I see this cutesy thing (no doubt with good intentions) claiming that “today we are all Libyan”.
Not only we are not all Libyan but we all hold a degree of responsibility in the oppression of Libyan people. If you live anywhere in the Western world (as I do), you have certainly benefited from the oppression of Libyans, even if you, directly, did not wish to do so. Our governments have supported the Ghaddafi regime, keeping him in place because Libyan oil production is amongst the cheapest in the world (due to its proximity with European Markets). Our governments have only weakly protested Ghaddafi all these years because he was willing to sell his oil (and his people’s labor) for a convenient price.
The mass produced food we consume, the transportation of products across borders, even the tourism industry are all heavily reliant on the Ghadaffis of our time. Part of our well being and high standards of living depend on Libyan (and other Middle Eastern countries) oppression. So no, we are not all Libyan. If we were, we would have demanded that our governments no longer trade with Ghaddafi, we would have questioned the slave like conditions in which Libyan workers make our cheap oil possible, we would have followed the gross human rights violations taking place closely and protested them vehemently.
In fact, we should look at ourselves in the mirror because our comparatively luxurious lifestyles are actually the oppressors of Libyan people. And that’s why global political awareness matters. We can choose to be the colonialist, benefitting from the resources of oppressed people or we can be the ones demanding change on their behalf. But we certainly have no right to congratulate ourselves now.
For the past decade and a half I have been making all my content available for free (and never behind a paywall) as an ongoing practice of ephemeral publishing. This site is no exception. If you wish to help offset my labor costs, you can donate on Paypal or you can subscribe to Patreon where I will not be putting my posts behind a lock but you'd be helping me continue making this work available for everyone. Thank you. Follow me on Twitter for new post updates.