What I don't understand is how any of this contradicts the claim that "the public is pro-colonialism". The u.s. is a colonial state, whether its citizens prefer "maintenance racism" or "self consciously racist intentions" doesn't change that. There are similar disagreements among the israeli public, yet they are still, just like yanks, overwhelmingly pro-colonialism.
What I don't understand is how any of this contradicts the claim that "the public is pro-colonialism". The u.s. is a colonial state, whether its citizens prefer "maintenance racism" or "self consciously racist intentions" doesn't change that. There are similar disagreements among the israeli public, yet they are still, just like yanks, overwhelmingly pro-colonialism.
The point i was trying to make is, I think, even more distressing: the public neither knows or cares enough to be described as "pro-colonialism". The "average" American lives in a parallel world completely divested from any understanding of history or how the world functions. Instead they exist in a kaliadoscopic fugue state sewn together with sitcom quips, sports statistics, and pop culture ephemera. It just feels overly simplistic to characterize them as "pro-colonialism" when the very concept simply isn't on their radar.
I don't think it's overly simplistic to characterize them as pro-colonialism in the face of their apathy, ignorance, & delusions regarding colonialism.
What I don't understand is how any of this contradicts the claim that "the public is pro-colonialism". The u.s. is a colonial state, whether its citizens prefer "maintenance racism" or "self consciously racist intentions" doesn't change that. There are similar disagreements among the israeli public, yet they are still, just like yanks, overwhelmingly pro-colonialism.
The point i was trying to make is, I think, even more distressing: the public neither knows or cares enough to be described as "pro-colonialism". The "average" American lives in a parallel world completely divested from any understanding of history or how the world functions. Instead they exist in a kaliadoscopic fugue state sewn together with sitcom quips, sports statistics, and pop culture ephemera. It just feels overly simplistic to characterize them as "pro-colonialism" when the very concept simply isn't on their radar.
I don't think it's overly simplistic to characterize them as pro-colonialism in the face of their apathy, ignorance, & delusions regarding colonialism.
I wouldnt argue that the distinction matters all that much when it comes to outcomes, just that it exists.