Deconstructing Memes: When anti-Trump positions still perpetuate Settler Colonialism and Imperialism

In this most recent meme, which is the one on the left in the graphic below, you see simple statements that I would classify as a standard Liberal view of the US and the world.

This meme is from Dean Withers, a young white guy who loves to argue with MAGA people, but clearly adopts a Liberal Democratic view of the world. His Facebook page also shows that he is a bit narcissistic, with numerous photos of himself, and videos of him talking to the camera.

More importantly, are the statements in the meme that Withers created. You can see my simply responses on the right, but these responses deserve a bit more context and sourcing, which I believe is important regardless of who makes statements.

Gaza Must Be Freed from Hamas. This statement is deeply problematic for several reasons. First, the Palestinians voted for Hamas, not that I put lots of stock in voting. However, Liberals love voting, so if Palestinians voted for Hamas, then what are they calling for Gaza to be freed from Hamas? More importantly, this statement completely omits the historical fact that Israel has illegally occupied Palestinian land since 1948. The statement also ignores the Israeli system of Apartheid and it completely ignores the current genocidal campaign that Israel is waging against the Palestinians living in Gaza. Lastly, the Withers meme says nothing about the US diplomatic, economic and military support of Israel’s occupation and genocidal campaign.

Israel must be freed from Netanyahu. It is true that Benjamin Netanyahu is a significant problem, but every Israel leader has fundamentally supported the occupation of Palestinian land, the Israeli system of Apartheid and the ongoing military campaigns against the Palestinians. Netanyahu is only the result of the Zionist ideology that drives what the State of Israel has been since 1948. See Ten Myths About Israel, by Ilan Pappe.

Ukraine must be freed from Russia. Just to be clear, I do not support the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, the US and NATO also have blood on their hands in this matter, plus this meme does not provide significant historical context. See my 2 part piece, US, NATO and the Russian Invasion of the Ukraine: Part II – Historical Context and a broader Geo-Political framework.

America must be freed from Trump. I really hate that people in the US think that we can just use the term America as if it only refers to the United States of America. What about Central America, South America or Latin America. The Americas include the entire continent. Just getting rid of Trump does not remove the political system in the US that is primarily run by members of the Capitalist Class and has been for most of the country’s history. In the first 50 or so years, the US was run by wealthy slave owners. In addition, here is a summary of just a few of the oppressive dynamics under the Biden Administration:

• There were more deportations in the last four years than there were during the first Trump Administration.
• The Biden Administration approved more fossil fuel extractions on US soil than the first Trump Administration did.
• The wealth gap has expanded during the Biden Administration, especially amongst the Billionaire Class.
• The Biden Administration increased US military funding every year for the past 4 years.
• The Biden Administration increased funding for policing, even in the era of Black Lives Matter.
• The Biden Administration was completely and utterly complicit in the war crimes and genocidal policies of Israel, refusing to end weapons sales to Israel, being complicit in allowing Israel to block humanitarian aid to Gaza and always voting against most of the rest of the world when the United Nations condemned what Israel was doing. 
• The Biden Administration was not only silent, but enabled the repression targeted at the US campus Pro-Palestine movement. 
• Rent increases went up during the Biden Administration, which did very little to address the current US housing crisis. 

We all need to develop a more critical understanding of the US and its relationship to the rest of the world. We also need to stop posting and sharing stupid memes.