Straight forward question. Been trying to gauge the man’s politics and I think he leans more toward being an anti-colonial nationalist rather than an outright socialist. Still based and deserving of critical support, but maybe not the next Thomas Sankara; not that he needs to be, but it’d be cooler if he was.
You are right of course, but let’s not be uncharitable here. I think it’s a fair question to ask and it opens up the opportunity to learn. I always appreciate posts like this because they offer a chance to really delve into what is really important from a socialist and anti-imperialist perspective and help newer comrades understand what rhetorical traps not to fall into.
A 2 day old account who’s only post or even comment is to criticize a revolutionary government? yeah I’m going to be uncharitable.
I see what you mean. Yes, it’s good to be careful with new accounts that display suspicious behavior, but we also have to try and balance that out with still being reasonably welcoming and open to newcomers and “baby leftists”. Everyone has to start somewhere.
I thought that this post was not necessarily so much criticizing as asking a legitimate question. This “X anti-imperialist leader/government is not actually socialist, just nationalist” is a talking point that is often heard in western leftist circles, particularly those of the ultra-left variety. And it’s to be expected that some of the newer comrades who come here have heard these sorts of criticisms, they don’t quite know what to make of them, and are really looking to understand if these criticisms are legitimate and how to respond to them.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, for me the most important thing is that a person is coming into this space with humility and genuine intention to learn rather than preach. Then i am much more inclined to be forgiving toward misconceptions and a lack of knowledge.
Maybe i’m being too charitable, maybe i’m wrong and this person is not engaging in good faith. Time will tell. For now it can’t hurt to give an honest response.
Keep up the good work. I don’t think shutting people up is a good thing, and even reinforces a common trope of authoritarian communists who can’t engage against criticism, especially from people coming from other circles (liberals, demsocs). I think we should only curb this kind of behavior if we see a lot of activity of the same kind of questions and comments, in a way that undermines the main purpose of this community.