#I definitely don't like Biden's policies on palestine

[eowyntheavenger]

Hi! I saw your post on telling Americans to vote, and I was wondering what you think of posts from people from other parts of the world who are calling Americans evil for voting for Biden because of his support for Israel. I've seen a few already. They seem to be completely convinced that Americans deliberately voted for Biden specifically to side against Palestine and no other reason, and spread the general (pretty ignorant and hateful) message of "Americans are evil because of the actions of their government and because they collectively refuse to vote for a president who is good and not simply 'the lesser of two evils'". It frustrates me because they seem to think they're experts on US politics, culture, and society and have all the answers, but it also makes me concerned because it reminds me of the whole Russian bot thing from last time. Like, I'm 99% sure the people reblogging these posts aren't Russian bots (don't know about the OPs though), and they unquestioningly believe this. What do you think of this and how would you go about addressing this issue? Do you think it's possible to get them to understand how little they actually know about the US and how they're actually promoting a message that makes things worse for everyone? I've also seen less scathing posts that are just disheartened and don't seem to believe the democrats are truly better to vote for than the republicans and so it's just two sides of the same coin. To be fair, I think that sort of feeling is only further encouraged because there didn't really seem to be much if any progress made with Biden, not even back to square one after Trump moved the country so far backwards. I think most Americans really wish the elections actually had good candidates and they could pick the best of two goods, but are frustrated and stuck with the current system and don't know how to actually get to the point where there are good candidates. (Though personally I think voting for the one who isn't actively trying to make themselves a king with unlimited terms is a decent start. I can understand the frustration though.)

Hi! Thanks for the ask. This stuff worries me too. I've gotten comments on my posts like that too, telling me/other Americans that we're evil for voting for Biden.

But I've seen a much larger number of comments and posts from people outside the United States BEGGING us to vote for Biden. I literally get tags like that on my posts EVERY DAY urging Americans to vote blue. So I think that's valuable context, even if it doesn't solve the problem of the "I hate everybody who votes for Biden" crowd.

And yes, it's definitely a shitty argument on their part to claim that people voting for Biden are specifically siding against Palestine. Literally every single person I know in real life and online who plans to vote for Biden has been criticizing and protesting his policies on Palestine.

In terms of convincing the anti-voters that they're wrong, honestly, I don't know. They don't listen to reason and they seem intent on spreading despair. Some of Biden's policies have been terrible (Willow oil-drilling project), some of them have been downright evil (military aid to Israel), but I'm a rational person and I know that Trump is worse in every respect.

I've tried debating them. It's been pointless every time. They genuinely don't know how the government works, which scares me. Common takes include: 1) a genuine lack of awareness of how pro-Israel Trump and the right wing are, combined with magical thinking that a virtually unknown third party candidate can win the presidential election, 2) truly impressive mental gymnastics blaming Biden for the overturn of Roe v. Wade, and 3) continuing the mental gymnastics to blame Biden and the Democrats for anti-trans policies...

I guess my advice is to either ignore them and move on, or debunk things when you have time/energy? It's easier said than done, I know. There's nothing more annoying than someone being stupid on the internet, especially when they accuse you of stuff that just isn't true, and especially when they're spreading dangerous misinformation or voter-suppression rhetoric.

Like you, I'm highly suspicious of anyone who advocates AGAINST voting, or against voting blue. And I agree, many of these people are not bots, like you said, but I call them useful idiots, because they're doing the bots' work for them.

The one thing you said that I'm going to push back on is "there didn't really seem to be much if any progress made with Biden." Biden's actually made lots of progress on a variety of issues, and reversed some of Trump’s damage, it just doesn't get a lot of fanfare and it’s unfortunately happening at the same time as Republican gains in state legislatures and while they control the Supreme Court. But Biden and his administration have:

• invested billions in green architecture and clean energy, including making sure federal investments benefit low-income communities

• introduced new fines for companies' methane emissions

• introduced a plan to cut the federal government's greenhouse gas emissions by 65% by 2030 (that includes the military, which is a huge emitter)

• passed a huge bill for improving the country's infrastructure, including bridges, roads, broadband and more

• introduced first-ever national strategy on gender equality and equity and pushed Congress to pass the Equal Rights Amendment

