You can repeat "US imperialism bad" as much as you want but learning the play by play is just absolutely mind blowing. Its always so much worse than you could initially imagine.

  • Assian_Candor [comrade/them]
    ·
    edit-2
    2 years ago

    Blowback is a treasure. All three seasons merit multiple listens.

    As to S3 If people in the us realized that we bombed North Korea to an extent that people were reduced to living in caves they might be a little more introspective on why they view us the way they do. Hence why Korea is the “forgotten war”

    Also, Chairman Mao man. What a heart.

    • Shinji_Ikari [he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      2 years ago

      That's what I've been telling folks, like it makes sense why no one talks about the korean war, because there's almost no way to white wash it past "NK crossed the line".

      • Beaver [he/him]
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        edit-2
        2 years ago

        Americans have such an easygoing ignorance of the absolutely massive scale of anti-communist massacres that were going on in their zone of military occupation (me included prior to listening to S3). That's a critical piece of missing information that confuses their understanding of the motivations behind the invasion of the southern occupation zone.

        What's less forgivable is the weird fetishization about the inviobility lines on a map. To the point of being willing to grind an entire people into dust to ensure that the line is respected.

        • Frank [he/him, he/him]
          ·
          2 years ago

          weird fetishization about the inviobility lines on a map.

          The way people genuinely believe that "War" is something that only happens if you drive a tank across a survey line is infuriating. Just an absolute failure to even consider the possibility of realpolitik, of unconventional warfare, economic warfare. Like bruh if someone is pointing a nuclear gun at your head you do not have to wait for him to pull the trigger before you're allowed to respond.

          Doubly so because so many people will excuse or outright endorse America's various campaigns of mass murder and desolation.

          • Beaver [he/him]
            ·
            2 years ago

            One of the most effective American propaganda campaigns have been to convince Americans and Europeans that "war" is very specifically when you drive tanks across lines on a map.

            Things that are definitely not war include:

            • Economic blockades
            • Airstrikes against life sustaining infrastructure
            • Airstrikes against civillians
            • Actual boots on the ground in the form of special forces
            • Actual full scale invasions of countries, as long as you sign the form that says "this is not a war"
            • Frank [he/him, he/him]
              ·
              2 years ago

              "Police action" is the 20th century's "Lethal aid"

              You know it's funny that libs want to sue gun companies for firearms murders, but don't seem to have the same energy for acknowledging that we're responsible for arming and training the Ukrainian armed forces.

      • Assian_Candor [comrade/them]
        ·
        edit-2
        2 years ago

        More bombs were dropped on Korea than were dropped in the entirety of the WW2 pacific theater is a mind blowing stat. That shit doesn’t go away either. I’m sure they’re still dealing with soil poisoning, uxo, etc

        Edit: yep

      • GVAGUY3 [he/him]
        ·
        2 years ago

        As soon as you learn what was going on in the South before the war started, it begins to make people think stuff like "Maybe they were justified in crossing the line"

    • supermangoman [he/him, they/them]
      ·
      2 years ago

      And even after the US blew up literally all of their infrastructure, it still wasn't enough. McArthur wanted to nuke the DPRK and China. It's insane.

      • Frank [he/him, he/him]
        ·
        2 years ago

        It's an unbelievable miracle that the SAC and the insane Army generals were somehow kept in check and prevented from slinging nukes around. People have no idea how totally psychotically bloodthirsty they were.

        • culpritus [any]
          ·
          2 years ago

          Dr. Strangelove is only partially fictional.

    • Ericthescruffy [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      Absolutely. Honestly I am genuinely embarrassed and will plead the fifth to some of my perspectives on North Korea prior to my leftward shift a decade back or so.

      Even if the caricatured image of their country the western media presented was entirely accurate...Jesus fuck...just pause and take a look at what 9/11 did to the American psyche and culture and ponder what it would look like if we'd suffered even half of what we inflicted on North Korea.