• fodor@lemmy.zip
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    14 hours ago

    The authors are conflating two issues. They mention the reduced tourism, but that is not about being anti-American. People are reasonably scared of getting locked up; why would anyone risk visiting the U.S. if they had another decent option (like, for example, any country that isn’t at war right now)? … And this is a totally different issue from boycotting American manufacturers. It’s about personal safety.

    At the same time, the anti-American sentiment goes hand-in-hand with tariffs. If the U.S. charges tariffs on the EU, for example, people who work sales in the EU will be hurt by the loss of customers. And then when the EU issues counter-tariffs, US goods become too expensive to buy… And this is all about basic economics, not about feelings.

    And then, finally, there are feelings. Many people think that Trump (who is in the Epstein Files) is an evil POS. And most large American corporations supported his rise to power and are currently licking his boots. Supporting that evil man is itself an evil act, many people would say.

    Anyway, these are three different overlapping issues, and Newsweek should have good enough writers to describe the situation with greater precision. But if you bring in the non-emotional arguments, that makes the U.S. companies look like big jerks, right, so of course the magazine couldn’t be bothered with that kind of analysis. Better to describe the broader international community as moody or some shit like that. Meh.

    • Dragonstaff@leminal.space
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      7 hours ago

      Very good points. Remember that Newsweek is a jerk US company that supported Trump and is currently licking his boots. Corporate media has very skilled writers who are doing everything they can to normalize what is going on now.