Writing off the Left: a Trial by Fire
A lot of ink has already been spilled about the search and rescue organisation White Helmets recently. An alarming number of these articles have been by clueless journalists who’s obsession with conspiracy theories have led them to give unsolicited sermons about a revolution that they are only capable of following through Twitter. So fixated have they become on outsmarting the naive sensibilities and effete sentiments of those who are directly victimised by the brutality of the regime and its allies that they have become hell-bent on vilifying an organisation that’s been set up to rescue civilians. The latest darling of the left media celebrity to join this trend is Max Blumenthal.
Max Blumenthal can never again fault one supporter of Israel's aggression against Palestinians or one gangsterish propagandist of any government he doesn't like for claiming that aid organisations are, if we're being honest, worthy targets. That's what Max is doing. The White Helmets are a part of the Syrian revolution. They operate in areas of Syria liberated by rebels and their victims are like the vast majority of *victims* in Syria - those people targeted by Assad and his allies.
Blumenthal is making the case for these people, those who carry not weapons but rather the maimed and all too often murdered bodies of children out of rubble, to be annihilated. You might think that's hyperbole, but that's at the heart of these smears. These people are so thorough in their support for fascist, genocidal counter-revolution in Syria. It's remarkable. And people keep telling me I shouldn't 'write them off'. It's too late. It's gone past that. If Mr. Blumenthal was in front of me, I would not be responsible for my actions. This snot-nosed child of ultra-privileged political aristocracy - I used to think his rebellion against the politics of his parents was perhaps accidentally noble, but he's proved beyond all doubt that he's as good as a fascist. Perhaps even more sinister than your standard fascist.
When, for example, the Neo-Nazi Nick Griffin made the same claims as Max and his ilk about the 'White Helmets', at the time of Jo Cox's murder (Cox, if you remember, was a major patron of the White Helmets in life and hundreds of thousands was raised for them posthumously on her GoFundMe page at the prompting of her husband), hardly anybody cared. You expect fascists like Griffin to support fascism, whether it's in Aldershot or Aleppo, but Max Blumenthal is considered by millions across the world to be a 'progressive' - to be a leftist. His poison against the White Helmets is part of a wider attempt to legitimise their murder and, in general, the genocide in Syria being carried out by Assad, Iran and Russia.
I beg everybody - it's time to treat these people as fascists. They are no better. They are legitimising murder, ethnic cleansing and genocide. People need to treat them as they deserve to be treated. No more excuses - excusing them is to be complicit with them.