6 ms·

Maybe the US should focus more on diplomacy and open collaboration rather than letting a few dozen psychopaths convince the country we need to support a war mac

by shimman 4mo ago

Maybe the US should focus more on diplomacy and open collaboration rather than letting a few dozen psychopaths convince the country we need to support a war machine that has benefited no one outside of the defense industry.

Noumenon72 4mo ago
If the problem was as simple as a few individuals and had no benefits it would not persist -- this is a Hollywood view of the world that won't help you understand your opposition.
- shimman 4mo ago
  No, it's quite simple. US imperialism only benefits the select elites of the country at the expense of the poor. Why are you denying the absolutely destructive power of the US military and it's abject failure in not only making the world safer for Americans but explicitly more dangerous? Are you personally benefiting from US imperialism?
  - shmeeed 4mo ago
    This was not the point of GP's comment. The point was that your reductive take on the military-industrial complex as "a few dozen psychopaths" is simplistic and won't help you understand your opposition. Also, please refrain from making personal allegations.
- watwut 4mo ago
  Things that benefit only few can persist for a very long time. And US politics is full of those.
ericmay 4mo ago
What diplomatic means should the United States (why the US and not others) take to stop Russia in Ukraine, stop Iran in the Middle East, stop North Korea, and stop China and its support for Russia or insistence of attacking Taiwan? Certainly there is some room for negotiation and diplomacy and frankly I think we've tried that and tried it until it was clearly insane and then we still tried it. We (the west) tried to invite Russia to NATO and we opened up Europe to Russian gas. We tried the JCPOA with Iran. We have no clue what to do with North Korea. And we pushed for Chinese entry into the WTO only for them to backstab the west.
- shimman 4mo ago
  Conflating China with Russia is absolutely bonkers. No need to comment when you're already engorged on propaganda. Also don't understand what point you're trying to make outside of the US being explicitly poor actors that ignore treaties, allies, and are willing to start wars to run cover for unpopular domestic leadership while causing the unnecessary deaths of millions of people across the world. Also WTF does backstab even mean in this context? That China didn't bend over and allow US corporations to rat fuck their country dry? Who exactly benefits from enriching US corporations here? It's assuredly not US citizens. Good grief.
  - strangegecko 4mo ago
    I'm guessing with backstabbing he means China's practice of stealing technology and closing off the market for foreign companies. Lots of smaller and mid sized companies that tried to invest in the Chinese market lost everything because the government protected and supported local copycats, with no intention of giving the foreign company fair access to the market.
    - ericmay 4mo ago
      Thanks yes. You can read about Germany shedding 10,000 manufacturing jobs a month for yourself here: https://www.wsj.com/economy/china-is-devastating-the-last-stronghold-of-german-industry-c7a98514?st=RF4pLR https://www.wsj.com/economy/china-is-devastating-the-last-st... And let’s not forget China’s helping of Russia to prosecute its war in Ukraine by training soldiers [1] and providing dual use technology access. It’s interesting how the OP that you responded to was quick to start slinging accusations of propaganda and react so violently without even asking a clarifying question. Well, let’s just say some of us read those comments with a little extra interest. [1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/04/ukraine-war-briefing-germany-calls-reports-russian-soldiers-are-being-trained-in-china-deeply-disturbing?CMP=share_btn_url https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/04/ukraine-war-br...
    - shimman 3mo ago
      Okay and how does this materially hurt Americans? The elites in the US hoard all the wealth, US corporations doing well internationally means fuck all for the domestic citizens. This is what I mean by how much of a farce this all is. Why should I care that China's steal IP? Chinese products are actually good + cheap to a consumer like me, all I see our corporations being unable to compete with an actual competitor that has a different view of the world + vision of the future. Hard to see why I should be willing to sacrifice Americans to uphold corporations.

by shimman 4mo ago

Noumenon72 4mo ago

If the problem was as simple as a few individuals and had no benefits it would not persist -- this is a Hollywood view of the world that won't help you understand your opposition.

shimman 4mo ago
No, it's quite simple. US imperialism only benefits the select elites of the country at the expense of the poor. Why are you denying the absolutely destructive power of the US military and it's abject failure in not only making the world safer for Americans but explicitly more dangerous? Are you personally benefiting from US imperialism?
- shmeeed 4mo ago
  This was not the point of GP's comment. The point was that your reductive take on the military-industrial complex as "a few dozen psychopaths" is simplistic and won't help you understand your opposition. Also, please refrain from making personal allegations.
watwut 4mo ago
Things that benefit only few can persist for a very long time. And US politics is full of those.

ericmay 4mo ago

What diplomatic means should the United States (why the US and not others) take to stop Russia in Ukraine, stop Iran in the Middle East, stop North Korea, and stop China and its support for Russia or insistence of attacking Taiwan? Certainly there is some room for negotiation and diplomacy and frankly I think we've tried that and tried it until it was clearly insane and then we still tried it. We (the west) tried to invite Russia to NATO and we opened up Europe to Russian gas. We tried the JCPOA with Iran. We have no clue what to do with North Korea. And we pushed for Chinese entry into the WTO only for them to backstab the west.

shimman 4mo ago
Conflating China with Russia is absolutely bonkers. No need to comment when you're already engorged on propaganda. Also don't understand what point you're trying to make outside of the US being explicitly poor actors that ignore treaties, allies, and are willing to start wars to run cover for unpopular domestic leadership while causing the unnecessary deaths of millions of people across the world. Also WTF does backstab even mean in this context? That China didn't bend over and allow US corporations to rat fuck their country dry? Who exactly benefits from enriching US corporations here? It's assuredly not US citizens. Good grief.
- strangegecko 4mo ago
  I'm guessing with backstabbing he means China's practice of stealing technology and closing off the market for foreign companies. Lots of smaller and mid sized companies that tried to invest in the Chinese market lost everything because the government protected and supported local copycats, with no intention of giving the foreign company fair access to the market.
  - ericmay 4mo ago
    Thanks yes. You can read about Germany shedding 10,000 manufacturing jobs a month for yourself here: https://www.wsj.com/economy/china-is-devastating-the-last-stronghold-of-german-industry-c7a98514?st=RF4pLR https://www.wsj.com/economy/china-is-devastating-the-last-st... And let’s not forget China’s helping of Russia to prosecute its war in Ukraine by training soldiers [1] and providing dual use technology access. It’s interesting how the OP that you responded to was quick to start slinging accusations of propaganda and react so violently without even asking a clarifying question. Well, let’s just say some of us read those comments with a little extra interest. [1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/04/ukraine-war-briefing-germany-calls-reports-russian-soldiers-are-being-trained-in-china-deeply-disturbing?CMP=share_btn_url https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/04/ukraine-war-br...
  - shimman 3mo ago
    Okay and how does this materially hurt Americans? The elites in the US hoard all the wealth, US corporations doing well internationally means fuck all for the domestic citizens. This is what I mean by how much of a farce this all is. Why should I care that China's steal IP? Chinese products are actually good + cheap to a consumer like me, all I see our corporations being unable to compete with an actual competitor that has a different view of the world + vision of the future. Hard to see why I should be willing to sacrifice Americans to uphold corporations.