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[–] 247 points 9 months ago (5 children)

Bruh, for most of the US the US is a malign actor.

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  • [–] 165 points 9 months ago (35 children)

    The real shock to Americans will be when they discover this can't be fixed.

    Americans want to believe that relations will return to normal once the democrats are back in power. But, they don't understand that the loss of trust in the US is permanent. Sure, if the democrats take back power and want to negotiate trade deals, other countries may sign them. They're just not going to believe that the US can be trusted to honour the terms of those trade deals, and will structure the deals accordingly. Trump's 2 terms show that a treaty signed by the US is meaningless, because a president like Trump can come along and just rip it up. They've also showed that support for someone Trump-like is close enough to 50% that it can easily happen again.

    The momentum of international trade, and the vast power the US wields means that there won't be a sudden cutting off of the US. But, bit by bit, even former staunch allies are going to start slowly pivoting away from the US whenever possible no matter who's elected and how big a landslide it is.

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  • [–] 58 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    Trump has ripped up or tried to cancel deals he made in his first term. Why any nation would bother to negotiate with the US right now is beyond me. Nothing can be trusted from this administration or any one to come

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  • [–] 23 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    Why any nation would bother to negotiate with the US right now is beyond me

    It's because they don't really have a choice. If it were say, Australia, that had gone off the rails, they could just be ignored. But, the US is still such a central part of the world's economy, and there are so many important companies based out of the US, that it's not possible just to pull the plug. In addition, if countries didn't negotiate with Trump he might see it as a slight and send in the navy to interdict "drug boats" or something.

    This also makes things look like they're better than they are. People see trade deals being negotiated and think "well, if that's happening, then things aren't that far gone. The reality is that countries used to negotiate trade deals with the US because, even when they felt they were being pressured to cave to US demands, they could at least count on the US to more-or-less honour the terms of the deal when it was done. I think countries are now dealing with the US because they have to, but they're really just going through the motions, not expecting that the result will actually be a binding agreement.

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  • [–] 10 points 9 months ago*

    About nations not having a choice there is truth to that but I want to focus on something nations can do to. Study in particular which companies support Trump the most and work to find replacements for those. For example the fossil fuel industry is a significant backer of Trump and Republicans. This means countries who are rightfully upset about Trump and buy fossil fuels from the US should make switching to renewable energy a huge priority maybe even do it at cost or subsidize the transition. This means fossil fuel companies will have less money and less to give to Republicans.

    Also for people who live in blue states contact your state politicians and demand a faster transition to renewables too.

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  • [–] 21 points 9 months ago* (1 child)

    Absolutely. This regime has shown how fragile the relationship is, and how untrustworthy the USA is as a partner.

    once the democrats are back in power

    This little phrase reminded me: I find it interesting how this is just assumed by many people as an eventuality when we've already seen a failed coup attempt last time an election ousted the Republican regime. There is this underlying faith in the liberal democracy of the US, since despite its huge flaws, it hasn't failed in over a century. Similar with all the people who call for impeachment, police arresting ICE and other legal mechanisms.

    It's silly to trust government institutions to save one from an openly, brazenly malicious government.

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  • [–] 11 points 9 months ago

    I find it interesting how this is just assumed by many people as an eventuality when we've already seen a failed coup attempt last time an election ousted the Republican regime.

    Oh yeah, I think there's a solid chance that the democrats will never get back in power again. That, even if they win the popular vote by a massive margin, Trump will pull the developing country dictator trick and declare the results invalid and refuse to leave office. And that's assuming that people are even allowed to vote. What I was suggesting was the best possible outcome for people who still believe that this whole thing can be rescued. Even under those circumstances, I think you're going to see countries trying to pivot away from the US because the idea that the US can commit to anything that lasts more than maybe 2 years is obviously untrue.

