chapotraphouse

When I met her she was a very interesting person to talk to. She's a human rights lawyer who has focused on border militarization and migration (including the patterns of occupation and displacement that lead to migration). Through her work she has a very solid understanding of the forces at play in war and oppression.

However, I would hesitate to call her a communist. It's important to remember that people can come to understandings of the systems of oppression in our world but arrive at different conclusions for how to address them: for instance, as a lawyer she has built her career on understanding the framework of international laws. Her assertions, normally, are based on that; it is around the upholding of international law that she seeks to ameliorate the lives of others. Does that mean she believes that if the laws were actually upheld that would be enough? Who knows, as far as I know she doesn't speak of that. For instance, when she refers to Turtle Island it isn't because she's championing landback: it's because she's championing equality for Indigenous people within the current nation-states that are built on their land and respect for the treaties that are in place (and are constantly being violated).

Gramsci isn't that much of a hint: he's actually a very popular read even for complete ghouls. For example, in Florida, DeSantis appointed Christopher Rufo to the governing board at New College where he has led a campaign against Critical Race Theory. Rufo also frequently mentions Gramsci (https://www.newstatesman.com/the-weekend-essay/2023/03/gramsci-florida-republican-party). Even the right is aware of his writings and seeks to use them to push cultural hegemony in their favour. Never forget that many of our opponents know Marx (and other Marxists writers) and they agree with the validity of the writings, but use them to uphold their own class interests. So any Italian academic with even a vaguely left view would absolutely have read Gramsci.

Finally, as informative as she is to talk to, and as determined as she is to leverage the framework of international law to hold violators accountable for the pain they cause, this doesn't equate to communism. And if I recall correctly, her husband works at the World Bank, which doesn't preclude her from being a communist, but does point to material class interests that are an indicator that she would be less likely to be a communist.

Either way, whether or not she's a communist I like her, and I appreciate anyone who has such a clear and informed view of the history of settler-colonialism and apartheid (and pisses off Trudeau so much).