By Yasha Levine – Mar 28, 2021
Can we expect people of Asian and Chinese descent to unite in a broad front against American imperialism?
Iâve been watching the outpouring of support for people of Chinese and Asian descent suddenly flow from all corners of our mainstream media and political class. Seems everyone stands with Asians (however you define that term) now. Even Meghan McCain, the nepotistic brat who recently went off about the âChinese virusâ and whose dad was a lifelong unrepentant hater of âthe gooksâ he had slaughtered from his American jet, stands with Asians now. Itâs all very nice and civilized.
I condemn the reprehensible violence and vitriol that has been targeted towards the Asian-American community. There is no doubt Donald Trumpâs racist rhetoric fueled many of these attacks and I apologize for any past comments that aided that agenda.
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) March 22, 2021
The ramping up of attacks on Asian people in America shouldnât really come as a surprise to anyone â not in our current cultural climate where the Chinese have been set up as a sneaky, inscrutable civilizational threat to America and Western Democracy, and where everyone seems to agree that China is basically Nazi Germany and must be stopped before it enslaves the world. You canât expect the politics of our empire-in-decline not to blowback and influence things at home â especially if âhomeâ has a long and rich history of anti-Chinese and anti-Asian bigotry and nativist paranoia.
What is find slightly surprising, though, is how little attention Americaâs imperial anti-China campaign gets. Looking at mainstream reporting from the last few weeks on the the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes, I canât find any reference to it. The widely praised John Oliver segment on it avoided the issue. Even the official website of Stop APPI Hate, the org thatâs been getting the most media attention on this issue, is silent on it. Sure, thereâs a lot of talk about Trump and his âChina Virusâ slurs, which makes it seem like Trumpists are the only ones to blame. But no one in the mainstream is talking about Americaâs larger anti-China imperial campaign â a bipartisan War With China panic thatâs being whipped up by the respectable liberal center as much as the Trumpist/Bannonist/Cottonist Right.
So our mainstream media suddenly discovered that Asian hate crimes are on the rise, yet they canât make the connection that they are to blame for it. And a big portion of what passes for the left here in America has been roped into the War With China campaign, as well. SoâŚ
Itâs obvious you canât tackle the rise in anti-Asian racism without addressing Americaâs imperial politics and the bigoted domestic propaganda that this politics produces. The question I have is this: Can we expect people of Asian and Chinese descent to unite in a broad front against American imperialism? I ask, but Iâm pretty sure the answer is a big no. America is a nation of weaponized immigrants. And aside from a few small pockets, my weaponized immigrant peers mostly support American imperialism. And even if theyâre not actively supportive, theyâre passively so â theyâll never stick their necks out and go against the political mainstream.
Featured image: File Photo
