lemmy.world had difficulty handling new account registration when I tried moving from Reddit in June 2023, so I tried to find/join other instances. People said “it doesn’t matter which instance you join.”

Oh it definitely mattered.

  • Maeve@kbin.earth
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    3 days ago

    As opposed to cheering on installing al-Nursa in Syria and the Taliban in Afghanistan? The people of the Sahel actually support their government, God forbid Niger wealth go to their own people instead of Western billionaires.

    • chaogomu@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      Niger’s wealth is not going to the people. That’s the whole point here. The wealth is going straight to the dictator.

      As to the people supporting their dictators… You do realize they’re killing the people who don’t, right?

      The three dictators of the Sahel states are all murdering their own citizens, if those citizens speak up against the dictator.

      When General Tiani seized power there were months of protests and the harsh suppression of protests. And that’s just the capital. Tiani has basically abandoned the rest of the country to Jihadists, and mercenaries who have been given carte blanche to do whatever they want so long as they kill Jihadists.

      But that’s just what the people want, right? Instead of an elected government. Right?

        • LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net
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          3 days ago

          Great rebuttal, you really convinced me! I’m ready for my tent in the work camp, comrade, lead the way!

          • Maeve@kbin.earth
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            3 days ago

            We see our own worlds collapsing, have had numerous verified leaks of times our governments and media knowingly and willfully lied to us. Nothing is going to convince anyone with this reactionary repetition of our own propaganda. Debeers and diamonds may be history, Western appropriation of others ’ resources under brutal conditions aren’t. But sure, “brutal military dictatorships,” because they’re not the regimes we installed.

            • chaogomu@lemmy.world
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              3 days ago

              It would be wrong if the US had installed these dictators, but it’s also wrong that they seized power.

              Why do people Stan this hard for obvious dictators? They’re home-grown dictators, but they’re still fucking dictators.

              Do you cheer for the drug cartels who are also fighting against western imperialism? No, because they’re not in it for that, they’re in it for themselves and don’t care about the damage they do along the way. The exact same is true of the Sahel dictators.

              Fuck, Niger’s dictator just made blatant theft of the treasury legal for the military back in February. The military appointed “civilian” government has no say over military budgets, and the treasury must fulfil any and all budget request with no questions allowed.

              • Maeve@kbin.earth
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                3 days ago

                Who do you suppose funded these cartels?

                Better yet, when flights were grounded for all the Western world after 9/11, what was the only flight allowed to happen?

                • chaogomu@lemmy.world
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                  3 days ago

                  Jumping straight to 9/11 conspiracy? Is that because you can’t back up any other argument?

                  No one is saying the western powers are good, but that doesn’t matter. We were talking about three African military dictatorships, and how that too is not good.

                  Specifically, in the not a good thing category, when a dictator seizes a wealth generating natural resource. Dictators tend to use slave labor in such cases, and then hoard the wealth for themselves and their key supporters.

                  In the two years since General Tiani seized power, we’ve seen the economy crash, journalists disappeared, and half a dozen other types of human rights abuses.

                  Mali has been worse since their military coup, with protesters gunned down in the street.

                  And yet, people still stan for these dictators.

                  • Maeve@kbin.earth
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                    3 days ago

                    You jumped to drug cartels and ignored it. You’re saying what Western media, billionaire mouthpieces say. Protestors gunned down and reporters gunned down only matters in the global South. Please.

                    Disengage

            • LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net
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              3 days ago

              That western governments and media lie to us doesn’t make their opponents automatically honest and benevolent. It’s actually incredibly bizarre that you guys think this is a reasonable argument.

              You’re welcome to cite some sources to contradict the western narrative. It probably won’t convince me since I’ve seen the lies from you all too many times now to be fooled but it would at least be more dignified than an eye-roll emoji.