{"id":218074,"date":"2022-08-15T12:00:06","date_gmt":"2022-08-15T11:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=218074"},"modified":"2022-08-15T08:52:17","modified_gmt":"2022-08-15T07:52:17","slug":"china-threatens-the-us-empire-not-the-us-itself-notes-from-the-edge-of-the-narrative-matrix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2022\/08\/china-threatens-the-us-empire-not-the-us-itself-notes-from-the-edge-of-the-narrative-matrix\/","title":{"rendered":"China Threatens the US Empire, Not the US Itself: Notes from the Edge of the Narrative Matrix"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/usa-vs-china-flag.jpeg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-218077\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/usa-vs-china-flag.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"256\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/usa-vs-china-flag.jpeg 1000w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/usa-vs-china-flag-300x192.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/usa-vs-china-flag-768x492.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>15 Aug 2022 &#8211; <\/em>So many empire apologist arguments depend on pretending the US empire doesn\u2019t exist; pretending the US is just a normal country sitting there minding its own business. If you do that, it really does look like Russia and China are picking on Ukraine and Taiwan completely unprovoked.<\/p>\n<p>If you act like the US isn\u2019t the hub of an empire that is projecting power all over the globe, then the fact that it has a hand in every major international conflict becomes obscured and it just looks like evil barbaric foreigners doing evil things for no good reason.\u00a0Take the empire out of the equation and Assad wasn\u2019t reacting to a western-backed regime change proxy war, he was just killing his own people because he likes killing people. China isn\u2019t responding to US encirclement, it\u2019s just being aggressive to its neighbors because it is evil.<\/p>\n<p>Because the globe-spanning power structure loosely centralized around the United States is an <em>unacknowledged, unofficial<\/em> empire that doesn\u2019t look like the empires of old, its apologists can just insist that it doesn\u2019t exist, like mob lawyers used to do with the mafia. By doing that, they can assign others responsibility for the empire\u2019s crimes.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Unfuckingbelievable. <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6YmK6ehFVK\" >https:\/\/t.co\/6YmK6ehFVK<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Caitlin Johnstone (@caitoz) <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/caitoz\/status\/1558793540133539844?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >August 14, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>A large amount of empire apologia in 2022 is also built around pretending that provocation just isn\u2019t a thing. That this concept we\u2019ve all lived our entire lives knowing about and understanding is suddenly a freakish and ridiculous invention of Moscow and Beijing.<\/p>\n<p>If I provoke someone into doing something bad, then they\u2019re guilty of doing the bad thing, but I am also guilty of provoking them. This is the plot behind any movie or show with a sneaky or manipulative villain. It\u2019s the subject of <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Iago\" >entire Shakespearean plays<\/a>. I\u2019m not saying anything new here. This notion wasn\u2019t just invented.<\/p>\n<p>Most of us learn this as children with siblings kicking the other under the table or whatever to provoke a loud outburst, and we\u2019ve understood it ever since. But in 2022 everyone\u2019s pretending that this extremely basic, kindergarten-level concept is some kind of bizarre alien gibberish.<\/p>\n<p>\u2756<\/p>\n<p>China poses no threat to the United States of America, the country. What China poses a threat to is the US <em><strong>empire<\/strong><\/em> and the hegemonic unipolarist ambitions thereof. That\u2019s what various government agencies are talking about when they describe China as the number one \u201cthreat\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u2756<\/p>\n<p>Talking about China\u2019s territorial disputes with its neighbors without talking about the US empire\u2019s efforts to establish strategic domination of those areas is the same as lying.<\/p>\n<p>\u2756<\/p>\n<p>Normal person: China\u2019s misdeeds have been greatly exaggerated by western propaganda and the US is quantifiably far more murderous and destructive.<\/p>\n<p>Crazy person: Oh so you think China is a perfect communist utopia and the CCP never does anything wrong?? Why don\u2019t you <em>MOVE there<\/em>??<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">CBS: Here&#39;s an investigative report on how only 30% of the weapons we&#39;re sending to Ukraine are getting to the frontline!<\/p>\n<p>Ukrainian government: No. Take it down.<\/p>\n<p>CBS: Okay sorry.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Caitlin Johnstone (@caitoz) <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/caitoz\/status\/1557137989586673664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >August 9, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Pretending the US government has been taken over by Marxists lets the \u201cpopulist right\u201d feel as though their shrieking about communism is punching up and fighting the power, when really they\u2019re just facilitating longstanding neocon agendas against China and longstanding CIA\/FBI agendas against western socialists.<\/p>\n<p>\u2756<\/p>\n<p>It was scary when Russiagate first started and liberals began turning into cold war zombies. You could just tell the brainwashing was going to be used to get them to consent to ugly, dangerous things. The brainwashing about China is even scarier, and it\u2019s just getting started.<\/p>\n<p>\u2756<\/p>\n<p>If your government is showing a clear interest in the outcome of a foreign war, and your first response <em><strong>isn\u2019t<\/strong><\/em> to do some rigorous and intellectually honest investigation as to whether your government played a role in starting that war, then there\u2019s something wrong with your mind.