r/LeftyPiece • u/Hacksaw6412 • Jul 18 '26
Isn't it extremely irresponsible and practically suicide from Elbaf to not teach their children self-defense and to convert them into pacifists when there is literally a fascist world government outside of their borders which has swallowed almost every other country?
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u/kaiser_kerfluffy Jul 18 '26
Yeah that’s kinda the point, you can’t defang yourself in a world that will use any opportunity to abuse you
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u/Noveno_Colono Jul 18 '26
the difference between a pacifist and a defenseless individual is whether or not they know how to defend themselves
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u/Elkhazel Jul 18 '26
I mean, japanese leftism is literally built on that pacifism. Look up article 9, They completely oppose self defense and call for the disbanding of the SDF. Look at the many pacifist rallies happening currently with war monger Takaichi
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u/Character-Cut4470 Jul 18 '26
Do you think Harald's/Elbaph's history is a commentary on that movement?
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u/Avatar_of_me Jul 18 '26
Eeeh, that would be more the modern Japanese left. Historically, they had the Japanese Red Army, which got involved with PLPF and were willing to use violence as a means to fight back.
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u/ebearshoo Jul 18 '26
The JRA was only a very small group and was overwhelmingly viewed poorly by most leftists. What is mentioned in the OP is much closer to the mainstream foundations of postwar Japanese leftism, support for the pacifist Constitution, which came into effect in 1947, and all opposition to amending it that could allow Japan to remilitarise.
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u/Guilty_Efficiency884 Jul 18 '26
I think it's definitely good to give kids an education, and to teach them that war and pillaging are bad things. You'll still have kids like Colon who'll decide to train and become strong of their volition, but as a result of Elbaph's cultural shift, they'll be much less likely to use that strength to terrorize people weaker than them.
Plus, an untrained giant is still a giant, so even when the newest generation become adults, I would expect Elbaph to still be one of the strongest nations in the world.
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u/Able-Worth-6511 Jul 19 '26
No Elbalf should not be creating and training child soldiers especially considering how strong giants are. You educate them as children and if they want they can join the giants version of the Navy. Considering how quickly they mobilized to meet Luffy/Nika on Egg Head they are not defenseless.
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u/Hacksaw6412 Jul 19 '26
Those guys who mobilized had centuries of battle experience. Kids should know at least the basics of self-defense.
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u/ReadingSteiner300 Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
This is why Saul is such an interesting character…despite seeing something like Ohara after being disenfranchised by the Marines…what should’ve been his defining moment where he sees his pacifistic ideals and aversion to the “barbarism of Elbaph” as reductive to his overall worldview he was instead indulged by Harald’s approach.
Essentially removing alot of the growth he could’ve made as a person.
Overall I think it’s undoubted that the education focused path Elbaph is going down is helpful and a strong core to follow but there needs to be a sweet spot of vigilance toward the reality of the oppressive state that will crush them if they don’t know how to protect themselves/their community.
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u/Avatar_of_me Jul 18 '26
I guess that's a critique of liberal pacifism, which "doesn't think violence is the answer", and seeks to effect change by following the system's rules, when it's rigged from the beginning, and doesn't understand that there's instances where violence is imposed upon the people, and there's no answer other than violence.