There is something deeply infuriating about some of the solutions proposed by woke liberals on social media and some world leaders to combat the Amazon fires.
Rich country liberals are protesting and demanding action in their entitled self-righteousness. They entertain several ideas to pressure Brazil to fight the fires, besides throwing in a couple of million dollars. These include measures such as banning Brazilian beef, boycotting products, and blocking a trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur (not just Brazil, because, for them, all South America is the same). Macron himself and other European leaders even tried to push this idea at the beginning of the outrage, before being accused of interfering with a sovereign nation.
Even though these measures seem reasonable at first and might be effective temporarily, the truth is they are self-serving, hypocritical, and won’t have any effect on solving the root problem that drives climate change and the Amazon fires in particular.
Convenient self-serving solutions
Self-serving solutions are a trademark of the western liberal mindset. This approach is characterized by a combination of self-righteous outrage and zero real action. Self-righteous liberals demand change, as long as they don’t have to do anything themselves or compromise their lifestyles. The reason for this, of course, is that they benefit from the system as much as everyone in the rich world. They say they want to change things, but they’re not willing to sacrifice anything.
This hypocrisy shows on the measures proposed. These don’t aim to change the economic structure and over consumption of rich nations that is the root cause of climate change. On the contrary, they seek two things: 1) To punish and pressure the peripheral nations that provide the resources for the north’s excessive lifestyles and 2) To wash away the responsibility of rich nations by sending some money to aid.
These measures are also deeply cynical. The wealth and power of the north have been built on the environmental degradation, exploitation, and slavery of people in the southern hemisphere. Nobody in the rich world cared for centuries. But now, as environmental degradation became a rich people’s problem too, the chorus of hypocrites sings Our house is burning!
The south doesn’t owe the north anything
Unfortunately, the south is not your house! Your self-righteous consciousness arrived late. And here is the sad truth. From all the lies the racist psychopath of Bolsonaro has said there is one true thing:
Brazil doesn’t owe the world anything
This doesn’t apply only to Brazil. No nation of the south owes Europe or North America obedience or any more sacrifices. Colonial powers, modern corporations, and their local lackeys (like Bolsonaro) never gave a shit about either disposing and denigrating human life or degrading and poisoning environments in pursuit of the resources needed to maintain the opulent lifestyles of the north.
Blockade is an imperialistic measure
An economic blockade is a self-serving imperialist measure that is highly convenient to white rich nations. It blames climate change and puts the burden of action on poor countries. At the same time, it doesn’t tackle the true source of the problem: The over consumption of industrialized countries.
The situation is so critical that these liberal hypocrites even want to support the local indigenous population on their fight to save the forest. They now care for the same people that have been brutalized, exterminated, and pushed aside since Europeans set their murderous greedy feet on the continent. In the liberal mindset, fighting the fires and agro-business is a must, as long as they’re not the ones doing the actual fighting.
It’s up to Brazilians to save us
Whether white rich nations like it or not, it is up to the Indigenous people of the Amazon and Brazilians alone to get rid of the psychopath Bolsonaro and save us all from this mess. We have no right to pressure them. If they succeed, rich nations have to drop the pretty liberal talk and reform the economic structures and lifestyles that will otherwise continue fueling this destruction.
