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Fuck you, got mine.
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DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
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To each their own
Show
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Short answer: In the Roman sense, a freedom to exploit and subjugate others.
People like Losordo have pointed out the “dual birth” of Slavery/Colonialism with Liberalism/Democracy. I would argue it’s not even a contradictory dual birth, they are one and the same. Like you said, it’s not just some oversight that the American constitution claims to be a huge protection of human rights while also explicitly outlining the right to own slaves. It’s the point.
Slave owners saw in America an emancipation, a step into freedom, no more pesky British bureaucrats to hold us back from our full potential. Unlimited massacres, unlimited theft, unlimited slavery is the high ideal that was aimed for. For them, America was a massive democratic experiment precisely because it was a massive slavery system. Because, not in spite of.
These are people who have no conception of equality. They believe themselves inherently superior, and they are only truly free if they are allowed to subjugate and dominate and exploit to their hearts content - but only against the rightfully designated targets. Don’t offend other white gentlemen.
- Liberty (lemme do what I want, fuck you government)
- Equality (I refuse to recognise that there may be differences in the material and social conditions into which we are born, and assume that we are all starting with a clean slate, so anything that happens after birth must be attributable to moral character and hard work i.e. bootstrap git gud nub)
- Fraternity (it's a big boys' club and you ain't in it)
In between the joke answers here that are nonetheless very accurate, it's international white hegemony as mediated through a specific set of property rights.
If an aristocrat in, like, England loses property overseas due to a revolution, they can claim compensation and that compensation can be inherited. If an aristocrat in Vietnam loses property, the only way they can be compensated is by hitching their wagon to "The West", and their claims are not taken seriously if the way they lose property is by opposing "The West".
This isn't even private property as a universal, just private property as interpreted by a pedigree of white property (and particularly, the white ruling class. While being white and working class does have its privileges, my god will The West not give a shit about your property damages or your life if you oppose "Western Values")
If you do not value this, you do not value "Western Values."
(partially formed essay pitch)
What they say:
Democracy, Freedom, Prosperity, Hard Work, International Law
What they mean:
Fascism, Sanctions, oligarchy, war, unilateral hegemony, colonialism
They are champions of human rights. Too bad they don't consider you human.
Pretending to have morals and care about human rights and marginalised peoples whenever those groups can be used to justify imperialist foreign interests.
Forgetting about all of the above whenever human rights or marginalised peoples get in the way of capitalist interests.
"Western Values" is just code for "Whatever helps the interests of our empire and by extension the pockets of the ruling class of it."
The Devil saw me with my head down and thought he'd won... Until I said Amen!!
Hog: Cranked
Pants: Shid
Debbie: Left
Libs: Owned
Gob: Blessed
Hawk: Tuah
WESTERN values:Be rootin'
Be tootin'
But most of all, be kind.
