Why involve everyone else?

Because your administration is elected. Westerners like to say “but we don’t support this!!!” but somehow manage to justify almost every individual act of imperialism. Afghanistan? Check. Iraq? Check. Everything Israel has been doing for the last 60 years? Check. An actual, honest to God Holocaust? Check*. Jury’s still out on Iran, but I’m not hopeful. I was called a Russian troll more times than I can count on Lemmy, a supposedly left-leaning space, for pointing out Biden’s complicity and Harris’s support for Israel’s genocide. I remember the reaction to Uncommitted. This isn’t everyone, obviously, but it’s more than enough. I mean, remove the active supporters and complacent liberals and you have what? 5% of the population? So to answer your question:

But I have to ask, why is it that easterners are so ready to blame everyone on this side of the world in bulk every time?

Because the things we blame the West for are done using your tax dollars by politicians you elect.

*this one with lesser evil politics rather than outright support, but that distinction matters very little.

Neither did anywhere else. The US and UK are just more egregious than other Western countries.

It’s been time for checks notes 7 and a half decades.

Fair enough.

True, but if Chiquita wants to throw a wrench into the capitalist social contract, then that sounds like a seize the means of production moment.

Can’t they keep working the land and just sell their bananas somewhere else?

The West for the most part isn’t. Relations between Europe and America have gotten more antagonistic, but for the most part the former is toeing the latter’s party line.

There was no voting that way, that’s the whole damn problem. Neither candidate promised to do anything substantial about wealth inequality.

The idea that primaries will fix this has been demonstrated beyond doubt to be false by Bernie 2016 and 2020. You won’t force the party to change by playing by its rules.

Unless you have a concrete plan to enact sweeping electoral process changes within our current system. That’s sort of the problem, our system is designed to resist change.

Fortunately Trump is helpfully taking a sledgehammer to the whole thing, so there’s an opening for this kind of sweeping reform but the work for that starts now.

I mean, give them someone else to vote for first. Have you seen how liberals react when you even hint at the idea of a third party?

I’m afraid you’ll need more than one term for that.

Mongoose: humorous term for a man who is successful in social situations (for example with women).

Monkey: Clever or competent person, usually used when someone accomplishes something unexpected with a nuance of “how did you even do that”.

Chick: Slang for boyfriend.

The sentiment is shared but the term “Great Satan” was actually coined by Khomeini during the Iran hostage crisis and is still predominantly used in Iran rather than the Arab world.

I’m so happy for you :).

That’s the Iranians and while I hate the agree with Khomeini he got that one right. Israel is Little Satan btw.

Iran has this kind of relationship with Russia as well, I don’t see how it helped them the tiniest bit.

It gave them weapons they can’t manufacture themselves and kept them afloat financially despite frankly brutal Western sanctions. Since they’re still able to be a thorn in the West’s side, I’d say they’re doing something right.

Every country can choose its own destiny of course, but if you think Russia will do more than send militia to oppress your population (like in Africa), you’re not paying attention.

I don’t think anyone is expecting Russia to go to war on their behalf, but a more or less reliable non-Western trade and defense partner is a pretty attractive proposition. But then again I could be completely off the mark so take this with a grain of salt.

And deservedly so, fuck genocide supporters.

You talk about equality and democratic principles, but neither of these allow you to take people’s stuff. To quote the article:

“Sixty per cent of the natural resources needed in the United States of America are on Native American land,” said Hall, a member of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, also known as the Three Tribes.

“So they have to figure out that they got to come to us and talk to us if they want our resource they want to extract. And so I think to bring us to the table, that’s what we’re trying to get to. Let’s talk.”

And that’s the crux of the issue; nothing from European settlement of North America to the present day gives the Canadian government a legitimate claim to the resource and lands that have historically belonged to the First Nations. Therefore, it’s their stuff and they decide who does what with it; they have about as much responsibility to the majority interest as you have to your neighbors, and I doubt you let your neighbors waltz in and take your money with no compensation. And it’s not like these are wealthy people not paying their fair share; I hope I don’t need to get into the historical and current problems facing First Nations people directly due to colonial and later Canadian policy. It’s not at all difficult to make the argument that Canada is just a bunch of white dudes who came from Europe, committed a bunch of atrocities, declared themselves the legitimate government of Canada, committed more atrocities and are now appealing to the majority interest when it suits them. Canada simply has no legitimate right to the land or resources owned by the First Nations without a treaty consented to by both sides; “we are your legitimate government so give us your shit” is nothing more than rank tyranny. And yes, tyranny of the majority is tyranny.

TL;DR: You need people’s consent before you take or use their stuff.

They’re still the state, just mask-off (or on, in this case).