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[-] cecinestpasunbot@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 days ago

I share criticism of Hasan, but a lot of what you’re saying is not really true. He’s definitely not a shill for the Democratic Party despite being friendly to DSA candidates. He even openly criticizes them whenever they lend support to the Democratic Party rather than focus on building independent socialist organizations. He also constantly accused Kamala and other democrats of supporting genocide and never told anyone to vote for her. He even has good things to say about orgs like PSL and supports China as a socialist project. Of course, I agree that he doesn’t see any revolutionary potential in the US in the near term. However, that’s an accurate analysis of the conditions in the US. It also doesn’t preclude any sort of long term revolutionary horizon nor does it imply that he’s a reformist.

His main problem is that he is a media figure covering American politics. Being in media tends to make people idealists and Hasan isn’t an exception. American political coverage also tends to focus on topics that liberals care about. Since he primarily reactions to liberal media all day, his coverage is geared towards liberals. He also isn’t really involved in organizing in any way himself. That makes him less effective as a propagandist that should be steering people towards socialist orgs.

[-] chinawatcherwatcher@lemmygrad.ml 10 points 3 days ago

i think there's some truth to what you said, but i think his primary issue is that he's simply not educated enough. being scientific socialists takes a scientific rigor that he simply does not possess, and since he's constantly reacting to liberal content like you mentioned, i don't think it's possible for him to ever become developed enough on his current trajectory. it's a shame, since his audience is so large and he could be an important educational force, but watching liberal reactions from a very left liberal for hours a day is anything but educational

[-] cecinestpasunbot@lemmy.ml 5 points 3 days ago

I think I agree with that. Although it’s not so much that I think he’s not well read. He’ll quote Marx and Lenin from memory. He just has no experience putting any of what he’s learned into practice which is a necessary part of educating oneself. I think it leaves his audience pretty unprepared for the shit show they’ll encounter if they join any of the orgs he promotes.

it's true that because he hasn't put things into practice his viewpoint is limited, but i think it's fundamentally more than that, too. he's clearly gifted with a prodigious memory, and he reads things, but i don't think that's the same thing as rigorously studying something such that you have a thorough understanding of what it is and therefore how to change it. if he did, i don't think he would be employing the strategy and tactics that he is now, quite frankly. and, whenever i've seen him explain things like capitalism he seems to flounder, despite how well-read he is. of course i very much doubt his philosophical development is anywhere close to sufficient either. another red flag for me is that he refuses to politically label himself, as if labels have no meaning or value.

the very first step for i think everyone of our political leanings is to seriously, meaningfully educate and develop themselves, and others, in groups and individually. i get the sense that his development is hollow, and this and his material interest are the main reasons why he would choose such a fundamentally flawed educational strategy i.e. streaming. worse yet, it gives the impression to both himself and his viewers that his work is more education than it is entertainment. i think that's the primary reason why it leaves his audience unprepared, is because not only is it interpreted as educational when it's primarily not, but it gives the false impression of knowledge and understanding to the viewer.

[-] MasterBlaster@lemmygrad.ml 3 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

He also constantly accused Kamala and other democrats of supporting genocide and never told anyone to vote for her.

Hasan is both a DSA shill, and also part of the reason the Democrats lost the election, owing to his criticisms of Kamala.

I'm too old for streamers, I really don't have a horse in this race, but it's not lost on me that Hasan has actual, monied interests propagandizing against him. That's the only way you get silly narratives that appeal to 'both sides' like this.

[-] cecinestpasunbot@lemmy.ml 5 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

He is a DSA shill but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The org generally doesn’t try to herd members back into the Democratic Party. It even has an ML cochair and ML and Maoist caucus. The problem is they don’t have any way to discipline their members who run for elected office. That’s how you get opportunists like AOC and Mamdani joining just to try and siphon off some free volunteer labor for their campaigns. Hasan only superficially engages with DSA which is why he trusts these candidates but then gets surprised when they act like democrats.

this post was submitted on 22 Feb 2026
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