I don’t know if it’s just me or that I spend too much time reading YouTube comment sections or occasionally the enemy’s subreddit that is has given me a distorted perception of the masses or if it’s actually true that the broad masses are as reactionary and fascistic as they seem online and in media. It gives a kind of paranoia, a correct paranoia, that the Soviets felt in the 30s. I guess what I’m asking or looking for is whether my view of the American masses is distorted because of what I see online or if my view is correct. I prefer to be wrong on this.
Well, if you were paying attention to socialist twitter, you’d get the feeling that people are getting radicalized really quick. There was that no comrades under 1k thing, communism trending, marxism trending. I’ve even seen an unapologetic pro-communist (not an indictment of capitalism, not democratic socialist, not even socialist, but communist) tweet get like 140k likes in under a day. I saw that and I was like WTF? Anti-capitalism sure, socialism sure, but COMMUNISM? I’ve never heard of it to say the least.
In general though, you’re probably right that the masses are reactionary. If not socially, then definitely when it comes to imperialism since even sections of the left capitulate just as easily as everyone else when the propaganda swings right back around.