• fought for women's reproductive rights after the overturn of Roe v. Wade

• put more women, people of color, and women of color on the federal bench than any of his predecessors combined

• nominated Kentaji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court

• boosted funding to historically Black colleges

• ordered the DOJ to end the use of private prisons by the federal government

• pardoned thousands of people convicted on federal marijuana charges

• created a White House office of gun violence prevention

• passed the Respect for Marriage Act, guaranteeing federal rights and benefits for same-sex couples

• rolled out a series of actions to protect the rights and safety of the LGBTQ+ community, including protecting queer and trans foster youth, improving access to mental health services, and addressing the rise in hate crimes

• challenged discriminatory state bans against gender-affirming care and trans athletes

• called to support trans youth in State of the Union address and restored the White House tradition of recognizing Pride Month

• changed passport rules so that people can obtain a passport with no gender marker

• examined efforts by each federal agency to advance LGBTQ+ rights around the world

• reversed Trump's transgender military ban

• protected the rights of incarcerated trans people

• forgave billions in student debt, repeatedly, and introduced penalties for college programs that trap students in debt

• slashed bank overdraft fees

• expanded guaranteed overtime pay for millions of people

• made union-busting harder

• prevented discriminatory mortgage lending

• made efforts to expand the child tax credit, which could lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty

• cracked down on agriculture monopolies to support farmers and small businesses

• made it so the government is going to start taking drug companies' patents away if they don't make affordable drugs

• made over-the-counter birth control pills available for the first time

• lowered the cost of hearing aids and expanded access to them

• spent millions of dollars on students' mental health

• reversed discriminatory healthcare rules

• reinvigorated cancer research

• announced plans to replace all leaded pipes in the next ten years as well as combatting lead exposure abroad

• changed rules for how people can get aid after disasters so they can get more protection and immediate payments more easily

• introduced new data privacy rules protecting people from tech companies

• pushed the federal government to monitor AI risks

• maintained steadfast support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression

• maintained steadfast support for Taiwan in the face of Chinese intimidation

• strengthened ties with allies in Asia and the Pacific Islands

• pledged climate change assistance to low-lying Pacific Island countries

• literally IMMEDIATELY after being elected, Biden fortified DACA, rejoined the Paris Agreement, and ended Trump's discriminatory "Muslim ban", ended the Keystone XL Pipeline and fossil duel development in wildlife monuments, (same as last link) rejoined the WHO, strengthened COVID-19 response measures on a variety of fronts, re-included non-citizens in the U.S. census, and passed executives orders on racial equity in the federal government

And I'm sure there's more I left out.

There are also things Biden does that literally don’t make the news, but matter a lot, like funding the Postal Service, and continuing to have a State Department so we can conduct overseas diplomacy (Trump tried to defund the USPS and wants to purge the State Department and fill it with loyalists).

#asks #US politics #Biden administration #I'm planning to make an even more comprehensive post at some point #my post

[old-school-butch]

Really not sure I agree with you over your dismissal of economic factors. It’s not simple, but economic / geopolitical warfare with China, as well as attempts to have influence over oil reserves in the region, definitely can’t be separated from American (and European) economic interests. Biden said if an Israel didn’t exist in the Middle East then they would create one. Israel itself isn’t valuable for its economic returns, but it’s an important (and reliable) American military outpost (that would not survive without American military support) in a region that is hostile to Western economic interests, and ultimately a region in possession of a major part of the world’s oil reserves. Since Iran fell out of Western sphere of influence in 79, US recognises its access to the region’s oil is tenuous and needs a means of ensuring continual unrest in the Middle East, leading to lack of organisation amongst states to oppose US influence in the region. Israel are much more loyal to America than the Saudis will ever be, because without America Israel couldn’t exist. Not to mention they’re a great source of support for the US arms industry, but that goes without saying.

The reason I mention China is because a larger goal of US foreign policy is isolating it from any potential ally; the proxy war in Ukraine is ideal for weakening Russia economically and militarily, for example. Having a military outpost in Israel keeps Iran in check and acts as a base of operations, and destruction of Palestine potentially baits Iran into some kind of intervention (it’s been theorised, who knows what hand Iran will play), which would fare poorly for Iran, and then you have isolated China from two of its major allies.

