Published: Signs of the Times.
Comment: The following is an analysis of current events in the US from a Serbian perspective, originally published and translated for Sott.net by Svetlana Maksovic.
When pro-Western liberals think of the West, they typically think of democracy, freedom of speech and human rights. The East, on the other hand, makes them think of dictatorship and repression. They generate misconceptions on the basis of media reports and propaganda that have been spread by global media for decades. If you ask them what they think about the enforcement of democracy by bombs, they will not have an answer to that question.
Their favorite subject is Soviet gulags, although they know little about them. The symbol of communist dictatorship is Stalin, and if you ask them about the bloody Lenin, you will hear only good things about him.
They can’t stand Putin and they immediately have a nervous breakdown when his name is mentioned. It is very difficult to talk to them, especially if they are overzealous, and in most cases they are.
They are particularly intolerant of straightforward arguments. American democracy is their undisputed model and should be implemented everywhere. However, nothing is going well there anymore as democracy has just exploded in America. In the literal sense of the word. That does not make me happy at all. I know that the American establishment, in addition to bombing half the world — including my country — has destroyed its own state. And all this under the slogan of the so-called struggle for human rights.
But doctrine is one thing, statistics quite another…
The United States has spent a lot of money on wars in the last few decades. Every American taxpayer has so that the U.S. military can launch bombs somewhere in the world. The amount in question is not easy to determine, but according to by the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University, the United States has spent $6.4 trillion to fund wars since September 11, 2001 and the declaration of the war on terrorism alone. Their conclusion is that wars have been accompanied by violations of human rights and civil liberties, both in the United States and abroad.
Julian Assange has also informed the world about this, publishing entire archives of various official documents and communications on his Wikileaks website. Well, for showing the world the truth about the killing of civilians and journalists in Afghanistan and Iraq, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Oh no, wait, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Obama, the one who continued old wars and started new ones in the Middle East. And, by the way, he’s also the one who is known for killing people with drones. Maybe that’s why he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize? But why then is it called a ‘peace prize’? I’m asking stupid questions again.
And Ed Snowden was the one who revealed to the world that American intelligence services were listening to their citizens and collecting data about them without authorization. On top of that, they’re routinely jailing whistleblowers without trial or evidence. Well, this is truly the epitome of democracy! Snowden was promoted for such a disclosure. Oh no, wait, Snowden had to flee the United States. And do you know where? He fled to the country of that dictator Putin!
Something tells me things aren’t very clear. In the past, dissidents used to flee from the East to the West, and now they are doing exactly the opposite? They seem to have no understanding of democracy at all.
At the same time, no one ever asked Assange and Snowden to reveal such disturbing secrets to the world and to upset Liberals with the concrete and irrefutable facts about American democracy. Who gave them that right?! But wait a minute, everybody is supposed to have such rights in a democracy, right? And everyone has the right to know the truth? Perhaps not, if the truth ‘isn’t good enough’ to hear.
Let’s go back to those Soviet gulags, the Russian and Chinese prisons. Maybe we can learn from them. Quite often we see on TV those huge guys [Sott.net ed: Russian gendarmerie] throwing demonstrators into vans. For the Liberals, this is the main proof that repression rules in Russia. I tried to explain to a Liberal friend of mine that protesters are breaking the law because they often do not declare rallies, and in Russia you are not allowed to break the law. He told me that I was an agent of the Kremlin and that he would not listen to my propaganda. I just laughed, which made him hate me even more.
But I still had a guilty conscience because I hadn’t annoyed him enough. So I went home and got to work. I found a site on the Internet that publishes of the number of prisoners in different countries. In order to not put him in the position of accusing me of spreading pro-Russian propaganda, I found research data . And guess which country has the most prisoners, per capita, in the world? Yes, you guessed it, that bastion of democracy — the United States. There are in American prisons. And do you know how many are in the ‘gulag’ in Russia? More than four times less! Of course, the United States has more people, so in percentage terms, the United States nevertheless has twice as many prisoners per capita as Russia.
I duly recorded all the data, copied the links and sent a message to this Liberal friend telling him that I was sorry for trying to convince him with ordinary Russian propaganda, so I felt obliged to provide him with more accurate data from Western sources. He never replied to me.
Nikes for Dignity
It just so happens that, on the same day, protests began in the United States. I watched this scary video of a policeman holding a knee to the neck of a man who is moaning that he can’t breathe. He didn’t even resist the arrest; on the video it seemed to me that he was in an alcoholic state and could barely move, dragging his legs behind him. The police officer threw him to the ground and put his knee on his neck. He lost consciousness and died shortly afterwards. Brutal.
This event triggered a series of protests in more than 150 cities across the United States.
The reason was excessive police repression, which is not new to the United States. By way of comparison, in 2015, when the American president was Barack Obama, according to the British analysis, in the first 24 days of 2015, more people were killed by American police (59) than in the UK over 24 years (54). The Black Lives Matter movement, which leads the current protests in many American cities, first emerged in 2012 — at which time Barack Obama was at the helm of the United States — following the killing of an African-American teenager (Trayvon Martin) and a rise in racial tensions. The killing occurred when an armed American, George Zimmerman, a ‘neighborhood watch coordinator’ for a gated residential community, suspected the teenager of engaging in criminal activity, confronted him, then fatally shot him. The ‘civilian guard’ Zimmerman was part of comprises members of local communities who organize themselves to protect their community against burglary and theft.
