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Bangladesh imposes curfew after dozens killed in anti-government protests

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Bangladesh imposes curfew after dozens killed in anti-government protests

#111

Post by BadHumans »

Karrot_Kream wrote: post #74
alephnerd wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Now the fascist gov has closed all internet I agree that Sheikh Hasina is extremely authoritarian and corrupt dictator but imo JeI are the actual fascists, and the BNP has absolutely been enabling them. That said, I agree with you that Hasina's authoritarianism needs to end. Ideally all these old fossils (Hasina, Zia, Rahman, etc) need to be purged and the actual youth (who are the majority of Bangladesh) get a cha…

Yeah I think "fascist" is too much for any actor not JeI but authoritarian is right. They've cut off Internet and telecom access after all, a dangerous game given how physically close they are to West Bengal.

> Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement,characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation or race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy.

Source: Wikipedia

This sounds like the very definition of fascism to me.

Re: Bangladesh imposes curfew after dozens killed in anti-government protests

#113

Post by Karrot_Kream »

david_shi wrote: post #109
alephnerd wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Slight quibble - the student paramilitary IS part of Hasina's party (BAP). It's the student wing. In South Asia, all party student wings are basically paramilitaries and gangs.

It reminds me a lot of the Red Guards - the greatest disaster could come from the party losing control of these groups.

The original Indian and Pakistani founders had Soviet education and influences. Moreover the Comintern was one of the only fora at the time that was openly in support of decolonization. The similarities aren't coincidental.

Re: Bangladesh imposes curfew after dozens killed in anti-government protests

#114

Post by alan-hn »

BadHumans wrote: post #111
Karrot_Kream wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I think "fascist" is too much for any actor not JeI but authoritarian is right. They've cut off Internet and telecom access after all, a dangerous game given how physically close they are to West Bengal.

> Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement,characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation or race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy. Source: Wikipedia This sounds like the very d…

Many people want to either tiptoe around or flat out ignore the far right leanings of fascism to avoid what it says about the US

Re: Bangladesh imposes curfew after dozens killed in anti-government protests

#115

Post by Karrot_Kream »

BadHumans wrote: post #111
Karrot_Kream wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I think "fascist" is too much for any actor not JeI but authoritarian is right. They've cut off Internet and telecom access after all, a dangerous game given how physically close they are to West Bengal.

> Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement,characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation or race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy. Source: Wikipedia This sounds like the very d…

Which part sounds like fascism?

The Awami League is ideologically a center-left party, it's not far right. The quota system that's being protested offers employment quotas to descendants of revolutionaries and minorities. It was the party that founded Bangladesh. Protests are occurring because of the corruption and joblessness that results from these quotas and because the law was overturned earlier but reinstated.

Moreover there's no belief in a natural social hierarchy or belief in subordination to the State. If anything the Awami League has historically claimed to champion minorities in the country like Hindus instead of championing Muslim identities like JeI. There's no concept of regimemting society at all by the Awami League, again that's more JeI's domain with its belief in Sharia.

Awami League is authoritarian and corrupt yes but not fascist. The Middle East has plenty of authoritarian dictatorships that engage in varying levels of human rights abuses but that does not make them fascist countries.

I'm sorry but your comment just comes off as really uniformed about Bdesh and South Asian politics.

Re: Bangladesh imposes curfew after dozens killed in anti-government protests

#116

Post by rubayeet »

Foofoobar12345 wrote: post #78
lostlogin wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where is the line? Who people support and who a company supports all becomes relevant in a civil war. Quite how this gets resolved is beyond me - the west has been quite happy to enjoy products from sweat shops, so is probably complicit.

It’s tanks vs sticks, the govt will prevail. In a few days we’ll all forget about this. That said, I personally believe the future of the country lies in private enterprise - not govt jobs. People in BD want these govt jobs for job security. They need to rise above that fear. I hope more will choose the path of entrepreneurship - whether by starting an AI company or a street-side teashop - there’s demand for both. I’…

You are missing the point. It may look like protests are about having a fair shot at getting government jobs on the surface but it is more than that:

1. Corruption / Nepotism - Quotas in gov jobs are exploited by the powerful to hire people in important positions who will keep them in power.

