thread incoming: i'm disturbed, but not surprised, by how the imperial core responds to systematic challenges to its typical function, namely covid-19. there has been a rise not only in orientalist, sinophobic rhetoric, but also in russophobia and other imperialist sentiments. 1/

my parents are both academics; they tend to keep up closely with current events, especially in the US. they both firmly believe in russiagate conspiracy theories to the tune of "russia is funding anti-lockdown protesters" and "russia tried to rig the primaries for bernie". 2/

my parents are far from the only people who consider themselves "informed", but take a neo-mccarthyist perspective when faced with complex situations. there are a few lessons i've taken away from their beliefs --

1) education level is only as meaningful as an education system itself. institutions in the US dedicated to "education" tend to intentionally leave concepts out of their curricula that could threaten capitalism and imperialism.

2) when faced with mounting public pressure in times of crisis, the imperial core diverts unrest toward its target states. while this is hardly a new revelation, it is disturbing to see how quickly it can manipulate public discourse through media.

3) we are witnessing what could be a new manifestation of crypto-fascism. the russiagate and sinophobic propaganda projects are highly effective at building class-collaborationist, nationalist sentiment, even in groups that should be "resistant" to fascist rhetoric. end thread //