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  • [–] 19 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (5 children)

    Americans do not take the situation seriously. They either think they have no power to personally fix it, so contributing to any effort is pointless, or that it's just more of the same politics as before and can't tell the difference. They are encouraged to stay out of the way because they are the only force that seems to be capable of stopping it at this point.

    Once Trump and the GOP destroy the framework of power the constitution defines, there are no rules anymore, only power, and the constitution really does mean nothing. The relationship America built with the world since WW1 will be over and won't return as democratic nations can not remain interdependent with a fascist America. America will be another authoritarian regime using violence as the solution to every problem, including domestic problems. Those problems will only increase because an authoritarian leadership is functionally incapable of managing a non-authoritarian system. America will transition, painfully and violently, to a fascist state and the dream that was America will be dead. All at the hands of a TV show personality and the generations raised by TV, which is both sad and painfully American.

    Edit: Not enough Americans...

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  • [–] 12 points 9 months ago*

    They’re just not going to believe that the US can be trusted

    Yup. The damage to the American brand is permanent, and that will become painfully clear when the post-tariff trade deals take effect within the next year and a half and trade routes itself around the US rather than through it.

    The worst part is it won't affect Donald in any meaningful way, because his perception of reality is wedded to his algorithm and his wealth makes him untouchable.

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  • [–] 12 points 9 months ago (4 children)

    At least in my circles, I think we're aware? People are looking real hard at ways to leave. We've also got a higher than usual chance of reforming/refurbishing some of those broken guard rails. Fingers crossed.

    The folks supporting Trump, on the other hand, already believed that these relationships were dead and bad. They'll scapegoat somebody else for the decay; I do not see the avenue for this to be a learning experience.

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  • [–] 8 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    I'm specifically talking about Americans thinking that the rest of the world will get over this. I think that trust has been broken.

    Like you talk about broken guard rails. The US has been lecturing the world on how the US system of democracy is the best for decades now. There's always talk about how there's a system of checks and balances, and how US democracy can be messy, but in the end it's a system that works. I don't think anybody believes that anymore. The guard rails were always an illusion, and even if all of Trump's changes were rolled back, the rest of the world would know that the guard rails, and the checks and balances are all just an elaborate delusion.

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  • [–] 8 points 9 months ago* (7 children)

    Good. Obviously it was wrong to trust the US this entire time. It’s time to dismantle the post-WW2 American dominance over the world, and move toward a more multilateral future. This process feels scary and might be quite difficult, but it’s important and it’s time. No one country should be considered the world’s policeman or supreme authority. I just hope that everyone shaking their head at the US realizes that they can only sit there doing that for so long, because the very next thing they need to urgently do is step the fuck up into that leadership vacuum before dictators do.

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    [–] 65 points 9 months ago (29 children)

    If you only consider Europe most the world it would be true bit no the usa beem a malign actor for several decades

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  • [–] 28 points 9 months ago (17 children)

    I was gonna say, only now? I'm in the US and can see it's been a bad actor since at least the end of WW2.

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  • [–] 11 points 9 months ago (5 children)

    Before WWII was also very bad

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  • [–] 7 points 9 months ago*

    Banana Republics come to mind. But during the time frame the US was doing that, Most of Europe was still doing their own colonialisms.

    It was only when Hitler brought colonialism back to Europe that they started to wake up to how bad it was. Well, some of them. France and England had to start losing colonial wars, mostly due to losses suffered in due to WW2, before they slowly started freeing colonies.

    Just shows that everyone is shit, and cheering for a team is kind of stupid.

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  • [–] 8 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

    The Native Americans called about their genocide way before WWII.

    I suspect when our founding fathers were blowing up and murdering their fellow colonists as seen in the Sons of Liberty they were bad actors.

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    [–] 37 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (6 children)

    The triumph of disinformation, greed, and self-centered ultraconservatism; a country about to implode.

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  • [–] 11 points 9 months ago* (2 children)

    It could come to your country too unless you take action. I see so many other countries making the same mistakes we do here and it makes me so sad knowing that this could be their fate too unless they make different decisions.

