This reminds me of the time I read a wikipedia article about "whataboutism" and it cited Soviet Propaganda as a "classic example". Specifically it referenced the popular soviet mantra "...and you are lynching n*ggers" https://twitter.com/Ad_Inifinitum/status/1282740266626101248

The basic idea was that anytime the U.S. criticized the soviet union on the international stage a soviet politician/diplomat would respond "...and you are lynching n*ggers". This was traditionally dismissed by U.S. historians and politicians as whataboutism. But honestly, was it?

Yes, the soviet union was an oppressive, totalitarian regime; but say what you want, they often made huge leaps in civil rights years before the U.S. on some issues. They achieved effective racial and gender equality as early as the 1930s.

The 1930s! The same couldn't even be said about the U.S. in the year 2020, much less the 19 fucking 30s. The soviet union, a totalitarian and imperialist regime, still treated POC and women better than the U.S.

Doesnt mean I dont have plenty of critizism for the USSR. Believe me, I do, I'm no tankie. But we're so propagandized here in the states we cant talk about other countries with the same nuance we're expected to show the U.S.

Talk about the Jim crow laws and KKK and lynchings here in the U.S., especially in our education environments and it's all "but they're were plenty of good people too! It was just how things were back then, everyone was racist!"

Meanwhile, when we learn or talk about the USSR it's all "they had gulags and nuclear weapons and they hated FREEDOM so they were bad! Nothing redeemable or good a out them! Ignore all the scientific and cultural advances they made!"

"Ignore the fact that quality of life and life expectancies rose significantly for the average soviet citizen, that literacy rates went up in countries where 90% of the population was formally illiterate. Ignore all that and just know they were very bad!"

Meanwhile, we were beating black and brown people and staging coups and performing illegal unethical medical experiments that violated international law, and were far behind in terms of gender and racial equality until at least the late 60s. American exceptionalism amirite?

So when the Soviets said, "and you are lynching n*ggers," I think they actually had a good fucking point. Who are we to point the finger at the soviets and say how bad the shit they were doing was when we had literal concentration camps at the exact same time?

It feels like the pot calling the kettle black to say the least. The U.S. STILL does this today. We talk about the human rights abuses in Russia and China but we turn a blind eye to GITMO and the children we have locked away in cages, ect.

Honestly we have so many human rights abuses I could just make a thread listening the ones from the past 10 years. But Russia bad, because they torture prisoners! (Just like we do) and China bad because they stole land from natives and deny them automony!!

(Ignore Puerto Rico and Guam and indigenous people living here in the U.S.)

Anyway, that my 30 tweet long rant. Again, not defending the soviet union here, I'm not even gonna wade into that mess. I just think the hypocrisy is "funny" for lack of a better word.

Ok I lied, but I want to end this thread with a good quote. Ta-Nahisi Coates said in his book "Between the World and Me" something along the lines of "If we are to accept American exceptionalism, America must first prove itself to be exceptional".

I'm paraphrasing, but I think that about sums up my feelings on that. How can we claim to be exceptional when we have yet to prove ourselves to be the exception? What gives us that right to claim that title?