"I don't see how I benefit from imperialism" typed the misguided asshole trying to make people feel guilty into his phone ironically powered by a lithium battery that was mined via slave labor provided by (drumroll) imperialism.
this post was submitted on 14 Jan 2024
7 points (100.0% liked)
Microblog Memes
5726 readers
1493 users here now
A place to share screenshots of Microblog posts, whether from Mastodon, tumblr, ~~Twitter~~ X, KBin, Threads or elsewhere.
Created as an evolution of White People Twitter and other tweet-capture subreddits.
Rules:
- Please put at least one word relevant to the post in the post title.
- Be nice.
- No advertising, brand promotion or guerilla marketing.
- Posters are encouraged to link to the toot or tweet etc in the description of posts.
Related communities:
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
You guys pay almost 2$ for a single Banana? Looks like the people on both sides get fucked by the rich.
When I worked at Walmart, bananas were the number one selling item at $.68/pound. Then, for a week, someone set the price to $.68/banana. So a whole bunch went from like a dollar and some change to like $7 on average. Instantly killed the sales until they went back to per pound. When I was asked to change the price sign, I asked if it was a mistake and they told me no.
Pretending this is the case, I would prefer not subjugating entire peoples for cheap shit.
Yeah that's not what imperialism is.
The United Fruit Company literally building a private army and overthrowing the government of Honduras isn't imperialism?
No it isn't. That is corporatocracy. Imperialism is a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force.
Let me get this right.
You don't think the British East Indian Company's conquest of India was imperialism either?
Because it wasn't technically the state doing it.
Yeah, cause that's how words work.
You know what, I deserve this conversation. I've trolled people with "It can't be imperialism because we're a republic" before, this is just karma.
On the off chance that you're not just trolling, no, it isn't, because your definition sucks and is deliberately limited so you can be a pedantic yet incorrect twat about some of history's greatest crimes.
No I'm not being a troll. And it's not my definition, it's the actual meaning of the word. Words - especially when used in emotionally charged contexts - have meaning and when they are misused to make a nice little sound bite, it dilutes the power they have. I don't like when people do that.
It's one banana, Michael. What could it cost, $2?
in 15 years when we can't grow bananas anymore this meme will finally die
Maybe it's a 4lb banana?
It has an organic sticker on it.
I'm pretty sure countries without histories of imperialism can also purchase bananas..
What county had zero history of that?
“Maybe one of the smaller countries… like the Vatican! … Wait.”
I think you can buy bananas in Luxembourg or Bhutan
Lol
https://www.luxtimes.lu/culture/how-luxembourg-took-part-in-the-evils-of-colonialism/1338583.html
I think Bhutan is good
Fair enough, 1 for 2 isn't bad odds. Point still stands
For sure. I'd say Bhutan doesn't fit the meme though, as Bhutan is part of the global south, and might even grow bananas themselves? I dunno about that
Either way, the meme doesn't know what imperialism means. The US govt over threw quite a few governments and handed it over to corporations. Thats not imperialism.
Benefiting doesn't require you or your country's past participation.
Yeah just like I didn't personally terrorise indigenous people into moving away, I am in fact benefiting from terror against indigenous people by living on Turtle Island as the offspring of settlers.
My main point was this isn't imperialism. Words mean things, man.
Of course it is. How do these foreign companies own such large amounts of land in these countries? (Hint: US-sponsored coups). Why are these countries producing large amounts of a single crop via monoculture practices instead of solving for the nutritional needs of their own population?
Because the autonomous countries are unable to make those choices for themselves? What about places that produce bananas that didn't have banana republics?
Can you name some examples of banana-growing exporters that weren't undermined by the US to the point of banana republic
Côte d`Ivoire
If you live anywhere where a banana cannot grow and get them cheaply, you're benefitting from imperialism regardless of where the banana you actually eat is grown because it's the cheap bananas from those banana republics that determined the market value.
Or you're benefiting from trade agreements and/or cutthroat capitalism.
Mix in a bit of slavery, I too think it's a form of imperialism
Nope, not what that word means.
Then what is it?
...trade agreements?
At the barrel of a gun? I think that is considered to be under duress.
And again, ONE country set up banana republics, which were then overthrown. Anyone who isn't them and can also buy cheap bananas separately. There are also places that were not ever banana republics who export bananas.
This post takes a very complicated issue and distills it down to a neat little thing by misusing words and then everyone else can be like "oh I feel smart too cause that seems clever". It's bullshit and makes everything worse.
Sure, ONE country did it, while about 100 cheered., And queued up for deliveries.
Everyone loves to shit on America, without acknowledging their home country's very happy entanglement with them
Got any proof for them claims?
Yeah, all the shit on your shelves, defense contracts, trade regulation, financial markets, so fucking much...even gps (which came to be via cold war weapons research into ballistic missiles and location and targeting needs of the US military
Your source seems dubious to me, I don't think you have anything to add here
Ok sorry "literal reality, everything you can see in the global north" isn't good enough for you.
Here's one for your book report:
The point isn't just the literal trade though, it's the global system that the United States has developed (through often imperial means) that many smaller countries benefit from, happily.
I also responded to you before you did a few edits.
Your first response was something like "all the shit on your shelves"
And my main point here is that the original meme obviously doesn't know what "imperialism" means.
Just look up United Fruit Company and start reading:
The banana trade symbolizes economic imperialism, injustices in the global trade market, and the globalization of the agricultural economy. Bananas are also number four on the list of staple crops in the world and one of the biggest profit makers in supermarkets
It's not just land grabs by people wearing crowns
It's a modifier on the word imperialism on purpose. You don't hear military imperialism or diplomatic imperialism because that's that the work means. The actual word for all of this and what happened is corporatocracy.
Sure, modifier, or a type of imperialism, or one of several meanings. It's how the word is used, including by people in this thread and elsewhere. Therefore the phenomenon is both corporatocracy and imperialism and more.
...so then an inaccurate but emotionally charged phrase misusing big words to sound smart.
This is all super good for general discourse, and it's great that you endorse this behavior.