On this day in 2001, the United States of America were attacked. As an elder millennial, I grew into adulthood seeing what came next. And it never stopped.
I essentially watched U.S. imperialism and unfettered capitalism take over and grow into full on fascism. Turning governments into surveillance startes and use the excuse of terrorism to punish freedom of speech and democracy, and make our lives more difficult every year since then. When they say millenials didn’t become more conservative as they got older, this is why. And the thing is, this has been going on since way further back than Bush jr.
I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion but what happened on 9/11/2001, they had it coming. And this feeling is felt even deeper after the way they have been treating Canada for the past 10 years. After we’ve been there for them and literally opened our homes to them when planes were redirected and grounded.
They’ve elected the same clown twice and set the world on fire to benefit a handful of their, and the world’s, richest billionaires. They’re threatening the sovereignty of several peaceful nations that have been their allies since nearly the birth of their nation.
I have no more sympathy for the United States. I wouldn’t care one bit if another 9/11 happened. They deserve to be smacked and put in their place along with Israel.
I hate the Yankees too, but this is a ridiculous conclusion.
You can condemn U.S. imperialism, Bush-era wars, mass surveillance, corporate power, Israel’s abuses, Trump, and American foreign policy toward Canada without pretending that 9/11 was somehow justified.
The people who died on 9/11 weren’t “the United States.” They were civilians. Office workers, firefighters, paramedics, flight attendants, passengers, and people who happened to be in the wrong place that morning. Plenty of them had absolutely nothing to do with U.S. foreign policy, and some were children. Saying they “had it coming” because of the actions of their government is literally the same collective-punishment logic you’re condemning when governments use terrorism as an excuse to punish populations.
And blaming ordinary Americans for electing politicians you despise doesn’t make much sense either. The U.S. is 300+ million people with wildly different political beliefs. There are Americans who opposed Bush, opposed the Iraq War, opposed Trump, support unions, oppose billionaires, oppose Israeli government policy, and have spent decades fighting the exact things you’re criticizing.
You don’t have to feel sympathy for the American government. You don’t have to like America. Hell, you don’t even have to like the Yankees.
But “I oppose American imperialism” is a political position.
“I wouldn’t care if thousands of innocent Americans were murdered because I think their country deserves it” is just collective punishment dressed up as anti-imperialism.
If your opposition to fascism requires cheering when innocent people are killed, you’ve managed to adopt the same moral principle you’re supposedly fighting against.
You’re right about innocent people suffering the consequences. But at the same time, the people of the U.S. have made their choices again and again, enabling the people that led to this event. This is the consequences of their choices.
They elected leaders that destroyed democracies and put entire nations under ruthless dictators, started wars and conflicts, armed rebels and terrorists all to benefit their businesses and gain control over resources.
So these people are partly to blame.
You’re still ignoring that almost half the population was against those things and apparently ok with them being collateral damage.