My main critique of this argument is that it's a weirdly US-specific perspective on global politics, as if the citizens of non-US countries are the NPCs of a US story. Describing the Ukraine conflict as a proxy war to weaken Russia is like... not technically wrong but do you really think that's why Russia started the war? US opportunities resulting from conflicts don't explain the conflicts themselves.

So, does the US have economic and strategic interests in the middle east? Sure. Is that why the people in the region are at war? No. For more evidence, history shows that the US interest and role has shifted significantly over time, but the conflict hasn't fundamentally changed. The French - not US - were Israel's strongest backers in the late 40s/50s - remember, Britain, France and Israel joined forces over the Suez crisis with Egypt. France, at first, rewarded Israel with access to sales of their military equipment into the 60s but later cooled relations with Israel because it was trying to play nice with it's former colony Algeria, and the Muslim population there didn't like Israel because of those aforementioned religious reasons. The Soviets, at one point, loved Israel's socialist flirtation with kibbutzes and happily provided MiGs and other arms but later on found less independent allies with a variety of Islamic revolutionaries.

Because Israel is politically isolated in the region - due to religion - it can opportunistically make and break alliances with global powers because it represents an a contrarian bet to whatever else is happening in the area which shifts over time. In the 70s-80s, the US was courting Islamic countries because they felt they'd be immune to Soviet influence since they were godless communists - this was the era of funding the Muhajadeen in Afghanistan to fight the Soviets, if you recall. As you might guess, that didn't turn out all that well and the Russians have managed to make very strange bedfellows with the BRICs alliance even today. (Although I will note that India, much like Israel, plays its own game and remains uniquely neutral in its relationships, which is possible - like Israel - by a unusual combination of a powerful economy and regional situation.

The US has - at times - said that Israel as its best friend in the middle east, but in reality Israel is Israel's best friend in the middle east and everyone knows that. It has been successfully strategic in courting support from multiple backers, but doesn't feel too beholden to following US policy. In fact, the careers of multiple American presidents have been made or ruined by their efforts to try to make peace between Israel and its neighbors. Even today, we can see Blinken working hard to try to settle this war before it affects the American election and hands a victory to Trump. That has been Russia's motivation to back the Houthis, Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas - all of whom have been invited to Moscow to plan and coordinate their strategy. Based on the success of the information war, I think Russia and China disinformation campaigns have their fingerprint on that end of the public relations cover. And of course I find it disturbing how effective it's been, but what's the point of running tiktok and bot campaigns if you can't leverage the information you gain about how to get traction with a liberal Western audience?

But even these efforts are more about strategy than oil itself - after all, Israel is the one country without oil reserves - why would anyone pick that as your only ally to secure oil? US foreign policy involves multiple lines of communication, alliances and trade, often supporting both sides of multiple disputes. When you hear reports of how many US bases have been targeted by Houthi rockets, for example, you might want to contemplate that the US maintains more than 750 military installations globally in 80 different countries. Yes the US provides foreign aid to Israel, but also to Palestine, UNWRA, Egypt, Jordan, Saudis and almost everyone else... the list is long but remember that 'aid' is sometimes just 'letting' those countries buy your weapons systems in exchange for some other favor. So I don't think that's really evidence that explains what's happening.

The period you're describing best matches the American perspective between 1980-2000. You should note that by the late 1990s the US was importing oil primarily from Canada and Venezuela, and the US is currently a net exporter of energy. It has zero oil interest in this region now. Furthermore, the US arms sales to Israel currently account for maybe 15% of their total military purchases but Germany is a close second in sales to Israel, and Israel overall is a net arms exporter to places, including the US and US allies like Ukraine. In 2020, the US gave $3.8bn in military aid to Israel (which means they provided weapons on that value under some form of reciprocal deal - the term 'aid' is confusing), but Israel exports $12.5bn in arms. The $6.6bn of US aid that flows to its other MENA partners is less per country, but also has fewer returns. The US has been a net buyer of Israeli military technology lately, and would love to get its hands on the Iron Dome system so there will be more deals incoming, but the US would love nothing more than to get the region to simmer down so they can get to business.

