I’ve had this experience on my latest stay back in the US. People ask how the US is seen in Germany (where I live) and the answer is very much Erdogan/Orban. everyone is puzzled why Americans are letting it happen after all the talk about democracy over the years
That’s not the leftist assessment. That’s very much the mainstream centrist view
A lot of the talk about protecting democracy was coming from the Democrats and the mainstream media, the ones who paved the way for Trump to win twice. Most Americans don't know what democracy is.
And a lot of them want fascism tbh
This goes back to C Wright Mills' "Power elite." We've grown up thinking we had choices on who we picked to lead us, but really it was all the same people in different costumes with different names. Now being in a non-representative democracy is biting us.
more internationals should understand just how much power the police have
"the police are empowered to kill with impunity" doesn't really register with 'em for some reason
It shouldn't be puzzling. A lot of Americans are eager fascists.