I would consider myself a skeptic of the notion that the US will engage in a hot war with China anytime soon. But I'd still say it's a non-zero chance - high enough that I think it's something we should all think about. Because if the US does engage in a hot war, I'm 100% the US military will absolutely get their ass handed to them on the battlefield.

So if a hot war happens, the US will eventually be faced with a choice: either accept the biggest military humiliation the country has ever experienced (by far), or start firing off the nukes. Given where we're at today, I feel pretty strongly that American exceptionalism, worship of civic religion, and Americans' lack of experience with death and devastation means it won't be hard for the ruling class to stir up pro-nuke sentiment. Even if it means there's a real chance that China fires off nukes that hit the US.

So I think one thing we need to do (if you're a US American or Australian) is remind people that nuclear war is beyond horrific. This video I think covers this all pretty well. But I also have to give a massive content warning, as naturally the content is gruesome and disturbing.

We also need to really destroy these myths US Americans hold about Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I like how Ethan said on the Proles pod about nuclear war:

So, we have to retell this story of "they dropped the bomb to save lives", because it's really frightening to grasp the idea that the government and the military and the powers that be that govern our lives that are currently in charge of everything would sacrifice so many innocent lives. And not just kill people, just do some of the most horrific things that have happened to human beings. They would do that for a political bargaining chip. They wouldn't do that to end the war, they were doing it to strongarm a country they thought they'd be fighting soon.

    • Hoodoo [love/loves]
      ·
      3 years ago

      If your military is too weak to invade a country you negotiate.

      The US wanted full surrender in a conflict they couldnt win without resorting to nuclear holocaust.

      That makes the US evil. Full stop. There can be no.handwringing on a situation they brought about on purpose.

          • LeninWeave [none/use name]
            ·
            3 years ago

            lol, this is an alt for the account "Hortener" that was banned for liberalism and sinophobia about a week ago.

            You can tell because the same phrasing about "servants" being "masked" is used by both accounts, and this one was created the same day Hortener was banned. See the modlog for some examples of why.

        • sagarmatha [none/use name]
          ·
          3 years ago

          do you not know what happened in the japanese trials? because pointing out unit 731 is very ironic given that the US gave the commander an amnesty and a cushy job

    • DerEwigeAtheist [she/her, comrade/them]
      ·
      3 years ago

      No, Fuck off with this genocidal shit. like you said the japanese leaders did not care about the nukes. This is insane. The japanese were already starving. They also already were being carped bombed by the US, the reason for the Bombs was couriosity by US brass. Not some utlitarian bullshit.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCRTgtpC-Go this is a good documentary on why your position is monstrous.

            • DerEwigeAtheist [she/her, comrade/them]
              ·
              3 years ago

              Oh Fuck off. The Emperor had literally no power, and the leadership of japan was on holiday when the bombs dropped and only convened when their holiday was over. Go to :reddit-logo: if you want to repeat propaganda for the US empire and their warcrimes.

              Watch the first 5 minutes of the video i sent you.

                • DerEwigeAtheist [she/her, comrade/them]
                  ·
                  3 years ago

                  It did NOT END THE JAPANESE GOVERMENT. It literally did not and the allies literally said so THEMSELVES. You are advocating for one of the worst war crimes ever commited. Watch the fucking video i sent you.

                  The japanese goverment would have ceased just as well without the bombs. That the Bombs were needed is US propaganda.

                • sagarmatha [none/use name]
                  ·
                  3 years ago

                  they were already ready to surrender conditionally, and doing so unconditionally damn nearly led to a coup, despite the bombs, so no it was not the aim nor a mjor factor in ending the war, though it was a factor in achieving US aims

        • DerEwigeAtheist [she/her, comrade/them]
          ·
          3 years ago

          The first 5 minutes address your entire argument. Let's both watch these 5 minutes and then argue. For example why does Eisenhower say the bombing was a crime and that admiral that it was useless. Why does the report commisioned say that Japan would have surrendered wven without the bomb, or an invasion(soviet or american)

    • Tommasi [she/her]
      ·
      3 years ago

      Literally parroting debunked state-department propaganda defending atrocious war crimes :what-the-hell:

    • deadbergeron [he/him,they/them]
      ·
      3 years ago

      It is my personal opinion that the use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender because of the effective sea blockade and the successful bombing with conventional weapons.

      • Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, chief of staff to both FDR and Truman (1942-1949) - quote from Leahy's war memoirs I Was There - 1950

      The Japanese had, in fact, already sued for peace before the atomic age was announced to the world with the destruction of Hiroshima and the before the Russian entry into war...the atomic bomb played no decisive part, from a purely military standpoint, in the defeat of Japan.

      • Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, commander of all Allied forces in the Pacific, Oct 5, 1945, Associated Press interview

      I voiced to [War Secretary Henry L. Stimson] my grave misgivings, first on the basis of my belief that Japan was already defeated and that dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary, and secondly because I thought that our country should avoid shocking world opinion by the use of a weapon whose employment was, I thought, no longer mandatory as a measure to save American lives. It was my belief that Japan was, at that very moment, seeking some way to surrender with a minimum loss of 'face.'

      • Dwight D. Eisenhower, quote from his memoir The White House Years: Mandate for Change, 1953 - 1956, published 1963

      Based on a detailed investigation of all the facts, and supported by the testimony of the surviving Japanese leaders involved, it is the Survey's opinion that certainly prior to 31 December 1945, and in all probability prior to 1 November 1945, Japan would have surrendered even if the atomic bombs had not been dropped, even if Russia had not entered the war, and even if no invasion had been planned or contemplated .

      • United States Strategic Survey Summary Report (Pacific War), published 1946