Dear USA,
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Dear USA,
Donald Trump is exactly who you are.
Donald Trump is simply the #noFilter USA the rest of the world was forced to become intimately familiar with long ago; one dropped bomb and one lost family member at a time. The same USA Native Americans and African Americans have always known.
Until you fully grasp that and start learning about, accepting responsibility for, and atoning for how your country came to be and for your crimes throughout history both at home and abroad, this is what you will remain.
“This is not who we are.”
Bullshit.
This is exactly who you are and who you’ve always been.
You want to change?
Start by accepting that.
Tough words, but fair I think. We have to start somewhere.
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R relay@relay.publicsquare.global shared this topic
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There's a similar rhetoric coming from the zionist settlers in Palestine rhapsodizing over some imaginary democracy that their illegitimate colony once had. Even if we set aside everything else, there was a "Military Governance" over the Palestinian citizens until 1 December 1966 and a brutal illegal occupation that started in June 1967 to this day. You could at most speak of 6 months in which this illegitimate entity didn't have an outright military dictatorship.
The same is true for the USA. The genocides, slavery, segregation, war crimes and crimes against humanity all over the world. I fail to see the point at which there was anything good about that monstrous empire.
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Dear USA,
Donald Trump is exactly who you are.
Donald Trump is simply the #noFilter USA the rest of the world was forced to become intimately familiar with long ago; one dropped bomb and one lost family member at a time. The same USA Native Americans and African Americans have always known.
Until you fully grasp that and start learning about, accepting responsibility for, and atoning for how your country came to be and for your crimes throughout history both at home and abroad, this is what you will remain.
“This is not who we are.”
Bullshit.
This is exactly who you are and who you’ve always been.
You want to change?
Start by accepting that.
Well, where do people think these politicians come from? They don't fall out of the sky. They don't pass through a membrane from another reality. They come from American parents and American families, American homes, American schools, American churches, American businesses and American universities, and they are elected by American citizens. This is the best we can do folks. This is what we have to offer. It's what our system produces: Garbage in, garbage out.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=07w9K2XR3f0&pp=ygUSY2FybGluIHBvbGl0aWNpYW5z
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Dear USA,
Donald Trump is exactly who you are.
Donald Trump is simply the #noFilter USA the rest of the world was forced to become intimately familiar with long ago; one dropped bomb and one lost family member at a time. The same USA Native Americans and African Americans have always known.
Until you fully grasp that and start learning about, accepting responsibility for, and atoning for how your country came to be and for your crimes throughout history both at home and abroad, this is what you will remain.
“This is not who we are.”
Bullshit.
This is exactly who you are and who you’ve always been.
You want to change?
Start by accepting that.
@aral read up on 'The Grande Derangement'. No nation is without villainous moments
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Dear USA,
Donald Trump is exactly who you are.
Donald Trump is simply the #noFilter USA the rest of the world was forced to become intimately familiar with long ago; one dropped bomb and one lost family member at a time. The same USA Native Americans and African Americans have always known.
Until you fully grasp that and start learning about, accepting responsibility for, and atoning for how your country came to be and for your crimes throughout history both at home and abroad, this is what you will remain.
“This is not who we are.”
Bullshit.
This is exactly who you are and who you’ve always been.
You want to change?
Start by accepting that.
@aral I understand your point and share your outrage and frustration. I do feel some of your comments include the fallacy of division. There are many, at great personal and financial cost, fighting book bans, protesting, investigative journalism, standing up for themselves and other vulnerable people. I don’t know whether we are a plutocracy or an oligarchy but individuals are trying to act like sea wall to push back against relentless money and power.
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@aral I understand your point and share your outrage and frustration. I do feel some of your comments include the fallacy of division. There are many, at great personal and financial cost, fighting book bans, protesting, investigative journalism, standing up for themselves and other vulnerable people. I don’t know whether we are a plutocracy or an oligarchy but individuals are trying to act like sea wall to push back against relentless money and power.
@coleenwalter And none of those listed people will take offence at what I wrote because it doesn’t pertain to them but rather to those they are struggling against.
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Dear USA,
Donald Trump is exactly who you are.
Donald Trump is simply the #noFilter USA the rest of the world was forced to become intimately familiar with long ago; one dropped bomb and one lost family member at a time. The same USA Native Americans and African Americans have always known.
