Are we the baddies?

I like how some people are claiming americans are aware of this lol

If most americans were sufficiently aware and organizing against it accordingly (if they're not organizing, they're not aware enough) the imperialist gov would already have been toppled.

America is everthing Americans claim China and Russia to be.

I disagree. Most Americans know we are the fire nation/empire from Star Wars.

Well at least most people I know.

It's a not uncommon theme in anime: some large imperialist/war nation or one associated with fire or occupying Japan.

It's also worth noting that Japan had a history of imperialism and occupied a significant portion of the world around them not too long ago.

Japan has a pretty similar world view to us. I don't know a lot about Japanese culture, but I think a lot of its similarities contribute to anime's popularity in the US. We both have pretty rigid class structures, appreciate violence and capitalism and are enamored with technology.

I know that Avatar is American, perhaps I just wanted to air out a pet theory, however I think it's good for us to explore some of these assumptions with art and stories.

I think most of us aren't the baddies though.

Surprised it's taken this long for people to grasp it.

We control the world's reserve currency, and hold the ability to fry any country's economy via economic sanctions whenever we want. We have the largest military in the world and that military is set up for the purpose of invasion. Yeah, China has a massive navy, but their ships are tiny, most likely for the purpose of defending their oceans and eventually taking Taiwan. We on the other hand have more carrier ships than anyone else, all for the purpose of being able to flex our might on anyone in the world.

People used to say that we attempted to police the world. I don't hear it nearly as much anymore, but it's accurate. We throw our weight around. We're the world's bully.

Don't you think there are better, more recent examples of this?

(Oh, I missed the instance I was on lol)

Reminder that the empire from Star Wars is a stand-in for the US, while the rebels represent the Viet Cong.

US military playing 'The Imperial March' from Star Wars on a loudspeaker while heading to Gaza

Fox news calling the US an empire is not new. How old do you all think the moniker "Empire State" is? It's wild how it's in our language but we just don't think about it.

I think the only war we tried to show our military might "greatness" was the Gulf War. It did establish America as a coalition force to the world.

I think the meme is accurate to people who once supported the war in Iraq. I don't think it reflects people that opposed it or, people who have since changed their views on it.

Most Americans are too dumb to realize the allegory in ATLA.

Big nation go ooga fuck around n find out; hamburgerland munition go boom

greatness and freedom™

And UNO is the avatar that they won't allow to exist. Or their fake avatar.