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Sure, but at the same time, it should be possible for a citizen to have a positive view of their nation and also a negative view of their government. The media

Sure, but at the same time, it should be possible for a citizen to have a positive view of their nation and also a negative view of their government. The media portrays some of these student groups as almost militantly pro-CCP (above and beyond pro-China). I like the US. But from 2016-2020 I had almost nothing positive to say about the government. And when asked about Trump by foreigners (usually while I was traveling abroad) I didn’t feel compelled to defend him just because he’s the current president.

DiogenesKynikos 5y ago
As an American, you may have run into a certain type of infantile anti-Americanism abroad. By infantile anti-Americanism, I mean something that goes far beyond logical/informed critiques of US policy and society, into a sort of knee-jerk disdain for everything American. You'll find this sort of silly perspective among some people in Europe, but it's far from being a majority view. Most people have a healthy understanding that the US is a complicated place. Now imagine if this sort of infantile anti-Americanism were the dominant view throughout Europe, and if it was relentlessly pushed in the media. Imagine if everywhere you went, people who knew nothing about America, who couldn't speak English, and who had never visited the country wanted to lecture you on how evil the US was. And imagine if every time you opened your mouth to tell them that things were a bit more complicated than they were saying, they called you brainwashed or a US bot. If that were the case, you might get a lot more defensive, or even just avoid talking about America with Europeans altogether. That's what the situation is with anti-Chinese sentiment in the West.