Until you fully grasp that and start learning about, accepting responsibility for, and atoning for how your country came to be and for your crimes throughout history both at home and abroad, this is what you will remain.
“This is not who we are.”
Bullshit.
This is exactly who you are and who you’ve always been.
You want to change?
Start by accepting that.
@aral, et.al.
Adding some more "nuance" to this issue, specifically within the #USofA, via this extensive #Wikipedia entry:
It's clear that the concept of "other/s" was/is defined from the initial colonizers fluid definition of what "we" or "us" is, which includes the integration of some/select "others" into the "us" tribe, i.e. so-called "white" people.
Speaking of, I'll re-recommend this #Throughline episode about that:
The Whiteness Myth : Throughline
In 1923, an Indian American man named Bhagat Singh Thind argued before the U.S. Supreme Court that he was a white man and was therefore eligible to become a naturalized citizen. He based his claim on the fact that he was a member of India's highest caste and identified as an Aryan and therefore white. His claims were supported by the so-called Indo-European language theory, a controversial idea at the time that says nearly half the world's population speak a language that originated in one place. Theories about who lived in that place inspired a racist ideology that contended that the original speakers of the language were a white supreme race that colonized Europe and Asia thousands of years ago. This was used by many to define whiteness and eventually led to one of the most horrific events in history. On this episode of Throughline, we unpack the myths around this powerful idea and explore the politics and promise of the mother tongue.
NPR (www.npr.org)
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@coleenwalter And none of those listed people will take offence at what I wrote because it doesn’t pertain to them but rather to those they are struggling against.
@aral I really appreciate that. Except for one slightly rebellious teacher in Highschool, I was taught a more sanitized version of history. I’ve had to play catch up over the decades with my own reading. From The Capital Order to Cobalt Red and other writings, I’m trying to put together a clearer picture of our history, economic theories and the consequences to others in the wider world. It’s hard to push back against things we don’t understand.
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@aral I really appreciate that. Except for one slightly rebellious teacher in Highschool, I was taught a more sanitized version of history. I’ve had to play catch up over the decades with my own reading. From The Capital Order to Cobalt Red and other writings, I’m trying to put together a clearer picture of our history, economic theories and the consequences to others in the wider world. It’s hard to push back against things we don’t understand.
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@aral I understand your point and share your outrage and frustration. I do feel some of your comments include the fallacy of division. There are many, at great personal and financial cost, fighting book bans, protesting, investigative journalism, standing up for themselves and other vulnerable people. I don’t know whether we are a plutocracy or an oligarchy but individuals are trying to act like sea wall to push back against relentless money and power.
@coleenwalter @aral And jazz, for which I lovingly thank my Irish and African folk.
Shall we blanket-vilify Germans for nazi Germany, British for empire, Portuguese for enslaving and trading people? Israelis for ethnocide?
Supremacy culture is a global phenomenon that hypes [anti-] nationalist accusations - as well as racist, classist, sexist instabilities - to keep us separated.
It’s a global oligarchy that colludes at the expense of peoples’ lives.
Solidarity, on the other hand, is a more nuanced antidote to sleepiness of binary thinking. #onelove .
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@aral Yes, Trump is the most American President ever.
@juh Make that “most ugly American” President
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Dear USA,
Donald Trump is exactly who you are.
Donald Trump is simply the #noFilter USA the rest of the world was forced to become intimately familiar with long ago; one dropped bomb and one lost family member at a time. The same USA Native Americans and African Americans have always known.
Until you fully grasp that and start learning about, accepting responsibility for, and atoning for how your country came to be and for your crimes throughout history both at home and abroad, this is what you will remain.
“This is not who we are.”
Bullshit.
This is exactly who you are and who you’ve always been.
You want to change?
Start by accepting that.
@aral@mastodon.ar.al
Same feeling when I saw people watching horrible atrocities being committed and says "they aren't human".
No, they are.
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@coleenwalter @aral And jazz, for which I lovingly thank my Irish and African folk.
Shall we blanket-vilify Germans for nazi Germany, British for empire, Portuguese for enslaving and trading people? Israelis for ethnocide?
Supremacy culture is a global phenomenon that hypes [anti-] nationalist accusations - as well as racist, classist, sexist instabilities - to keep us separated.
It’s a global oligarchy that colludes at the expense of peoples’ lives.