2. Violence against Peaceful Protests - The protests started peacefully until the police + the govt backed student org (who work as hired goons for the ruling party and do the dirty job cops are unable to do) started violently suppressing them.

3. A Head of State who appears to be inconsiderate - The PM referred to the protesters with a term that is _extremely_ offensive. There is a track record of this Head of State using language that is unbecoming of their station, or simply unacceptable (think MAGA but 100x worse). Power keg exploded.

No matter how much talent or coding chops you have, you can't thrive in a society where the powerful are unchecked, unaccountable, and your right to protest peacefully are met with extreme violence. Try to see the world without the lense of SV.

Re: Bangladesh imposes curfew after dozens killed in anti-government protests

#117

Post by BadHumans »

Karrot_Kream wrote: post #115
BadHumans wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement,characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation or race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy. Source: Wikipedia This sounds like the very d…

Which part sounds like fascism? The Awami League is ideologically a center-left party, it's not far right. The quota system that's being protested offers employment quotas to descendants of revolutionaries and minorities. It was the party that founded Bangladesh. Protests are occurring because of the corruption and joblessness that results from these quotas and because the law was overturned earlier but reinstated. M…

I'm very uninformed about Bangladeshi and South Asian politics but yes the violent suppression of protests and killing of protestors are the parts that sound a bit fascist to me.

Re: Bangladesh imposes curfew after dozens killed in anti-government protests

#118

Post by bobthepanda »

observationist wrote: post #100
bobthepanda wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Headlines are usually written like this to avoid libel suits. Even if you have a defensible case it’s quite expensive to go through the motions of a lawsuit.

Bangladesh is going to sue US journalists in a US court for accurate headlines? I'd love libel suits from hostile authoritarian regimes, personally. For a journalism organization, that would seem to be a badge of honor. Something is deeply wrong if you have to essentially lie on behalf of the bad guys or risk significant financial penalties.

Not the US, but this actively happens pretty frequently in the UK, which is often just as financially damaging. https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-libel-privacy-law-defamat...

Re: Bangladesh imposes curfew after dozens killed in anti-government protests

#119

Post by Karrot_Kream »

trompetenaccoun wrote: post #102
alephnerd wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Now the fascist gov has closed all internet I agree that Sheikh Hasina is extremely authoritarian and corrupt dictator but imo JeI are the actual fascists, and the BNP has absolutely been enabling them. That said, I agree with you that Hasina's authoritarianism needs to end. Ideally all these old fossils (Hasina, Zia, Rahman, etc) need to be purged and the actual youth (who are the majority of Bangladesh) get a cha…

Independent of points for or against their rule, the ageist argument makes little sense. 25 year olds are generally politically naive and easily manipulated. The average person in their twenties has no idea about economics, geopolitics or other such topics that are important to understand for running a country. When you look at uprisings against ancient leaders in countries with very young populations, they regularly…

If that's the lens you're looking at, the majority of uprisings in history have ended up worse than they started. Bangladesh is struggling with a democracy that has degraded into authoritarian gerontocracy. It's not as simple as young people dumb old people experienced, there's a lot of issues involved.

Re: Bangladesh imposes curfew after dozens killed in anti-government protests

#120

Post by Karrot_Kream »

BadHumans wrote: post #117
Karrot_Kream wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which part sounds like fascism? The Awami League is ideologically a center-left party, it's not far right. The quota system that's being protested offers employment quotas to descendants of revolutionaries and minorities. It was the party that founded Bangladesh. Protests are occurring because of the corruption and joblessness that results from these quotas and because the law was overturned earlier but reinstated. M…

I'm very uninformed about Bangladeshi and South Asian politics but yes the violent suppression of protests and killing of protestors are the parts that sound a bit fascist to me.

Look I realize on lefty parts of the internet that fascism has colloquially become the same as authoritarianism but they are not the same thing. Fascist movements are usually authoritarian but not all authoritarian regimes are fascist.

It's an especially bad lens when you look outside the West because the second and third world has had plenty of trouble with left authoritarian regimes and comparatively less trouble with fascism and authoritarian right regimes.

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