most americans don’t really believe in universal human rights
i’m not sure if i’ve talked to an american who would respond to this statement with something like “i totally believe in universal human rights! except for people who don’t deserve them.”
Most Europeans don’t believe in universal human rights either, or see no real problem with the fact that their government doesn’t, which is basically the same thing.
The right to life and a fair trial? Only applies if you don’t live in a warzone. If you do, you can get shot by a state employee for no reason and no one will even investigate it.
The right to seek refuge? Only applies if you can cross a heavily militarized border without dying first.
The right to food, shelter, health care? Lol, if you wanted that you shouldn’t have been undocumented.
And so on.
There isn’t a single country in Europe that gives a shit about human rights. At all.
i’m speaking specifically about what i see in leftist circles though. most european leftists if asked would agree that human rights extend to all, and many are active towards dismantling injustice in the world. even the european governments nominally agree that human rights are universal, even if they subvert and suppress human rights inside and outside of europe. but if you asked if human rights extend to rapists, abusers, pedophiles, and perverts? most leftist europeans that i know would say, “yes, of course,” but my impression of american leftists is that they, along with most other americans, don’t really think that human rights should de facto or de jure apply to certain types of people.
I get where you’re coming from.
A lot of european leftists on the parlementary left would indeed say that they think human rights should apply to everyone including terrible people,
But like, they’ll say that while supporting laws that dictate that human rights do not apply to undocumented people, muslims, homeless people, sex workers, prisoners, people in the psychiatric system, etc etc.
And if you point it out they go “Yeah but… safety… complicated… can’t just give that to everyone… we can’t divide the country by alienating the right like that… blahblah.”
Actual commitment to leave no one behind is something I only see outside the parliamentary left, what people call the far-left.
QueerAnarchism 