You can justify almost any politics through trauma and victimhood. Many dictatorships were founded and upheld by people who have suffered more than the average Western leftist.

Liberal hawks like to use privilege as a cudgel. So do Stalinists and Maoists. Are you a leftist tankie westsplanning to victims of Soviet imperialism? Or are you a white KKKolonizer speaking over the Third World masses who have chosen a Marxist-Leninist path to liberation?

Of course you always have to keep in mind the humanity of people you’re talking about. And that doesn’t always mean deferring to everyone who has a sad story to tell. Because their politics might inflict the same or worse sad fate on someone else.

The more serious the oppression, the less likely you are to hear directly from its victims. They might not have the free time and education to advocate for themselves. Or they live somewhere remote or poor journalists never go. Or they’re in prison or a refugee camp or worse.