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.
I was in highschool when the US invaded Iraq and afghanistan, and I remember at least half of the students in my class were pro-war. Being anti-war was considered “against the troops”, and the army encouraged classmates who signed up to wear their army fatigues on certain days. You are 100% right that the enemy is not just the US government, its also its citizens.
The fact that they learnt nothing from that experience and are now doing it again with the PRC further bolsters this idea.