this post was submitted on 15 Dec 2025
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[–] ODGreen@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Whataboutism.

China is #2 in military spending after the USA.

As for harassing brown people: well there's the whole Uyghur thing. And the simmering fight with other countries over islands in the South China sea.

Two things can be bad. These are not sports teams where one side wins and the other loses.

[–] comfy@lemmy.ml 4 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Two things can be bad. These are not sports teams where one side wins and the other loses.

Yes. I completely agree. However, it's important to dispel false equivalence. Every country spends money on military, that doesn't imply they're all bad or neglecting their citizens.

Why is the US spending so much on military? Why is China spending so much on military? Why does the US routinely invade countries in other regions? Why does China suppress Uyghur people in the Xinjiang conflict? Like you said, two things can be bad, but it's also negligent to imply the two situations are comparable.

China is #2 in military spending after the USA.

I don't believe they have another option, given the USA's military and aggression.

It's telling how limited their spending is - consider China's disproportionate economy, size and population, and their borders. According to Wikipedia, they only spend 1.7% of their GDP on military - that's alongside the Netherlands, Czechia, Italy and Spain.

[–] ODGreen@lemmy.ca 1 points 22 hours ago

Yeah that's the thing. USA and China are both bad, sometimes due to the same thing (imperialism, capitalism, cronies running things etc), sometimes for unique things. Saying one country is good doesn't make the other bad in the same domain. And vice versa.

However it is extremely important and necessary to compare things. Like you have compared military spending between different countries. The USA's manifest destiny CAN be compared to the Han supremacy in China especially in Tibet and Xinjiang. But of course there are marked differences.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (2 children)

China is #2 in military spending after the USA.

China plus the next 13 countries on the list can't total US military spending. And I don't even know if Israel + Ukraine should count, given how much of their military budget is just US foreign aid.

As for harassing brown people: well there’s the whole Uyghur thing.

The original “evidence” of 1 million Uyghurs in concentration camps stems from US propaganda outlets and far-right “researchers” like Adrian Zenz. These numbers could not be independently verified, and other media sources that repeat these claims merely cite each other or this original, US-backed research. Zenz himself is a known antisemitic conspiracy theorist, far-right evangelical, and Islamophobe who has written that the Jews who refuse to convert to Christianity will be wiped out by God in a “fiery furnace”. Why would a German with such hateful views toward Jews and Muslims be such a champion of Uyghur rights? It was later found that Zenz had received $625,000 from Donald Trump’s Chief Strategist Steve Bannon to help him fabricate the story of Uyghur genocide.

Brother, you are sucking from the tailpipe of propaganda while your country is drowning in the blood of native peoples.

[–] j_overgrens@feddit.nl 4 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) (1 children)

Except... there is actual evidence... And Amnesty International verified the human right abuses independently.

The CCP even acknowledged the existence of, what they like to call, "re-education camps".

You're denying gross violations of human rights by an Imperial regime.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 0 points 9 hours ago

there is actual evidence…

Satellite imagery and open-source geographic data

Buddy...

Amnesty International verified the human right abuses independently.

Thanks for that

[–] ODGreen@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Nice genocide denial.

Also I'm not American nor pro-American.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

genocide denial

Brother, get your ass to Afghanistan and say that to any of the survivors of the US occupation.

You don't care what genocide is. You just want some foreigner to eat your sins.

Also I’m not American

Did you clap for Yaroslav Hunka with the rest of your ilk?

[–] Voixe2@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 4 hours ago

Using the word ‘ilk’ unironically is crazy highschool debate team shit

Chill out bro lmao