Readers of this blog and my followers on Facebook know by now that I am a democracy and anti-bigotry zealot. I have particular contempt for countries that voted in their authoritarian and/or racist governments and I reserve a special place in hell for those whose existence is underwritten by my tax dollars.
Here is a very incomplete list of countries that are bad in various ways. These are the countries that stand out for me, which is obviously subjective and not comprehensive.
Hegemonist or externally aggressive countries
- China
- Iran
- Israel
- Russia
- Saudi Arabia
- US (even if there is no present agenda to take over other countries, history is replete with examples US aggression/domination)
Authoritarian countries
- most countries in the world (see Freedom House’s democracy scores)
- Brazil
- China
- Hungary
- Israel (in that non-Jews are second-class citizens and residents of the Occupied Territories have no rights at all)
- Poland
- Russia
- Turkey
- US (the US is not [yet] fully authoritarian, but its democratic foundations are under assault by the GOP)
- Venezuela
Racist/bigoted/misogynist countries (including some where the far-right is part of government and some that have passed harsh laws against immigrants/immigration)
- most of Central and Eastern Europe
- Australia (one of the harshest countries in the world to refugees)
- Austria
- Brazil
- China
- Denmark
- Hungary
- Iran
- Israel
- Italy
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Russia
- Saudi Arabia
- Switzerland (parts)
- Turkey
- UK (racism was the only reason for Brexit’s passage)
- US
Countries where the people vote(d) for racist/authoritarian leadership
- Australia
- Austria
- Brazil
- Hungary
- Israel
- Italy
- Poland
- Russia
- Switzerland (parts)
- Turkey
- UK
- US
- Venezuela
Countries where my tax dollars underwrite authoritarianism, bigotry and/or hegemony
- Israel
- US
If I weren’t American, I would certainly boycott this country. Israel is the only other country that appears on all these lists. While anti-Semitism is a serious issue, my strong opposition to Israel is neither anti-Semitic (I’m Jewish!) nor unfair.
Want to nominate other countries for this list? Disagree with some of my choices? Let me know!
©2019 Keith Berner
Advertisements
