When other leftists ask me why I support Ukraine | Slavoj Žižek

#zizek #slavojzizek #ukraine #ukrainewar

[davidtaylor]

Real question is "how can you call yourself a leftist and be in favor of Putin's imperialism?"

[ДмитрийЧехов-се]

If you don't support western imperialism, it doesn't mean that you must support russian imperialism. For Ukrainian people it is the war for independence against russian empire, that opressed Ukrainian people for centuries. Many people in Ukraine hate our government and criticize it on every point they can. And often their criticism is valid and justified. Yet we still oppose enemy occupation. To us it is the war for the people as much as for the country. And yes, i am Ukrainian, and one of russian origin at that. I live in Ukraine. My city is near the border with Russia. So i know what i talk about.

[elietheprof]

Opposing Russian imperialism DOES NOT EQUAL supporting western imperialism!

A lot of so-called “leftists” fail to grasp this basic concept.

[Franklyyy]

Endorsing Russian imperialism because you dislike “western imperialism” is like letting a bear onto your campsite because you dislike coyotes

[Rittley]

No you can't box Zizek into a reel! 😅

[funnygrunt_o]

Too many people run their whole lives on "the enemy of my enemy is my friend"

[Capt.DanInJapan]

At last, someone who appreciates that "anti-Western" imperialism and anti-"Western imperialism" are not the same thing!

[BrettHoTep]

I am pretty left leaning. I know lots of leftists. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t support Ukraine. I know of many right wingers who seem to support Russia.

[oLiix]

Imagine being against imperialism and not support the country that defends itself against an imperialistic power.

[johnholcomb]

I love the profoundness of the statement about inventing stories to cover up "horrible things". That one statement perfectly encapsulates the entire history of politics.

[cherenkov_blue]

There's a more general point to be made here about not forming allegiances based solely on who you oppose.

I see a frightening amount of people supporting authoritarianism and religious extremism seemingly just because the regimes in question are enemies of West. Not only that, but I hear some actively wishing for political turmoil in the West so that citizens can "see what it's like". For some I question whether they are truly even leftists, or simply using leftist rhetoric as post-hoc justification for their revenge fantasies.

Of course, the West has plenty to answer for, particularly in the Middle East, but what exactly does replacing one abuser of human rights with another accomplish other than revenge? As the saying goes, an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

[KingMob.]

I completely agree with Zizek. Ukraine is fighting for the right to be a homeland of Ukrainian people, history, language, culture, sovereignty, territory unmolested by Russian interests .... Ukrainian people are not "little Russians"...

[LJW]

Zizek is the sole reason they made YouTube shorts longer

[helios]

USA’s imperialism does not justify another country doing it.

[pawbard]

I have never heard this man say a coherent thing, and this short video was no exception.

[debrutomeyer]

This is fantastic. I don’t think one has to be left or right or capitalist or socialist….all you need is a heart and care about freedom

[Atlastheyote]

I’m a leftist and I support Ukraine. A nation has every right to protect its people and defend its sovereignty from tyrannical dictators and I’m happy to put my tax dollars towards that.

[KelsaRavenlock]

There is also the small factor that both Russia and the United States agreed to guarantee Ukraine's independence in the 90s as part of a series a nuclear disarmament treaties.
Russia got the nukes and all the military equipment and Ukraine got independence while Russia, the U.S., and the U.K. all agreed to insure Ukraine independence by force if necessary.

[Grandmagray-ij]

Russia invaded Ukraine! It's not about politics. Left wing, right wing makes no difference. What Russia did was unacceptable. I'm right wing .

[fepeerreview]

It seems simple to me. We aspire to a political order that is rooted in human rights and the rule of law. One nation simply does not have the right to invade another. And that's what happened in Ukraine in 2014 when Russia used people in its army who were of Ukrainian origin to engage in a proxy invasion, eventually followed by the explicit one in 2022.
If there is no law there can be no way to protect the rights of individuals. Russia, or more specifically, Putin has broken the law. He must be prosecuted and reparations must be made to the victims, including those Russian families who lost loved ones in the invasion they were forced to engage in.