Remember apartheid?
Remember boycotting apartheid?
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Invisible Wizard - 12th Level Errorer, Sat 4 Oct 2025, 21:58,
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i do remember it, it was a consistent global movement to isolate one country. I supported it in my student days
and it did eventually have a fair influence on change after decades. Consistent international sanctions and their stagnant economy led botha to internal reforms before de clerk ripped the band aid off. People were quite clear about the issue, the disenfranchisement of 85% of the population based on race.
However I don't see this with Saudi. they're not hugely different from other muslim country in the status of women or gays. They're an autocracy (that britain created), but so are many countries, so the question would be why pick on them instead of say, Oman or uzbekistan, or pakistan for that matter if people are posting about countries that helped 9/11 hijackers? I don't see this international movement or sanctions against them. If you do and think this will bring about change, I can respect that. Picketing BAE for doing huge amounts of business with them. refusing to fly with airlines that use aramco aviation fuels like many british airlines do, etc. Supporting Saudi women calling for change.
But I'd bet for most this is just people posting shit having a go at some comedian doing a gig there is the extent of their opposition. it's the lamest, laziest form of vitue signalling. And rather than aparteid, you could use the better example of an autocratic opressive state that had done horrible shit, the soviet union. It wasn't sanctions and the 40 years of cold war that brought it down. I reckon that opposition helped prop them up. It was when we finally relaxed and allowed them to be exposed to western culture. All the shit they were missing. blue jeans, billy joel touring there in 87. the population had a taste and decided they had dick of it, and it collapsed, even rejecting gorbi's compromise of glasnost. these things happen by internal pressure, what we really want is enough saudis to think our western values are worth adopting. Can't see how stopping the first comedy festival in an authoritarian state acheives this. Anyway, I've waffled enough and made my points, but I imagine if the soviet union was around today those same people would be whining online to cancel billy joel, and he's the piano man goddammit
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cumquat may will not be commenting further on the allegations, Sun 5 Oct 2025, 1:14,
Reply)