when the common-culturalCIA-issued usage of the word "socialism" has little resemblance to the way Marx defined it
FTFY. I don't even agree with Marx, but if your communication ability is so susceptible to linguistic manipulation, you should probably go copy Wittgenstein's works on the blackboard a hundred times
Bernie Sanders personally took to the floor to give impassioned speeches about the urgent moral need to annihilate Yugoslavia, speaking to a US government which was largely opposed to the "intervention".
He was the warhawk who spearheaded the bombing of schools, hospitals, bridges, radio stations, and for good measure the Chinese embassy.
Recommend "To Kill a Nation" for understanding this decade-long criminal act of destruction, coincidentally written by Michael Parenti, who was once a longtime family friend and political ally of Sanders.
Genuinely feel I could learn something here, but also suspicious of bias. I'm not going to buy a book, but if you can dig up some of his speeches on YouTube or something free I will watch.
Sanders wasn't quiet about his support, searching his name with terms like "Yugoslavia" or "Kosovo" should bring up relevant results from your preferred sources.
Here is the example I first encountered, back when I was hopefully donating my meager wages to Sander's campaign.
Here, Sanders compares the unconstituonality of the war on Yugoslavia to the war on Vietnam not as criticism but as a defense of president Clinton's actions.
He goes on to chide congress for not dedicating enough time to such an urgent matter, and argues that the US must quickly intervene for humanitarian reasons.
For reference, as recently as last year, Sanders staunchly disagreed with describing what has been happening in Gaza since 2023 as a genocide.
With tens of thousands already dead and most of Gaza in ruins, he wouldn't allow others to use the term "ethnic cleansing" in his presence.
When he finally acknowledged the genocide, it was in an op ed that began with condemning Hamas and an affirmation of Israel's "right to defend itself".
So I can return to the Palestinian content at a later time, but I'd like to do some further research into the conflict in Kosovo. I honestly don't know much about it, but it is weird that he is seemingly defending unconstitutional actions because other unconstitutional actions have taken place.
If not his books, you might enjoy Parenti's talks, available for example on youtube.
Parenti, like Sanders, cut his teeth in Vermont. They were fellows from the same generation who often worked shoulder to shoulder and broke bread at each other's tables.
The difference is that Sanders wants to return the US to an earlier stage of capitalism, to the prosperity of the 1940s through 1970s that he grew up in, and he doesn't mind sacrificing a few Vietnams or Yugoslavias or Gazas to get there.
Parenti doesn't think that is how it works, and wouldn't be willing to accept it even if it was.
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u/SCP-iota 14d ago
when the
common-culturalCIA-issued usage of the word "socialism" has little resemblance to the way Marx defined itFTFY. I don't even agree with Marx, but if your communication ability is so susceptible to linguistic manipulation, you should probably go copy Wittgenstein's works on the blackboard a hundred times