In 1842, as editor of a liberal newspaper that opposed the feudal monarchy in Germany, Karl Marx wrote editorials supporting freedom of the press. When liberals who subsidized his paper endorsed government proposals to censor the press, Marx bellowed in exasperation, “God protect me from my friends.”
This is how many Jewish leftists feel today, betrayed by their allies who cannot bring themselves to denounce Hamas for its heinous Oct. 7 attack against Jews in Israel.
Instead of condemning the atrocity, portions of the left instructed “this is what decolonization looks like.” One wonders what acts of moral depravity this advice would not condone or justify.
The left appropriately spends much of its time critiquing the immorality of the powerful since their very power makes their transgressions more consequential. By contrast, the abuses committed by victims receive little attention on the premise that victimhood absolves them of moral responsibility. The “Sergeant Krupke” defense from “West Side Story” — I’m depraved on account of I’m deprived — presumes that victims are not morally responsible for their actions.
Israel-Hamas war:Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas invasion is absolute
But as the French philosopher Albert Camus warned, victims need to be especially concerned about the moral consequences of their actions lest they become like their oppressor. Camus advised that no one is absolved from moral judgement because people — even victims — always have moral choices. No one has an a priori claim to moral innocence. No one, not even the oppressed, is outside the moral universe that renders judgement on one’s actions.
Strategic considerations also militate against giving victims a moral free pass. Morally dubious actions may repel allies that victims need to alter an unfavorable balance of power. As the late civil rights leader Bob Moses argued while battling white supremacy in Mississippi in the 1960s, insurgencies must be earned. Victimization was not enough to induce potential allies to take risks on behalf of Blacks. Civil rights activists in Mississippi had to earn the support of fearful local Blacks by showing they would not desert them in the face of white violence; earn the support of wary Department of Justice lawyers by bravely bringing Blacks to the courthouse to register; and earn the support of sympathetic whites with acts of courage and resolve. Regardless of how victimized Blacks were, activists had to act in ways that earned the support of allies whose intervention was necessary to prevail.
Finally, the left condescends when it holds victims to a lesser standard — or no moral standard at all — on the presumption that being a victim prevents them from meeting it. Placing the oppressed in a different moral universe shields the left from disappointment with victims by requiring so little of them.
We can't stay silent on antisemitism:We must use our voices to change the shocking reality in Israel
When the left constructs a cult of the victim it does a disservice to them. It deprives victims of all the flaws that make them human and ordinary, not the heroes they are presumed to be. Victims are as capable of poor judgement — never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity — as perpetrators. The difference is that the costs of bad judgement are greater for victims who can least afford to be imprudent.
Victims everywhere deserve our empathy and support but that doesn’t require us to withhold moral judgement of their actions. To absolve victims of abiding by moral boundaries only ensures that they will ignore them, which is strategically counterproductive. Encouraged to believe that moral laws don’t apply to them because they are victims, they will break them. The left can provide no greater service to the oppressed than to hold them morally accountable for what they do in the name of ending oppression.
Alan Draper is emeritus professor of government at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York.
Jewish leftists are betrayed by allies who won't condemn Hamas
3
0
06.11.2023
In 1842, as editor of a liberal newspaper that opposed the feudal monarchy in Germany, Karl Marx wrote editorials supporting freedom of the press. When liberals who subsidized his paper endorsed government proposals to censor the press, Marx bellowed in exasperation, “God protect me from my friends.”
This is how many Jewish leftists feel today, betrayed by their allies who cannot bring themselves to denounce Hamas for its heinous Oct. 7 attack against Jews in Israel.
Instead of condemning the atrocity, portions of the left instructed “this is what decolonization looks like.” One wonders what acts of moral depravity this advice would not condone or justify.
The left appropriately spends much of its time critiquing the immorality of the powerful since their very power makes their transgressions more consequential. By contrast, the abuses committed by victims receive little attention on the premise that victimhood absolves them of moral responsibility. The “Sergeant Krupke” defense from “West........
© The Leader
visit website
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Belen Fernandez
Andrew Mitrovica
Mort Laitner
Rami G Khouri
Ali Fathollah-Nejad
Nikkei Editorial
