I dont want to dismiss people's emotions but it is dangerous and UNDIALECTICAL that people are making so many assumptions and criticism about EJ based on one line from one tweet in a thread praising Vietnam as "the best country in the world" (his words, smthng he says a lot!) https://twitter.com/ximuoicay/status/1330653019747205121

It is UNDIALECTICAL for two reasons: because 1. it is not based on careful material analysis. EJ's body of work and even the entire thread the line being criticized is from give plenty of info that EJ respects Vietnam and our people. Also...

EJ has said in MANY of his videos (including his first video ever) almost all of the points made in this thread. And I know from my personal time with him that he DOES have a group of peers from his home who he explores his journey with. Baseless assumption that he doesn't.

2. Dialectics is ALL ABOUT CHANGE. Every human is in a constant state of change from birth to death. Knowing this is the first principle of dialectics. If you can't grapple with, discuss and understand how people change you can't engage in dialectics. It is the most basic thing.

More accurate would be that EVERYONE holds racist views and biases which are constantly shifting as we grow and develop as people, and I have seen EJ constantly working to dialectically undo his racism as this thread prescribes.

This criticism is ALSO undialectical because people are making ASSUMPTIONS that he believed when he was young Vietnamese people were "mindless drones" for racial reasons. He never specified that and later clarified he believed ALL people in communist countries were brainwashed.

He has told me many many times, on stream and offline, that he used to believe all communists (USSR, Vietnam, China, east Germany etc) were brainwashed and that is what he meant. So people making this specific lone about race are being eclectic dogmatists w/o material inquiry.

And this is all DANGEROUS because dialectical failure will lead to failure of our movement. Some people have said to me "why do you go through this trouble to defend a white man" (even though EJ is nonbinary, something else they fail to examine before opening their mouth)

They say "why do you side against your own people?" Well I side with THE TRUTH against MISINFORMATION! I side with what is right against what is wrong! And if you think I defend EJ because he is my boyfriend you are infantilizing me! I can criticize EJ and believe me I do!

But when I criticize someone I try to do so productively and DIALECTICALLY and I think this feels like a witch hunt where a bunch of Vietnamese people were misled by a shitty instagram influencer who poisoned the well to make you believe lies. And I am tired of it!

Pls learn to think dialectically. In EJ's thread which is now being attacked, he ended by saying, "dont use Viet people to score points or win arguments." I also want to say, "dont use COMRADES like this and twist their words to make your arguments."

EJ is not perfect, I am not perfect. Nobody is. But nobody deserves to have one line from one tweet from one thread scrutinized to this level, it is not good for our movement and none of us could survive that standard. He even admitted he misspoke and deleted the tweet!

If you think EJ deserves criticism then give us a good material analysis! This criticism he is getting is perfect example of eclectics - starting with a conclusion and working backwards to support your assumption. It's very dangerous!

Also for people saying he is trying to get a "good ally cookie" you clearly dont examine EJ's work because he says all the time that admitting your past racism/false beliefs is BARE MINIMUM and NOT WORTHY OF PRAISE. He says that ALL THE TIME!

Many of you are falling into the path of Chauvinism - you have been traumatized from so much attack from outside and now you look for enemies everywhere. This is DANGEROUS and leads to horrible forms of leftism like Pol Pot. Ho Chi Minh believed in criticism and self-crit!

He said we have to be brave to admit when we have done wrong. EJ admitted that he did not word that line in that tweet well and apologizes and deleted the tweet and promised to be more careful with his words. I understand your trauma - I get HORRIBLE racist comments EVERY DAY.

But Vietnamese people are famous for our BRAVERY. If this mild kind of perceived "attack" sends us into this kind of emotional non-dialectical eclectical witch-hunt then it is an embarrassment for our people who fought so hard against REAL enemies WHILE criticizing ourselves.

I appreciate that the thread that I am retweeting was an attempt at good faith communication, and my response is not just to that one thread but to MANY attacks EJ and I have received over this. I felt I HAD to speak up because it continues to get more and more out of hand.

So if you read this whole thread then thank you, and I hope you understand. I do not mind discussing in good faith but please do not make immaterial chauvinist assumptions, please.