These facts indicate several things. The first is that the security of American citizens is not at a satisfactory level if citizens have to organize themselves into patrols. The second thing to note is that this is a society in which there is a high level of tension and, arguably, racial intolerance. The third thing is that the American justice system does not meet citizens’ expectations, as the judicial epilogue to the case has shown (Zimmerman was found not guilty of murder on the basis that he killed Martin in self-defense), but there are many other examples. The fourth and final point is the emphasis on excessive use of force by the U.S. police. All can agree that, for a country that is supposed to be regarded as THE model of democracy, a desired model for the whole world and a country that has declared itself to be the arbiter of justice everywhere in the world, called upon to protect the human rights of all mankind, etc., its citizens — acting in an official capacity or otherwise — simply use far too much force. It turns out that this country is not even in a position to ‘protect human rights’ on its own soil.
American citizens’ dissatisfaction has since turned into even worse violence, with the current protests taking the form of real street wars in some cities. Instead of showing dignity by seeking justice for the killing of George Floyd, many took advantage of the moment to smash shop windows, steal Louis Vuitton handbags, Rolex watches, Nike sneakers and new tracksuits. In doing so, they generated doubts about their intentions and deepened the problems that society is facing.
Black Lives Matter believes that Blacks in the United States are discriminated against and that ‘systemic racism’ is perpetuated in that country. The problem in American society is the use of the stereotype of African-Americans, which is based on racist motives. In the United States, there is a that specializes in statistics on the risk of death during police interventions. According to the data on that website, from 2012 to 2018, the police killed an average of 2.8 people a day. Blacks are most at risk, and according to statistics for that period, 2.4 African Americans, 1.2 Hispanics and 0.7 whites were killed.
The protest actions in the United States were joined by members of the extremist organization ANTIFA, which caused and conflicts in some cities. In addition to conflict with the police, many businesses were destroyed and looted, extensive material damage was caused and fires were started in some cities. Such events have further aggravated the economic situation, which had already suffered a severe blow as a result of the emergency measures put in place due to the coronavirus pandemic. US President Donald Trump has stated that he will initiate a procedure to include ANTIFA on the official US list of terrorist organizations.
It is obvious that there is a deep and serious rift in American society and that the two opposing sides are entering into a growing conflict, using all possible means at their disposal. Presidential elections in the United States are due to be held at the beginning of November this year, in which current President Donald Trump will fight for a new term. This is the main reason why ANTIFA, which is committed to the structures of the ‘Deep State’, has organized provocations with the aim of unleashing as much unrest as possible in the United States.
Maidan for Donald
Behind the headlines, an even greater conflict is taking place between, on the one hand, the Liberal structures based on adherence to the American Deep State system (liberal politicians from both parties, most of the Hollywood elite, mainstream media, bankers, etc.), and on the other hand, the Conservative and patriotic structures (conservative politicians from both parties, the military security sector, businessmen, family-oriented people, etc.). This struggle has been ongoing since Donald Trump took over as president of the United States, and he has over the last 4 years — depending on your perspective — been trying to change the system, or to prevent it from changing further.
The American ‘swamp’ could not be drained in a single term, so he and his supporters would argue that his work has only just begun. However, the re-election of Trump would be a great danger to the liberal order, and that is why what is currently happening in the United States is a clear example of the organization of a coup against undesirable politicians who do not fit within the agenda of the liberal structures.
On the other hand, the excessive use of force by military security structures against demonstrators is precisely the leverage that the United States uses in order to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. Could Russia now, for example, take international action to protect the human rights of demonstrators in the United States? It would probably be supported by Venezuela, Syria, Iran, China and who knows how many other countries that the United States has ‘democratically rewarded’ with bombs and revolutionary mayhem.
Apart from the political, social and health crises in the United States, the country’s biggest problem is the economic crisis. Trump that he has done more for African-Americans in the U.S. than any other president since Abraham Lincoln. If we look at the economic indicators of the last four years, he refers to the fact that he has reduced unemployment in the United States. The economic crisis that erupted in the United States in 2008 threatened the most socially vulnerable groups, including African-Americans. Large numbers of Black people had also lost their jobs as a result of the relocation of production from the United States to Asia.
Trump’s policy was aimed at solving these problems, and it has indeed had excellent results. However, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, 40 million Americans lost their jobs. Unemployment was at 3.5%, but and is now around 15%, which means that one in four Americans who are able to work are unemployed. This situation calls into question all the results previously achieved, and the demonstrations are further destabilizing the situation — and not in favor of the current US President. On the other hand, Trump’s opponent is a politician who is deeply involved in corruption and against whom an investigation is already under way regarding abuse of power in Ukraine. Trump’s 2016 opponent Hillary Clinton is also under investigation for abuse of power, corruption, financing of terrorism, etc. There are indications that an investigation may also be launched against Obama. The election race in the United States will thus remain uncertain until the end, given the current circumstances, but what is certain is that the conflict in American society will not be resolved easily or quickly.
In all likelihood, it will continue after the presidential elections, regardless of the outcome. The countries in which the United States has staged coups and color revolutions typically remain destabilized for the long-term.
Meanwhile, protests against police repression and racism in the United States have turned into acts of looting of consumer goods and confrontation with symbols of American culture and history. These too are things we have already seen several times in recent years, in Iraq, Syria, Ukraine, Libya…
If Trump needs help with restoring order, we will be very happy to send him American soldiers from occupation bases around the world. If that doesn’t help, he can always ask Russia for advice.
About the author
Dragana Trifkovic is Director of the Centre for Geostrategic Studies in Belgrade, Serbia
Sources