Solidarity, on the other hand, is a more nuanced antidote to sleepiness of binary thinking. #onelove .
@gdsherif @coleenwalter > Shall we blanket-vilify Germans for nazi Germany, British for empire, Portuguese for enslaving and trading people? Israelis for ethnocide?
The ones who do not acknowledge, fail to atone for, continue to benefit from, and continue to inflict such damage?
Yes.
The others? They’re rarely the ones offended by criticism of nations.
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Dear USA,
Donald Trump is exactly who you are.
Donald Trump is simply the #noFilter USA the rest of the world was forced to become intimately familiar with long ago; one dropped bomb and one lost family member at a time. The same USA Native Americans and African Americans have always known.
Until you fully grasp that and start learning about, accepting responsibility for, and atoning for how your country came to be and for your crimes throughout history both at home and abroad, this is what you will remain.
“This is not who we are.”
Bullshit.
This is exactly who you are and who you’ve always been.
You want to change?
Start by accepting that.
@aral I was surprised how much the idea of “American exceptionalism” was considered accurate by virtually all US politicians – and then used to justify, among other things, “double standards”.
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@aral I really appreciate that. Except for one slightly rebellious teacher in Highschool, I was taught a more sanitized version of history. I’ve had to play catch up over the decades with my own reading. From The Capital Order to Cobalt Red and other writings, I’m trying to put together a clearer picture of our history, economic theories and the consequences to others in the wider world. It’s hard to push back against things we don’t understand.
@coleenwalter @aral A book that could curl your hair. The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Half_Has_Never_Been_Told:_Slavery_and_the_Making_of_American_Capitalism
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Dear USA,
Donald Trump is exactly who you are.
Donald Trump is simply the #noFilter USA the rest of the world was forced to become intimately familiar with long ago; one dropped bomb and one lost family member at a time. The same USA Native Americans and African Americans have always known.
Until you fully grasp that and start learning about, accepting responsibility for, and atoning for how your country came to be and for your crimes throughout history both at home and abroad, this is what you will remain.
“This is not who we are.”
Bullshit.
This is exactly who you are and who you’ve always been.
You want to change?
Start by accepting that.
@aral Indeed. It's fascinating to watch US liberals get angry over Russia assisting Iran in defending itself against an aggressive war by two belligerents. Embedded in the outrage is the pretext that Iranians should simply accept their fate and die under American and Israeli bombs because they shouldn't be able to retaliate against those attacking them.
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@coleenwalter @aral A book that could curl your hair. The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Half_Has_Never_Been_Told:_Slavery_and_the_Making_of_American_Capitalism
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Dear USA,
Donald Trump is exactly who you are.
Donald Trump is simply the #noFilter USA the rest of the world was forced to become intimately familiar with long ago; one dropped bomb and one lost family member at a time. The same USA Native Americans and African Americans have always known.
Until you fully grasp that and start learning about, accepting responsibility for, and atoning for how your country came to be and for your crimes throughout history both at home and abroad, this is what you will remain.
“This is not who we are.”
Bullshit.
This is exactly who you are and who you’ve always been.
You want to change?
Start by accepting that.
@aral Hard plus ones here, comrade. Well-voiced.
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Dear USA,
Donald Trump is exactly who you are.
Donald Trump is simply the #noFilter USA the rest of the world was forced to become intimately familiar with long ago; one dropped bomb and one lost family member at a time. The same USA Native Americans and African Americans have always known.
Until you fully grasp that and start learning about, accepting responsibility for, and atoning for how your country came to be and for your crimes throughout history both at home and abroad, this is what you will remain.
“This is not who we are.”
Bullshit.
This is exactly who you are and who you’ve always been.
You want to change?
Start by accepting that.
@aral we, everywhere, should never have stopped punching Nazis.
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Dear USA,
Donald Trump is exactly who you are.
Donald Trump is simply the #noFilter USA the rest of the world was forced to become intimately familiar with long ago; one dropped bomb and one lost family member at a time. The same USA Native Americans and African Americans have always known.
Until you fully grasp that and start learning about, accepting responsibility for, and atoning for how your country came to be and for your crimes throughout history both at home and abroad, this is what you will remain.
“This is not who we are.”
Bullshit.
This is exactly who you are and who you’ve always been.
You want to change?
Start by accepting that.
@aral Unfortunately, Exceptionalism is not going quietly.
