No 'Magic Westerner' Will Liberate Us From the Genocide-Based International Order

Dear Global South, the Western left consistently fails the International Struggle, stop appealing to them.

In the global discourse on liberation and resistance against imperialism, a crucial truth often remains overshadowed: true liberation—be it from colonial, neo-colonial, or imperial oppression—will not originate from the Western societies that have historically been the architects and beneficiaries of these oppressive systems. This realization is not just theoretical but is exemplified powerfully in the ongoing struggle of Palestine against Zionist occupation and Western complicity.

Western Democracies are Antithetical to Liberation

Palestine’s resistance illuminates the limits of Western advocacy for democracy and human rights, which align with neocolonial interests rather than genuine support for self-determination. The West, with its sophisticated surveillance and military might, has repeatedly shown that its interests lie not in championing the cause of the oppressed, but in maintaining an international order that is conducive to its economic and geopolitical agendas. This is evident from the extensive military support that the US and European countries provide to Israel, despite widespread international condemnation of its ongoing genocide against the Palestinians.

This critical perspective forces us to reconsider where genuine impulses for liberation can originate. The history of modern liberation movements teaches us that significant resistance has almost always arisen from those directly suffering under oppression. The anti-colonial movements across Africa and Asia during the 20th century were not instigated by the colonizers themselves, but by the colonized who fought to reclaim their lands, rights, and sovereignty. Similarly, the Palestinian resistance is driven by the immediate and lived experiences of occupation and dispossession, rather than by external forces.

The Western Left Consistently Fails the International Struggle

Moreover, the Western framing of resistance as "terrorism" is a strategic move to delegitimize and criminalize the legitimate struggles of oppressed peoples. By labeling Palestinian resistance in such terms, the West not only justifies its continued support for Israel but also stifles any burgeoning solidarity from its own communities. This tactic is part of a broader imperialist playbook that seeks to control the narrative and keep the status quo intact.

Crucially, the Western left is particularly susceptible to this framing, which underscores why true liberation is unlikely to be initiated from these quarters. Despite its progressive stance, the Western left often internalizes mainstream narratives that paint non-Western resistance movements in a negative light, inadvertently perpetuating the imperialist agenda. This susceptibility stems, in part, from an internalized racial conception of human beings—a legacy of colonial thought that still pervades Western consciousness. Such biases render the Western left frequently unable to fully identify with or support the struggles of people classified as ‘people of color’, including those of Palestinians.

Examples of this complicity are myriad and deeply ingrained in the narratives that are often uncritically accepted by the Western left. For instance, the portrayal of China as an inherent global threat is a predominant theme in Western discourse, which many on the left accept without sufficient scrutiny of the geopolitical motivations behind such framing. This acceptance perpetuates the idea of a "Yellow Peril" reborn, echoing old racial fears and bolstering a new Cold War mentality that justifies aggressive policies and military posturing.

Similarly, the resistance movements like Hamas are often reflexively labeled as "terrorists" by Western governments, a classification quickly echoed by mainstream media and, disappointingly, seldom challenged by segments of the Western left. This label conveniently obscures the context of occupation and resistance, reducing a complex national liberation struggle to simplistic, villainized caricatures.

Moreover, regarding Iran, the Western left often participates in amplifying narratives that paint the Iranian government as uniformly oppressive, particularly towards women. This critique not only fails to acknowledge the nuances of Iranian society, including the significant presence of women in various sectors of public life and higher education, but also omits a comparative analysis with Western countries, where women also continue to struggle against systemic inequalities and underrepresentation in leadership roles. For instance, Iran has seen a growing presence of women in parliament and in higher education sectors, a fact that contrasts sharply with the often one-dimensional portrayal of Iran in the West.

These examples highlight a pattern where the Western left may inadvertently support imperialist agendas by accepting and propagating simplified or decontextualized narratives. This issue largely stems from the psychological conditioning within the imperial core, where education systems and media outlets embed pro-imperialist biases deeply into the populace, including members of the Western left.

