I think it’s kinda weird to assume there are any intrinsic traits about large, diverse groups of people. There are so many Americans of so many diverse backgrounds, that I think any generalizations we can make are gonna be wildly off for a great many people. It’s certainly true that most Americans did not act to prevent the current administration. However, most Americans are completely uninformed, propagandized to daily, and held down systemically so they don’t focus on their oppressors. Blaming the people is easy. They should’ve prevented this. They shouldn’t have been complacent. It’s their fault for the radical individualism.
I see this happen constantly, whether it’s American, Chinese, Russian, Ukrainian, Israeli, Palestinian, British, etc… people, being blamed for the evils, perceived or otherwise, of their government. Often, these people are only as complicit as an abuse victim is to the person that has controlled their life and worldview to suit their own needs. Their actions and beliefs may be malicious, they may be indifferent, or they may simply be ineffective, but they receive the blame that would be more accurately aimed at those controlling their sources of information and communities.
Blaming the system takes more effort. There has been a slow, insidious, and very intentional subversion of American and global politics for decades, and it’s handwaved away as conservative buffoonery and incompetence, which while present, is a very incomplete part of a larger picture. This isn’t an election that people didn’t turn out for. This is decades of the subversion of a democracy, the media, and a gradual pressure placed against the entire working class to keep the focus on putting food on the table, and a new culture war punching bag for each election season. I don’t blame Americans. I blame the fascists that have snuck into government on populist platforms, and the people that should have been in positions to act as the safeguards who instead rolled over and gave in to the corruption.
No one is immune to propaganda. I can only hope that we rebuild better.
I think it’s kinda weird to assume there are any intrinsic traits about large, diverse groups of people. There are so many Americans of so many diverse backgrounds, that I think any generalizations we can make are gonna be wildly off for a great many people. It’s certainly true that most Americans did not act to prevent the current administration. However, most Americans are completely uninformed, propagandized to daily, and held down systemically so they don’t focus on their oppressors. Blaming the people is easy. They should’ve prevented this. They shouldn’t have been complacent. It’s their fault for the radical individualism.
I see this happen constantly, whether it’s American, Chinese, Russian, Ukrainian, Israeli, Palestinian, British, etc… people, being blamed for the evils, perceived or otherwise, of their government. Often, these people are only as complicit as an abuse victim is to the person that has controlled their life and worldview to suit their own needs. Their actions and beliefs may be malicious, they may be indifferent, or they may simply be ineffective, but they receive the blame that would be more accurately aimed at those controlling their sources of information and communities.
Blaming the system takes more effort. There has been a slow, insidious, and very intentional subversion of American and global politics for decades, and it’s handwaved away as conservative buffoonery and incompetence, which while present, is a very incomplete part of a larger picture. This isn’t an election that people didn’t turn out for. This is decades of the subversion of a democracy, the media, and a gradual pressure placed against the entire working class to keep the focus on putting food on the table, and a new culture war punching bag for each election season. I don’t blame Americans. I blame the fascists that have snuck into government on populist platforms, and the people that should have been in positions to act as the safeguards who instead rolled over and gave in to the corruption.
No one is immune to propaganda. I can only hope that we rebuild better.