“To be fair, you’d have to look long and hard to find a tyranny or a fascist dictator of the Islamist or the Baathist kind upon whose boots Galloway has not slobbered.” – Terry Glavin
“Useful idiots” is a term which was used to describe Soviet sympathisers in Western countries and the attitude of the Soviet government towards them. However, the term, in a broader sense, refers to Western journalists, travellers and intellectuals who give their blessing – often with evangelistic fervour – to tyrannies and tyrants, thereby convincing politicians and the public of the utopian (rather than dystopian) nature of the society.
While such a definition may seem apt in any analysis of George Galloway’s political behavior, another compelling case can be made that he’s not an “idiot” at all. There is reason to believe that, indeed, he knows fully well that the groups he champions (whether it be Hamas, Hezbollah, or the Ba’athist Syrian regime) are ideologically reactionary, racist movements, and that his support is given not in spite of such ideological orientations, but because of them. In which case, we are left with the impression that he is not simply a terrorist dupe, but a full-fledged fascist.
This essay by Terry Glavin, which appeared in the National Post, makes a compelling case for the latter view.
