1. There's this KCNA article which has awful homophobic comments

  2. This KCNA article which compares Obama to a "black monkey"

  • This article** does analysis which states that the monkey comparison was merely referring to being a "trickster" which ignores:
  1. This KCNA article which is the worst of them all. The racist comparisons are unmistakable in my opinion.

**The aforementioned analysis article has what I find to be pretty unconvincing excuses for the homophobic comments, the quote, "a disgusting old lecher" is not properly addressed.

I'm willing to hear any possible explanations. I don't know what's going on.

  • CantaloupeAss [comrade/them]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Apparently, yes. It's unfortunate, and obviously not something I personally agree with. But when discussing a country that has been ostracized, impoverished, and threatened with nuclear annihilation for the last 70 years, whether I, a hemisphere away, agree with the specific viewpoints and language of every contributor to a Korean newspaper is pretty low on my list of concerns for the region.

    I can (and admittedly do) have a knee-jerk disagreement with this certain element of their social structure, with no other context, from afar, and with no input. But what can I do about that from where I am? And who the hell am I to criticize?

    What I can spend my time and energy doing is talking to my friends and family about the great crime suffered by the DPRK at the hands of the West, and use my voice to counter the hegemonic narrative that North Korea is irredeemably evil and, short of being conquered from without and forcibly converted to a liberal democratic capitalist society, must be destroyed by hellfire.

    • Nagarjuna [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      Discouraging criticism of AES because they're AES, even when they're being incredibly racist stifles discourse within our movements and makes them weaker as a result. OP was not saying "N. Korea is racist (they must be overthrown)" OP was saying "DPRK publishes racism in the state newspaper, what do we make of this?"

      That's a productive conversation and stifling it out of a habitual marcyism hurts our movements and our ability to analyze the world as it is.

    • robinn [none/use name]
      ·
      2 years ago

      I support the DPRK against imperialism, I'm just worried about these comments since they might indicate a national anti-black attitude.

      • CantaloupeAss [comrade/them]
        ·
        2 years ago

        re: @Nagarjuna as well: That clarification helps and I'm glad to see it. Perhaps my :bait: -o-meter went off a bit quickly and I should touch grass lol.