paler parts of Oceania) have claimed to be the moral arbiters of the world. Much of colonialism was built around the idea of “civilizing” savages. And many of the wars (cold and otherwise) of the 20th century were similarly built around this.
The US is speedrunning the erosion of any form of credibility or high ground. But The West as a whole aren’t that far behind. But the “good” news is that this is nothing new? NOBODY cared about Palestine until it got caught in the news cycle a few years back (and the Uyghurs, among others, can pound sand because anything else might hurt the supply chain). And there is a reason we all expected the most recent War in Ukraine to end with russia murdering a bunch of people, stealing more land, and doing it again in another decade.
Because intervening would have been messy.
Uhhh
Go read British history.
America is just the asshole today.
I dont think anyone but the west ever thought the west had the moral high ground. I don’t even think the west thought it.
This is part of what the article is saying, in a way at the end.
The ‘west’ needs to hold the pariah to account and demand change or formally disassociate with the pariah completely in order to have any scrap of moral ground in this. With each day that passes - hell with each fresh atrocity, further erodes that ground into complicity.
Spain is doing its part (not as much as I’d want but…). I hope the rest will join soon.
And I’m at least mildly hopeful that ‘little’ gestures such as france denying airspace to weapons shipments will slowly grow into something more.
I think we’ve been well past that point for a while due to the western support for Israeli genocide. No one lifted a finger and Israelis can still travel the world acting like the worst tourists ever, like they always have been.