So Hakim made a video off of the screenshots. I watched it. I'll try to be a lot more calm, because I think everyone's tired of this situation. I'll give my thoughts on it. https://twitter.com/YaBoiHakim/status/1391423593494499334

-Introduction-
I never intended for these to be "leaks". I didn't even make that post on r/tankiejerk. It was just the title on r/tankiejerk that made it sound like it was leaks.

Hakim brings up that I have been uncharitable to him. I admit I was very aggressive. But Hakim, you have to consider that at the time, these opinions were very controversial. If you deny genocides, then I don't think your average someone would be sympathetic towards you.

Hakim also claims that he doesn't want any harassment towards me, which I appreciate. Unfornautely, a bunch of MLs didn't acknowledge this. They made fun of me just because I was 17, which is just ad hominem.

-"Kurds are Reactionary"-
Next section. Hakim mentions that he was dealing with a reactionary white American, and I think it was very valid for him to be upset at that person. I think Hakim being upset at an American who told him he knew more about Iraq was justified.

Hakim then claims he was just talking about rural Syrian and Iraqi Kurds. This still doesn't really help his point. Though he does continue to claim that his statement about rural Syrian and Iraqi Kurds wasn't controversial.

He claims that his Kurd take wasn't racist statements about rural pharmacies in Iraq, but just facts. He then mentions that the stoning of women, and female gentile mutilation occur exclusively among all rural Kurds in Iraq, while also claiming it is illegal in Iraq.

I'm no expert on the Middle East, but it just feels wrong. I'll let you decide whenever that's the case or not.

He also continues to claim he was just talking about rural Kurds and not educated Kurds. He also claims the Iraqi and autonomous Kurd government have a hard time reaching, educating, and applying the law to them. It feels wrong, but I'm no expert. Let me know how you feel.

He then mentions that half of his family is Kurdish, and claims that his statements were very old and hyperbolic, and cropping it wasn't fair. That's fair, I suppose. Though I still don't feel great about it. Alright, onto the next section.

-The Anfal Genocide-
He acknowledges that many people were killed during the situation, it was unjust, those that committed the crime deserved the punishments, and that the victims were majority Kurds. He also mentions that a lot of victims were also Arabs and Assyrians too.

Hakim's correct here, these are all true.

However, Hakim then claims that the Anfal Genocide shouldn't be classified as a genocide. That's a yikes from me. He also claims the classification of it as a genocide was US propaganda to drum up support for an invasion of Iraq.

Hakim's take on the Anfal Genocide reminds me of Chomsky's take on the Bosnian Genocide, where Chomsky claimed that the Bosnian Genocide shouldn't be classified as a genocide. This is genocide denial.

Claiming that the Anfal Genocide shouldn't be classified as a genocide is still claiming that it wasn't a genocide. Hakim missed here. Now onto the US propaganda part of this section.

Just because the US supports the classification of a genocide as a genocide doesn't make the genocide invalid at all.

He then claims that the US and the Western Left doesn't consider the Iraqi War a genocide. I do heavily agree that the western left has a chauvinism issue.

Hakim, if you are reading this, I heavily agree with you that the Iraqi War was a genocide, and that America is a force of absolute tyranny and evil. America was the one responsible for the genocide of Iraqis, and I'm extremely sorry to hear what happened to the people of Iraq.

My take is that I believe both the Anfal Genocide and the Iraqi Genocide are both genocides, and should be classified as genocides.

SDL (BreadTuber and debate bro) for example claimed that the death toll of the sanctions that America used against Iraq was fabricated. That's genocide denial, and that's extremely horrible.

Now onto the Halabja Chemical Attack. Yeah, I was wrong to say you were denying it. The issue is that in the picture that I showed, you mentioned one source where it claimed that it was Iran committing it, and not Iraq. Why mention this source? It seems suspicious to me.

He then claims his opinions on this topic have changed, and that he's read books on it, and he'd be willing to give some recommendations if you DM'd him. I hope so. I do find it suspicious that you backed down on defending these claims in your initial responses.

-The Genocide in East Turkestan-
Of course, his response is typical ML stuff. He questions the Western narrative of it, intentional mistranslation, Adrian Zenz, blah blah blah. He claims they are lies. There's so many sources debunking the stuff that Hakim and other MLs claim.

He also claims that he doesn't think China is a paradise, and has done wrong in addressing the situation in East Turkestan.

However, he calls it "reeducation". He also claims it is better than the American and Iraqi response to extremism. The issue is that's just whataboutism. Just because America is more evil than China, that doesn't give China a pass to do its own war on terror.

Here are some great sources that debunk Uyghur Genocide deniers.
https://twitter.com/thecoleslaws/status/1375429983234093059

-The Ottoman Empire Situation-
He claims he just likes the Ottoman Empire with historical interest. He also claims that just because he likes something more, doesn't mean he likes it entirely.

He also refers to this comment.

My take is that I would still recommend trying not to praise empires as much as possible. I think it would have been taken better if you just said that you liked learning about the history of the Ottoman Empire.

He then claims that people default to Hakim denying the Armenian Genocide, and hating Balkan people. I never said Hakim supported the Armenian Genocide and hates Balkan People. At the time, I just found it messed up he claimed he was a fan of the Ottoman Empire.

He refers to this joke. It was just a bad joke, I don't get why people are taking this so seriously. https://twitter.com/ShinyLegendary/status/1390613822096953346

-Saddam Hussein-
Hakim claims I am lying about him supporting Saddam. I never said he liked Saddam, but what made me think that is that he has claimed the Anfal Genocide shouldn't be classified as a genocide, which plays into Ba'athist hands.

He then claims that Saddam Hussein wasn't great, but his rule was better than the current Iraqi government. I don't know much about Iraqi history, so I'll let you decide your opinion on this.

He then claims that the Soviet Union under Gorbachev was better than post-Soviet Russia. And he claims that it doesn't mean he likes Gorbachev. Fair enough.

I just find this ironic, as Hakim tends to critique the idea of lesser evilism in the US, and he uses the lesser evilism argument in Iraq.

-Conclusion-
Hakim then says he assumes the best of me and the people who got the screenshots. He finds it strange how the year old photos suddenly remerged. He says he appreciates people who want transparency with his opinions, and those who highlight his as a result.

He encourages people to DM him if they have an issue with his opinions. He then claims to want to reach a common and educated understanding based on respect.

Hakim them claims he wans to hear differing opinions, and that he wants to correct mistaken beliefs that he may have. He says he wants to grow. And then he says to take the good and to leave the bad.

He then claims that he wants everyone to collectively grow together, despite everyone having differing opinions. And that ends the video.

The comment section wants my head, holy smokes. It's also filled with people strawmanning me. Also I'm not a Vaush fan.

I did not just learn about this topic recently.
That's it. That's the end of this thread. This drama has made this weekend feel REALLY long.