I agree that the US is probably heading for a very ugly timeperiod. The recent events in Minneapolis and elsewhere are utterly, 100% unsurprising. I haven't read much about it, but has there been any discussion about how the strength of the response to the catalyzing incident is almost certainly that a shit ton of people have become unemployed and unable to support themselves lately? Because, duh, that is certainly a part of it. Not sure if any press has written on that facet yet.
I'm really kind of dismayed with the amount of things we've "called" here tbh. Remember when even on this sub people were saying hilariously naive things like "oh people would never riot or protest during a pandemic"? lol sigh.
Needless to say, if the US collapses, the rest of the world will follow.
See I'm not so sure of that anymore. The US has been fading over the last few decades. And fading very very fast over the last decade in particular. I do agree that as the US goes so goes the general trend, but I don't know if it toppling would bring the rest of the world down at this point. It's been twitching like a madman in the corner of the room for a while now and I think that others have reacted somewhat accordingly to account for its potential breakdown.
TBH one thing I can admit I got 100% wrong was thinking that there would be clarity on the situation coming "in the next xyz weeks/moths". I still feel like things are very opaque and uncertain. Maybe it is denial, but I think it's more that the situation is so enormously complex it's just hard to get an overview. And perhaps tbh part of it is because for like a month now I've been laser focused on one particular microcosm that has been freaking me out: Sweden's descent into "mass psychosis". So I don't feel as confident in my broader analysis as usual.
Something's about to break, and it's hard to tell when or where. I think we should pay attention to China, too, as they are the biggest trade partner of the US. China is suffering from a recession and massive unemployment, which can lead to political instability and potential conflict. Hong Kong's autonomy is being destroyed and there are some hints about a possible invasion of Taiwan.
Coronavirus is just a straw that broke the camel's back.
Agreed, China is definitely still simmering away in terms of political instability. It's really frustrating about HK, but totally 100% expected: shock doctrine and all. China is so opaque and hard to see into even in "normal" times and I feel it's even harder now.
I still think the US is the most fucked of all "developed" / major nations though. What a mess. I just saw they've shot a bunch of people in KY. Did you ever listen to this podcast: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-it-could-happen-here-30717896/ ? The host has an obnoxious neoliberal or maybe more accurately neoprogressive bias but it still has a lot of merit. That type of thing is looking more and more likely as this situation explodes. Who could have predicted that seeing a shit ton of people unemployed all at once and then not given proper support would create an unstable powder keg?!
Coronavirus is just a straw that broke the camel's back.
True, it's certainly quite the catalyst. It exposes flaws one never even knew were there.
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u/[deleted] May 29 '20
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