Found this at Spirit of 1976. It sums up my sentiments towards the cheerleaders of various warmongers perfectly. However, (basic Orwellology here) Orwell didn't fight in Spain with the Communist-dominated International Brigades, but with the POUM (Partido Obrero Unita Marxista).
Orwell, where art thou?
Since the Iraq War I've had a certain morbid fascination with the various blogs by British left-wingers - you know, the likes of Harry's Place and Lenin's Tomb. Harry's Place has become a magnet for left-wingers who supported the war, while Lenin's Tomb spouts the usual far-left "victory to the anti-imperialist resistance" line. Basically you could sum them up as 101st Fighting Keyboardists vs e-Jihad.
The thing that's been bugging me lately is that both sides claim to "support" one of the armed camps: Harry's Place supports the coalition, Lenin's Tomb the Iraqi insurgency and the Taliban. But...what kind of support are they actually providing? It's hardly the sort of thing George Orwell limited himself to, is it? He went off and fought with the International Brigades in Spain. He didn't just sit in front of a laptop typing on the Internet.
When did the left become such a bunch of pansies?
We need to get these people signed up and fighting for their respective sides. Come on, you lot at Harry's Place. I want you signed up with an infantry regiment and heading out to Camp Bastion. Never mind blogging, you can "support" Our Boys by manning a machine gun post. Maybe bayonet charge a Taliban position or two. It won't be pleasant. You'll be dodging bullets, crapping in a hole in the ground, and you just can't get a decent mocha for love nor money in Kabul, but it'll be for The Revolution.
As for you lot at Lenin's Tomb, get yourselves on a flight to Damascus, sneak across the Iraqi border, and kidnap and behead a foreign journalist. If you really miss your blogging of ridicously long-winded essays, you could always make a video of the beheading and put it on the internet (warning: this might be a breach of YouTube's terms and conditions.) Put down those unsold copies of the Socialist Worker (nobody wants to buy it anyway) and pick up a machete. If you really want to prove your "socialist" credentials you could fly to Tel Aviv instead and detonate yourself in a crowded Israeli restaurant.
Because otherwise, you'd just be a bunch of ridiculous bullshitters on both sides, fighting a vicarious war via the internet that bears no relation to the real violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I'm sure you're not that, are you?
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