Even though we had a little bit of warning about federation, I think we're off to a rocky start. Maybe we should have compiled a list of things we think that may make other people very upset. That way they can quickly get to know what we're about and go hide in a social media bubble if it scares them.
I figure I'd start with a good one. America deserved 9/11. I'm burying the lede a bit with that one. I don't think random acts of violence really accomplish much and I don't think randos, albeit imperial core randos, should die. But this wasn't a random act of violence, was it?
There's a little something called Foucault's Boomerang. Basically it's the tools, means, and experiments carried out by imperial countries tend to make their way back home one way or another. Military gear gets tried out on the battlefield then next thing you know cops at home have the same equipment. It also works for cause and effect. America did 9/11 to itself.
After WWII America courted the monarchy of Saudi Arabia, who had some really "interesting" religious ideas at the time, to ensure a source of oil. Oil was very important to American manufacturing and the war effort. Our domestic reserves helped us get through WWII. We needed more. So the US decided to look the other way on Saudi foreign policy while they ensured us first dibs on the oil. The UK also made deals on building their infrastructure and finance needs, to which the US eventually pushed them of the back rooms where such deals were made. But that's another story.
The US also backed anti-Soviet/anti-Communist groups in the Middle-East as they had in other parts of the world. This meant giving aide and weapons and training to those groups. In exchange they would beat up all the communists and pro-soviet people in their country and keep the borders open for US trade.
Not to "yadda yadda yadda" through a lot of interesting history but the US made a lot of enemies and ruined former alliances in these places because we valued the exploitation of their resources more than the actual relationships formed. Once the Soviets were gone, we could just do what we wanted to them and there was nobody left to oppose us.
So our former (and some current) friends stabbed us in the back. The imperialism boomeranged back home and we got a terrorist attack on US soil.
The people who died didn't particularly deserve it but people die when an imperial power does imperialism. That's part of why it's bad. Imperialism will never benefit the common person, it will only hurt us in the end. You best believe all this funding, weapons, and shit going into Ukraine will come back on us too.
What are some other real-ass takes for our visitors who need disillusioning?
If it weren't for the Nazis, the British empire would have been the big baddies of history, because they did some real bad shit, just spread out over a much longer time period
I think the Dutch skated on a lot of terrible shit, because they convinced the world they were all about tulips and clogs.
The Belgians too. My God the Belgians.
"But Leopold personally-" shut the fuck up and pay your reparations to the Congo.
For real. Its like finding out that Germans still make little human skin lamps out of caramel.
Uh wait, what the fuck?
I knew the Dutch still love blackface, but what is this?
Yeah they make candy celebrating how they used to cut Congolese people’s hands off if they didn’t give them the rubber.
Jesus fucking christ
Return that country to the sea
I live there and I have never seen such chocolats. Where have you seen them?
Antwerp
There's an old folks take in Antwerp, about a giant who demanded that the sailors paid money to sail on the river Scheldt. A roman soldier named Brabo cut off one of the giants hands an threw it in the river. That hand has been on the Antwerp coat of arms since before the genocide in Congo I think.
There's also a giant hand on the busiest shopping avenue in the city, which refers to the tale. Although I fully understand that when you're aware of Leopold, Belgium and the Congo but don't know about Antwerps symbols (which I don't blame you for or anything), it's a massive yikes.
Regarding the chocolats, I hardly eat that so I must have missed it. Just so you know it's not referring to the Congo genocide, just to an old city legend.
I was torn between calling out the Dutch or Belgians...Thanks for the alley oop!
they both suck
posh british accents are literally shorthand for 'imperialism' lol. this is one thing an american lib can sometimes parse but will usually still hand-wring about that being 'in the past'
yes that's a real-ass take for sure: imperialism is alive and well, and if you're complaining on hexbear it's probably YOUR country doing it
Aristocrat's have to die*, as they openly call for the murder and worse! of people slightly left of liberals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNGIyUnLX_0&t=192s
*: (or give away their titles/ill gotten wealth/have their power taken away)