askchapo

this is where I land because hey, if it works then it works, but i do think there's a fine line between something being 'imported' and something from abroad speaking to what was already there. like, us american culture wars aren't transported to and imposed upon europe, they're just bombastically repackaged versions of things that already existed throughout "the west" ( to include Japan) which are eagerly adopted by sympathetic ears. an easy example from br*tish culture would be the institutional transphobia there which has its own roots in cultural mores and academic terfery and while it interplays and accepts influence from outside, the outside is speaking to what was already inside. the attitude and tone are deeply influenced by what's happening in the us (because it's essentially the front lines of these culture wars) but the content isn't new to europeans in any but the most superficial lenses.

basically i would never say it's a bad idea to blame america because everyone should, but being mindful that what america has done has been enthusiastically aided and abetted by the west for their own benefit and only after effectively handing off the mask of chief exploiter from themselves to the us so that they could continue to benefit under better branding. that these ideas and concepts have always had eager adherents throughout the west and the combative nature of the amerikkkan version is appealing because of these underpinnings.