<\/p>\n<p>If this is you, don\u2019t feel bad: there\u2019s something wrong with most people\u2019s minds. What\u2019s wrong with most people\u2019s minds is that the powerful pour a vast amount of energy into manipulating them toward their advantage. This has been known about and studied <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/34LGPIXvU5M\" >for a long time<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u2756<\/p>\n<p>There really is a widespread, mainstream belief that it is the job of the news media and watchdog organizations to help Ukraine win a propaganda war against Russia:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/amnestyinternational-russia-war-usa-china-ukraine.jpeg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-218080\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/amnestyinternational-russia-war-usa-china-ukraine-1024x612.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"299\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/amnestyinternational-russia-war-usa-china-ukraine-1024x612.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/amnestyinternational-russia-war-usa-china-ukraine-300x179.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/amnestyinternational-russia-war-usa-china-ukraine-768x459.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/amnestyinternational-russia-war-usa-china-ukraine.jpeg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Do people really not understand that wanting the media and watchdog organizations to tell the truth and wanting them to help Ukraine win an information war are two mutually exclusive concepts? You cannot have both. You either want to be lied to or you want to be told the truth.<\/p>\n<p>\u2756<\/p>\n<p>Americans are the most propagandized population on earth, and US military personnel are the most propagandized Americans.<\/p>\n<p>\u2756<\/p>\n<p>Liberals spent the entire Trump administration yelling about the looming threat of fascism only to wind up cheerleading for the fucking Espionage Act.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Rand Paul is now calling to repeal the Espionage Act after the world learned Donald Trump is under investigation for violating it.<\/p>\n<p>When I am elected to the Senate, you will never have  to question my loyalty to our country.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Charles Booker (@Booker4KY) <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Booker4KY\/status\/1558620922369687558?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >August 14, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>After awhile you start to notice that people who only support healthy agendas for partisan reasons don\u2019t really support healthy agendas. Democrats didn\u2019t really oppose the Iraq war, they just opposed Bush. Republicans don\u2019t really oppose the FBI, they just support Trump.<\/p>\n<p>If you only oppose something because it\u2019s politically convenient, then you will cease opposing it as soon as it ceases to be politically convenient. All those \u201canti-war Democrats\u201d from the Bush era provided zero opposition to Obama\u2019s warmongering and fully support Biden\u2019s warmongering.\u00a0I used to get hopeful when I\u2019d see things like mainstream Republicans expressing skepticism of the CIA or whatever, but then I\u2019d notice that skepticism completely evaporate when the CIA targeted governments they don\u2019t like and see them cheering for Mike Pompeo. It\u2019s just fake bullshit.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve found it\u2019s a lot more helpful to just work to sow healthy ideas around so they can take root than try to make use of apparently healthy sentiments that only arise from partisanship. If it\u2019s partisan, it\u2019s fake. It won\u2019t last a minute beyond its political usefulness.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Things you can make money out of:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>War<\/li>\n<li>Ecocide<\/li>\n<li>Sickness<\/li>\n<li>Finite commodities<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Things you can\u2019t make money out of:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Peace<\/li>\n<li>A thriving biosphere<\/li>\n<li>Health<\/li>\n<li>Energy sources you can\u2019t control<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>While we use money to value things, we will never be free.<\/p>\n<p>_________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Caitlin-Johnstone.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-180156\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Caitlin-Johnstone.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Caitlin Johnstone is a rogue journalist, poet, and utopia prepper who publishes regularly\u00a0<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@caityjohnstone\" >at <\/a><\/em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@caityjohnstone\" >Medium<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/caitlinjohnstone.com\/2022\/08\/15\/china-threatens-the-us-empire-not-the-us-itself-notes-from-the-edge-of-the-narrative-matrix\/\" >Go to Original \u2013 caitlinjohnstone.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>15 Aug 2022 &#8211; So many empire apologist arguments depend on pretending the US empire doesn\u2019t exist; pretending the US is just a normal country sitting there minding its own business. If you do that, it really does look like Russia and China are picking on Ukraine and Taiwan completely unprovoked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":218077,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[417,244,1126,1050,112,278,2200,1594],"class_list":["post-218074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anglo-america","tag-bullying","tag-china","tag-hegemony","tag-imperialism","tag-pentagon","tag-russia","tag-us-empire","tag-war-economy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/218077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}