4 ms·

US Propaganda and why there has been a spike in Anti-Asian Hate

treesprite82 6y ago
Its not hypocritical to criticise China or North Korea while at the same time condemning racism against Asian people.
propogandist 6y ago
what about the Uyghurs, or how the WHO is being stonewalled in their investigations into the origns of Covid-19, or how WHO refuses to name the novel coronavirus-19 strain after the place it was first discovered, due to pressure from China is that all propoganda too?
CogitoCogito 6y ago
What if the Twitter poster's headlines aren't propaganda? What if they are true? Would we then need to blame the CCP for this violence? It seems to me anyway that the headlines aren't really propaganda. I think we really do need to confront China on its policies. It is however good to remember that random people of asian descent do not control the CCP so the issue of seemingly rising anti-asian violence does need to be hit head-on.
subjectsigma 6y ago
This guy's Twitter bio says "Valiantly upholding the immortal science of Marxism by posting online." Pretty much all he posts about is how great China is, how they're so much smarter than the US, cute little stories about Chinese schoolchildren. I'm not saying it's a fake account, but... It's pretty ironic that he's complaining about propaganda.
- neither_color 6y ago
  Well put. Please don't let this site turn into twitter/reddit full of a political "hot takes" that drown out the tech focus. OP has nothing to do with tech, and isn't even a written argument, just a bunch of pictures(not even an infographic ffs).
danShumway 6y ago
There has to be a way to both call out the PRC for being an authoritarian government that is by most accounts committing modern genocide, and to not blame Asians who live in the US for that fact or to use that fact to justify bigotry. I refuse to accept that the only way to prevent violence is to stop reporting on very real issues. It's like when people blame the BDS movement for antisemitism -- reporting anything negative about the Israeli government's treatment of Palestinians becomes too dangerous because "what if someone misinterprets it". Violence towards Asians in the US is a serious issue that we need to tackle head-on, but allowing the PRC to get away with genocide or deflect all criticism is not at all the way to do it. The PRC is not Asia, and it doesn't represent every Asian person. It doesn't get to hide behind them to shut down conversations about its own racism and authoritarianism.
nonameiguess 6y ago
First two examples aren't US publications. FT and the Economist are both UK-based. FT is owned by a Japanese holding company. And this guy's top bio link is to the literal state-owned Chinese propaganda account.
- fsflover 6y ago
  > FT and the Economist are both UK-based. Are you suggesting that no Americans read UK-based publications?
  - jfengel 6y ago
    Americans read them precisely because they're not beholden to US and American government interests. That doesn't eliminate their own biases, but it does make them unlikely carriers of "US Propaganda".
endisneigh 6y ago
What I’ve noticed is that most criticism towards the Chinese/CCP on Internet forums is unsubstantiated and is often times nothing the USA or its allies haven’t done or are currently doing. Because it’s framed in such a way the Chinese are portrayed as some sort of supervillain. Combine that with the fact that many eastern Asians are of Han descent and “look” Chinese (whatever that means, it’s a big country) - and this is the result. It’s unfortunate I’m not fluent in other languages because I’m curious if other countries’ online communities say things about the USA similar to what we say about China.
- CogitoCogito 6y ago
  > and is often times nothing the USA or its allies haven’t done or are currently doing. Does that make okay?
  - endisneigh 6y ago
    This is a great example of what I’m referring to. Where in my comment did I imply it was OK?
    - CogitoCogito 6y ago
      It was unclear to me what you meant. It no longer is. Thanks for the clarification.
helen___keller 6y ago
Technically speaking, this post is correct that a large factor in recent anti-Asian hate is related to a spike in anti-China sentiment. However, this mental connection (Asia == Asian Americans) is clearly racism and is the issue that should be tackled. We've seen this kind racism before in American history, with the very unfortunate decision to create Japanese-American internment camps during WWII. For an example of the opposite mentality, many Americans have loathed Cuba's communist government, but (as far as I know) this sentiment does not extend to Cuban Americans, who are known as among the most vocal anti-communists out there! Similarly, there's a very large anti-CCP community among Asian Americans, including Chinese Americans. There are mainstream Asian-American celebrities who are generally apolitical but will talk about the horrible things the Chinese government has done. For example, food Youtuber Mike Chen has a channel dedicated to traveling the world tasting delicious food (in America and all across Asia), but he frequently mentions on his channel that he will never return to his homeland of China even just to visit because he fears religious persecution.
MomoXenosaga 6y ago
I always wonder what Americans really hate- Chinese nationalism or the CCP. The US will have to change its mindset and accept the changing times. Just as the great European powers once did.
franklampard 6y ago
Why is this flagged?
- stunt 6y ago
  Off topic

Its not hypocritical to criticise China or North Korea while at the same time condemning racism against Asian people.

what about the Uyghurs, or how the WHO is being stonewalled in their investigations into the origns of Covid-19, or how WHO refuses to name the novel coronavirus-19 strain after the place it was first discovered, due to pressure from China is that all propoganda too?