Reviving Internationalism: True Liberation Will Come From the Most Oppressed

Thus, the struggle for liberation—true and uncompromised—cannot wait for validation or leadership from the West. It must be driven by those who live the harsh realities of oppression and who understand the stakes involved, not just theoretically but through lived experience. The Palestinian resistance, therefore, is not just a fight for national liberation; it is a challenge to the global community to recognize and rectify the deep-seated biases that enable ongoing imperialism and oppression. To support Palestine is to actively partake in dismantling these structures, starting with the narratives we choose to accept and the alliances we choose to forge.

This imperative also means that the resistance needs to relinquish any lingering hope for a "magic Westerner" to stand up and deliver salvation. By consistently appealing to Western audiences, hanging on the words of Western academics like Jeffrey Sachs, or strategically posting only victim photos of white-looking Arabs, many activists and movements in the Global South unwittingly position themselves as dependent on the imperial core. This not only reinforces but also perpetuates the unequal hierarchy of Western imperialism, embedding an inferiority complex within the resistance movements themselves.

Such dynamics undercut the power and agency of local resistance by propagating the notion that validation must come from Western approval or sympathy. This inadvertently upholds the very imperial structures that these movements seek to dismantle. Instead, resistance movements must forge a path that prioritizes indigenous strategies, narratives, and leadership, asserting their humanity and autonomy, and reframing their struggles within contexts that resonate locally rather than appealing to Western sensibilities. This shift requires a deep, introspective challenge to the internalized colonial mentality that has long dictated the terms of engagement in global resistance narratives.

The Imperative of Deconstructing Western Narratives

Therefore, supporting Palestine is not merely about advocating for one region’s rights. It is about fundamentally challenging the narratives and structures that allow imperialism to thrive. It is about recognizing that as long as the West controls the narrative and dictates the terms of engagement, true liberation for Palestine—and indeed for any oppressed nation—remains a distant dream.

This means rejecting the Western-imposed labels and concepts that have long dominated global discourse. It involves a critical reevaluation of what constitutes "terrorism" and who gets to define it, often recognizing that this label is selectively applied to de-legitimize and criminalize legitimate resistance movements while excusing or ignoring state-sponsored violence when it serves Western interests.

It also means questioning the Western portrayal of "democracy," which frequently supports regimes that align with Western geopolitical interests regardless of their democratic credentials, while opposing others that do not conform despite their democratic processes. Similarly, the Western narrative of "human rights" often selectively highlights abuses in non-Western countries while overlooking the systemic injustices within Western borders or among their allies.

Furthermore, the concept of "freedom" must be scrutinized. Western notions of freedom often come packaged with capitalistic economic policies that benefit multinational corporations at the expense of local sovereignty and economic independence. This conception of freedom tends to prioritize market privatization over the freedom from foreign intervention and the freedom to pursue culturally relevant and socially equitable development paths.

Western feminism, too, must be reevaluated. Often criticized for its lack of inclusivity and intersectionality, it fails to address the unique challenges faced by women in non-Western societies and can impose an imperialistic view on what women’s empowerment should look like, disregarding local contexts and struggles. The absence of significant Western feminist critique regarding the impact of Western imperialism on womanhood, such as the Zionist occupation of Palestine, exemplifies this failure. This omission highlights a critical gap in addressing the full spectrum of women's experiences under oppressive regimes supported by Western powers.

Additionally, the critique should extend to the Western concept of "development," which often implies a linear, capitalist model that many times involves exploitation of resources and labor in the Global South. This model of development is imposed through international financial institutions like the World Bank and the IMF under the guise of economic progress but frequently results in debt dependency and loss of local control.

Challenging these narratives and redefining these concepts from a standpoint that respects and understands the lived realities of oppressed populations worldwide is crucial. It is about constructing a global solidarity that is based on mutual respect, genuine understanding of different histories and social contexts, and an unwavering commitment to fighting oppression in all its forms.

By rejecting these Western-centric definitions and embracing a more pluralistic view of these concepts, supporters of Palestine and global liberation movements can help dismantle the ideological foundations of imperialism. This shift is essential not just for the liberation of Palestine, but for the transformation of the world order into one that truly honors diversity, self-determination, and global justice. This understanding calls for a renewed commitment to internationalism, a reorientation of allegiances, and a robust solidarity that prioritizes voices and leadership from the Global South. It demands of us to not only empathize with the plight of the oppressed but to actively align ourselves against the structures of power that perpetuate oppression.

- Karim