[askshivanulegacy]

Hey this isn't like me yelling-callout-post-NOW or anything but I was scrolling through replies on the trolley-problem-palestine post and I do want to say that I have to unfortunately be invested in US Politics as a non-US citizen because of the way these elections affect the rest of the world, culturally and politically. The US is one of the richest and most influential countries in the world and the way it decides to interact with the rest of us, where it sends money and military to, and the conversations people in the US are having even about domestic issues end up shaping the conversations that happen outside of it (trans and immigration issues for example). It's horribly unfair and I'm fuming about it always why can y'all veto shit ❤️ but uh yeah, just a minor nitpick with the influence of the elections on everyone else. I could be entirely wrong in my perception of the way things are but that's how it seems to me rn.

That post was a long time ago, so I can't remember specifically what I said about it, but I don't disagree with your ask.

My big beef (and what I typically rant about) with most of the chatter about the US elections and Palestine isn't that the elections influence other countries. They definitely do.

My beef is that all the US tumblrites are making Palestine into the one single issue ever, in the world and in the US, and they're putting on blinders to everything else.

Palestine isn't even CLOSE to being the single issue or even the most major issue. It simply is not.

And in a US election, Americans NEED to take a look at OUR issues. The issues that affect everyday life. Affordable and accessible education, housing, healthcare, LGBTQ+ issues, rights to bodily autonomy, etc., etc.

In a US election, those are the things that are the most important. In a lot of ways, those are the only issues that functionally exist, within the context of the election bubble. Yes, you can and should consider foreign policy as a factor, but it should NEVER be the only factor ... not when there are so many raw and bleeding gaps at home, and clear, obvious, and impending threats to the very lives of the people these sjw tumblrites claim to care about.

I'm saying that election time is the time for Americans to focus on America for just a minute. And when all I hear is Palestine to the exclusion of all else - all rational thought, all sense - with the conclusion being "punish Biden because he happened to be president when Israel was being a little shit," then that's when I say none of that matters.

Because the US election is not about Palestine or any other country. It's about the US.

People desperately need to remember that.

No, I don't want to put America first, and I care a lot about how we interact in the world. But by God, you don't put your own country LAST in the election that is specifically for your country and will determine how you survive ... and IF you survive. You don't throw your country and everyone in it under the bus.

We have the right to be a little selfish for our election. Not Trump-selfish, but selfish enough to have some sense for the things happening here. It's time to set Palestine on the shelf for a while - at least long enough to realize that "punishing Biden" is idiocy.

Also that Biden is not only America's best strategic option, but he ALSO happens to be Palestine's and the rest of the world's.

Honestly, I've seen more of that perspective from non-Americans, and I hugely appreciate it. I just need the actual Americans in the room to realize that 1) they need to take off their fucking blinders, and 2) their stupid little short-sighted Biden-punishment stunt will not only harm themselves but also all the other countries they seem to care about more than their own.

And I want them to start giving a fuck about the country they currently live in.

#asks #answers #sorry if i took your ask as an excuse to rant a bit #i hope everyone can recognize what I'm trying to say: the election is a multi-dimensional issue #many things can be important and true at the same time #if all you think about is Palestine you're wrong #it's terrible and we should help AND we need to make good strategic choices for the future of the US that are based on issues in the US #AND those good strategic choices ALSO happen to align with the most helpful choice for Palestine and everyone else #for people worried about their 'conscience' and 'morality' #FUCK your conscience and FUCK your morality #i don't give a DAMN #about your little whiny baby feelings #i DO give a damn about logical and strategic choices in this election chess game #that is the only thing that matters #go make a strong strategic vote and then go cry into your pillow about it. if you must. #i don't care so long as you vote very deliberately FOR someone and not merely weakly and ineffectually AGAINST someone #because you have the character of a wet noodle #buck up #go vote! #i know somebody is going to read this and think I'm saying 'Palestine doesn't matter' #if you do I'm sorry for you #this whole thing is about the context of the US election and ONLY about that #Americans are sometimes the worst honestly #like they're SO PERFORMATIVE and APOLOGETIC about being American but at the same time they have zero concept about identifying as a citizen #OF THE WORLD #their whole identity is to reject America wholesale but they don't ascend to any other identity and they fail to use their very real ties #to America to actually act in a beneficial strategic fashion #you can be a citizen of the world but you also have a responsibility to steer your country #Americans don't even realize what America HAS #do you even realize what a gd GEM this country is. it's imperfect but there's so so so much potential.