DandomRude

Manipulation is indeed happening on mainstream social media platforms to such an extent that this is now very endangering all remaining democracies.

In the Fediverse, however, this has hardly been a problem so far, as none of the participating platforms has a reach that is even remotely relevant. Of course, this network is also vulnerable, even quite significantly due to its decentralized architecture, but I have not noticed any such attempts here so far (except for a few really pathetic users who wanted to give their opinions more weight with various fake accounts).

Nevertheless, what you say is a serious problem, but I don’t think it plays a major role in this network for now.

I think it’s just the usual, completely absurd US “patriotism.” Unfortunately that is still a thing, even under Trump. There are simply a lot of people who believe that it is a sign of excellence when their home country wins the gold medal in Olympic hockey -for some reason people see this as their personal success and act accordingly on social media.

As I said, I’m not a fan of generalizations because they have little to do with reality. The US has a political system that doesn’t even take the population of states into account. If that were the case, Harris would have won back then with almost two million more votes.

What US citizens can certainly be criticized for, however, is their passivity. Yes, there are protests in the US, some of which are among the largest this country has ever seen, but given how utterly corrupt the political system is, I cannot understand why there has still been no general strike that could very well paralyze the country until the reforms that have been necessary for decades are implemented, the failure to implement which has led the US to the brink of dictatorship in the first place - and the absence of which has ensured that the country has been an oligarchy for several decades.

I understand your anger and I share it to a certain extent, but I can only warn against falling into nationalistic thinking, because that is precisely the kind of thinking that leads to war and misery instead of exchange and understanding.

What about all the numerous accounts that have deemed it necessary in recent days, even here in the Fediverse, to discuss at length whether the US is actually responsible for the cold-blooded murder of more than 150 little schoolgirls? Are these all bots? And if so who pays for that?

To be honest, I very much doubt that these are bot account - and if you ask me, there can be no doubt about the fact that the US is commiting the most heinous war crimes in Iran, because the US is led by an absolute monster, which we do seem to agree on.

I’m not lumping you all together. I’m just disappointed to constantly read comments even in the fediverse that, out of some kind of defensive reflex or whatever, defend the actions of the criminal US regime.

I am well aware of the situation of US citizens and I am the last person who would invoke prejudices based on nationality. However, your comment insinuates that I do, even if you may not be aware of it - and that is precisely what I mean: it makes no sense to play the victim card when your own country is committing unspeakable crimes.

To illustrate this, here’s another example: I’m from Europe and I despise the Putin regime for its criminal war of aggression against Ukraine. And yet I am very well aware that there are, of course, still many decent people in Russia - but they are oppressed by autocratic terror.

This is exactly what I mean when it comes to the US: if you continue to do nothing, your 1% will do the same as in Russia - very soon. And you are right: The repressive measures, that you describe, are now becoming more and more apparent in your country as well, but that is still miles away from what happens in a full-blown dictatorship - where opponents of the regime simply disappear; and, as it stands, it is obvious that the US is well on its way there.

So again, I simply cannot understand this country-centric thinking. It should be quite simple: people who despise autocracy and fascism from the bottom of their hearts should join forces instead of insisting on the very differences that fascists have always used to popularize their inhuman ideology: and that is, above all, blind nationalism.

This may sound heartless, but it is reality: if US citizens do not rise up against their oppressors, against the Maga-regime and the billionaires who make it possible, things will only get worse for them. You still have the chance to resolve this without bloodshed and mass suffering, but no one will be able to support you, because the US is untouchable when it comes to economic sanctions or even military action.

Therefore, you are on your own. However, you should also be aware that Trump is not only destroying the livelihoods of US citizens, but his irresponsible actions are also putting the entire world at risk. That is why I am pissed - and I am certainly not the only one.

That is exactly what genocidal war criminals do. And no one can stop them because they are protected by the US. The only thing that is new is that fascism no longer even bothers to hide its ugly face behind a mask.

However, I find it quite telling how even US citizens, who are fully aware of what a monster their president is, still look for excuses so they don’t have to admit that they are now exactly the kind of utterly unscrupulous rogue state that has always been demonized and portrayed in the media as the enemy of the American people.

A good example of this is the bombing of the girls’ school a few days ago. For some reason, “patriotism” (or whatever) creeps back in and US citizens once again believe their regime, even though they should have known long ago that everything coming out of the White House these days is a blatant lie.

I can’t for the life of me remember the last time I read any statement from the US regime that contained even a shred of truth - and what’s more, it is by no means the only school or hospital that this coalition of mass murderers is deliberately targeting in order to spread terror.

For this reason alone, I simply cannot understand how anyone can still be carried away by this misguided “love of country” bullshit. The only patriotic thing to do would be to finally organize a general strike that lasts until the criminal US-regime, together with all its monstrous enablers, is in prison.