Is it because Palestine is the underdog while Ukraine seems to be the underdog…? What is the deal with this?
I’m just talking about the corporate media here. Obviously you will lose your job if you advocate for peace in Ukraine or Palestine from a left perspective. In the media landscape, you can criticize the Ukraine War all you like from the right, but only some dissent regarding Palestine is permitted from the left. What is going on here? There are also very few protests in favor of peace in Ukraine from the left, but massive leftwing protests in favor of a ceasefire in Palestine.
Ukraine is much easier to defend because, without an understanding of the global imperial system, they seem like they’re under unprovoked assault by an imperialist neighbor.
Everyone is flooded with images of the genocide in Gaza, and the brazen horrors outweigh anything seen in the past decade or two. It’s way, way harder to build a case for the defense of Israel.
They are trying to make it as taboo. It’s just more Westerners are inclined to speak out in favor of Palestine because of the long history that the free Palestine movement has with the left here.
The days that immediately followed October 7th, the vast majority of the US left (soc dems) flocked to defend Israel, when it was caught off-guard by the assault.
This is because the US left is only allowed to be anti-imperialist when it is convenient. The US left is only allowed to be anti-imperialist when the victims of imperialism have no means of securing a victory. At that time, they weren’t sure the extent of how much Hamas/Palestinians could push the Israelis back.
Only after Israel seemed to have gotten its shit together and started bombing Gaza, did we see the US left politicians change their tunes. Suddenly, it’s safe again to condemn Israel. Look at the poor Palestinians, why would you bomb them?
If the Palestinians actually receive military aids from other countries and start fighting back and gaining grounds against the Israelis, you will see that tune change again.
Regarding Ukraine, apart from the fact that most people didn’t understand the history at all (compared to Israel-Palestine conflict which has gone on for the past century), it was also taking place right after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. The Main Character Syndrome flared up and the Americans desperately needed to feel like they are the “good guys” again. They badly needed to play the hero who saves some poor victims from the bad guys. Ukraine delivered that opportunity to make them feel important again.
