To be fair, that’s a good chunk of political discourse anytime conservatives/neoliberals in any country feel like they’re losing power. Japan, the UK, Germany and plenty others all pushed xenophobic and anti-immigration talking points to the top of the political discourse recently. I’m pretty sure Australia had a bunch of anti-immigration marches last year.
Yeah absolutely, its a common tactic for all ruling classes and has been for some time. It is just particularly prevalent in the US.
But is it though? I’d argue it just seems more prevalent because the US “controls” more of the media in the west and the capital interests that owns that media is almost universally conservative. That doesn’t actually reflect how the vast majority of Americans even feel. Most people, let alone the average American, doesn’t even understand how immigration works or just how bad the system in the US is.
When the US blames foreigners, it’s racism. When foreigners blame the US, it’s anti-imperialism. Is this the double standard everyone talks about?
The difference is evidence
It is so fucking tiring to hear that all the problems with the US are inexplicably because of foreign influences. Many people here in this country do not realize that they are just different flavors of right wing rhetoric with some being more overt and extreme than the rest. Just the same xenophobic rhetoric with a different window dressing. There is next to no left-wing political discourse that understands that what ails this country is, in fact, our very culture and economy. The only thing any foreign influences are doing is exacerbating a problem that was already a long-standing issue in this nation.
Like, I get that the US has enemies that would like to see it go down so they can expand. I get that. Yet, while this is true that I don’t want to see those other Imperialist nations expand it is also true that the US itself is no shining beacon of freedom and liberty that the propaganda would like us all to believe it is. It is just another authoritarian, Imperialist nation that exploits the masses both foreign and abroad.
Anytime you try to get to the core of an issue with someone they never seem to break past that point where they must come to terms with America itself is a problem.
In my humble opinion, the oligarchs are the root of our problem - they control media, corrupt politics. Media led to propaganda that has half the country believing an alternate “reality” that is simply lies.
That said, the reason I think we have Trump is largely Russia’s influence.
So really, it’s a combination of internal and external pressures.
You’re the person depicted in the meme