    The truth is I notice in Europe they too in my opinion haven't done enough to combat disinformation for sure they're better than we are but it's not enough.

    What we need is for every child to be taught as much as possible about critical thinking, propaganda and disinformation. The quality of education children get is super important. In addition I believe emotional resilience must be taught in schools somehow.

    Please for everyone reading this contact your politicians or your school board and demand more done to combat disinformation.

    Also remember we are all in this together. Look at all the Trump copycats there are in the world. Look at how Trump learned from Hungary and Russia. Because they were not stopped in one country they feel safe doing it in another. We as people must support each other and stand up for each other when bad things are happening somewhere because when something bad happens to someone else it could one day be you it happens to.

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    [–] 34 points 9 months ago (5 children)

    Still the bad joke of the world here.

    Biggest prison population, most "asset forfeiture", most chemically polluted "food" supply, paying the most for worst healthcare, relatively non-existent public transport, hegemonic oligarchy pretending to be democracy spreading democracy by "regime change", "education" system indoctrinating insularity and ignorance,

    [Edit + these the LLM added for me because it's an exhausting list to manually write] mass shootings as a cultural pastime, student debt as a life sentence, "freedom" measured in gun ownership but not in healthcare access, military budget bigger than the next ten countries combined, "infrastructure week" as a recurring punchline, two-party system that’s just one party with two heads, "justice" system that’s a revolving door for the rich and a trapdoor for the poor, "American Dream" now just a subscription service with hidden fees, [Edit: and the list can go on for at least twice as long again yet.]

    and a corporate monopoly media to bind peoples minds by.

    ... "land of the free", "USA number one!".

    XD

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    [–] 33 points 9 months ago (9 children)

    Speaking as an American I expect to be fucked by this for the rest of my life (and rightfully so) if one jackass getting put in office can fuck things up this badly we shouldn't be trusted as an ally or trade partner. There's a lot of work to be done to ensure this can't happen again and I don't believe it will ever happen. At least not anytime soon. We are at the peak (I hope) of the weakest of weak men times.

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    [–] 27 points 9 months ago

    The US is a malign actor for the US as well. Our government has become a danger to our own citizens.

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  • [–] 22 points 9 months ago

    They have always been. It's now just impossible to ignore.

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  • [–] 21 points 9 months ago* (4 children)

    Conservatives have absolutely destroyed America's soft power. At least for an entire generation. They've made the rest of the world believe their shitstain childlike behavior is how all Americans act. This rapist president has made it clear to the rest of the world that agreements with the U.S. are worth no more than the paper they're written on.

    These fucking knuckle draggers are weighing us down and will continue to do so after their rapist idol is dead and buried.

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    [+] 17 points 9 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (5 children)
  • [–] 17 points 9 months ago

    Not new, not even for Europe despite popular perception.

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  • [–] 17 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    Not now... Always have been

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  • [–] 10 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (3 children)

    You could have had Jeb! but you got greedy.

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  • [–] 22 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    Jeb! engineered the election manipulation scheme that got his idiot brother into the White House, where his administration's negligence, incompetence, and corruption led to the avoidable deaths of over 10,000 American citizens, and countless foreign nationals, as well as the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

    Jeb! belongs in prison with the rest of the traitors.

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    [–] 10 points 9 months ago (5 children)

    Where I live we have square kilometers of american GI's that liberated europe. As a first in human history victors did not loot or rape. Instead they scrambled to be home by christmas. Europe is forever indebted to these men and the people that led them.

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    [–] 9 points 9 months ago

    always-has-been.jpeg

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  • [–] 8 points 9 months ago

    Thanks to MAGA, the 1st World views the USA on the same level as Russia, China and their allies. The article is spot on in regard to the future.

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  • [–] 7 points 9 months ago

    No shit. Ostracize the hellhole.

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