CogitoCogito 6y ago

What if the Twitter poster's headlines aren't propaganda? What if they are true? Would we then need to blame the CCP for this violence? It seems to me anyway that the headlines aren't really propaganda. I think we really do need to confront China on its policies. It is however good to remember that random people of asian descent do not control the CCP so the issue of seemingly rising anti-asian violence does need to be hit head-on.

subjectsigma 6y ago

This guy's Twitter bio says "Valiantly upholding the immortal science of Marxism by posting online." Pretty much all he posts about is how great China is, how they're so much smarter than the US, cute little stories about Chinese schoolchildren. I'm not saying it's a fake account, but... It's pretty ironic that he's complaining about propaganda.

neither_color 6y ago
Well put. Please don't let this site turn into twitter/reddit full of a political "hot takes" that drown out the tech focus. OP has nothing to do with tech, and isn't even a written argument, just a bunch of pictures(not even an infographic ffs).

danShumway 6y ago

There has to be a way to both call out the PRC for being an authoritarian government that is by most accounts committing modern genocide, and to not blame Asians who live in the US for that fact or to use that fact to justify bigotry. I refuse to accept that the only way to prevent violence is to stop reporting on very real issues. It's like when people blame the BDS movement for antisemitism -- reporting anything negative about the Israeli government's treatment of Palestinians becomes too dangerous because "what if someone misinterprets it". Violence towards Asians in the US is a serious issue that we need to tackle head-on, but allowing the PRC to get away with genocide or deflect all criticism is not at all the way to do it. The PRC is not Asia, and it doesn't represent every Asian person. It doesn't get to hide behind them to shut down conversations about its own racism and authoritarianism.

nonameiguess 6y ago

First two examples aren't US publications. FT and the Economist are both UK-based. FT is owned by a Japanese holding company. And this guy's top bio link is to the literal state-owned Chinese propaganda account.

fsflover 6y ago
> FT and the Economist are both UK-based. Are you suggesting that no Americans read UK-based publications?
- jfengel 6y ago
  Americans read them precisely because they're not beholden to US and American government interests. That doesn't eliminate their own biases, but it does make them unlikely carriers of "US Propaganda".

endisneigh 6y ago

What I’ve noticed is that most criticism towards the Chinese/CCP on Internet forums is unsubstantiated and is often times nothing the USA or its allies haven’t done or are currently doing. Because it’s framed in such a way the Chinese are portrayed as some sort of supervillain. Combine that with the fact that many eastern Asians are of Han descent and “look” Chinese (whatever that means, it’s a big country) - and this is the result. It’s unfortunate I’m not fluent in other languages because I’m curious if other countries’ online communities say things about the USA similar to what we say about China.

CogitoCogito 6y ago
> and is often times nothing the USA or its allies haven’t done or are currently doing. Does that make okay?
- endisneigh 6y ago
  This is a great example of what I’m referring to. Where in my comment did I imply it was OK?
  - CogitoCogito 6y ago
    It was unclear to me what you meant. It no longer is. Thanks for the clarification.

helen___keller 6y ago

Technically speaking, this post is correct that a large factor in recent anti-Asian hate is related to a spike in anti-China sentiment. However, this mental connection (Asia == Asian Americans) is clearly racism and is the issue that should be tackled. We've seen this kind racism before in American history, with the very unfortunate decision to create Japanese-American internment camps during WWII. For an example of the opposite mentality, many Americans have loathed Cuba's communist government, but (as far as I know) this sentiment does not extend to Cuban Americans, who are known as among the most vocal anti-communists out there! Similarly, there's a very large anti-CCP community among Asian Americans, including Chinese Americans. There are mainstream Asian-American celebrities who are generally apolitical but will talk about the horrible things the Chinese government has done. For example, food Youtuber Mike Chen has a channel dedicated to traveling the world tasting delicious food (in America and all across Asia), but he frequently mentions on his channel that he will never return to his homeland of China even just to visit because he fears religious persecution.

MomoXenosaga 6y ago

I always wonder what Americans really hate- Chinese nationalism or the CCP. The US will have to change its mindset and accept the changing times. Just as the great European powers once did.

franklampard 6y ago

Why is this flagged?

stunt 6y ago
Off topic