Robert Scheer
Editor, Truthdig.com;
Author, 'The Great American Stickup'
5 May 2012
Imitation Outrage
Let's stop jacking the Chinese around. We do not care a whit now -- nor have we ever cared -- about their human rights
or any other aspect of their lives as long as they satiate our unbridled appetites. To pretend otherwise is to deny centuries
of exploitative history in which the West drugged the Middle Kingdom and plundered it for its resources and cheap labor
while obliterating any sign of popular resistance to our imperial sway.
We all know that the rulers of China now have the clout to mess up our economy overnight by shedding their holdings in
U.S. debt. Our leaders are no more serious about human rights in China than they are about such conditions in oil-rich
Saudi Arabia, for the simple reason that we need what those nations have more than they need us.
Editor, Truthdig.com;
Author, 'The Great American Stickup'
5 May 2012
Imitation Outrage
Let's stop jacking the Chinese around. We do not care a whit now -- nor have we ever cared -- about their human rights
or any other aspect of their lives as long as they satiate our unbridled appetites. To pretend otherwise is to deny centuries
of exploitative history in which the West drugged the Middle Kingdom and plundered it for its resources and cheap labor
while obliterating any sign of popular resistance to our imperial sway.
We all know that the rulers of China now have the clout to mess up our economy overnight by shedding their holdings in
U.S. debt. Our leaders are no more serious about human rights in China than they are about such conditions in oil-rich
Saudi Arabia, for the simple reason that we need what those nations have more than they need us.
