How ‘Anti-Imperialism’ became a buzzword for oppressors
The term was invented to combat injustice, now it is often used to defend it
“A riot is the language of the unheard.” -Martin Luther King 1966
Civil unrest is often the only tool available for people without voices. From the United States, to Berlin, to India to Moscow, popular movements have arisen and taken to the streets for a cause. Sometimes they topple empires. More often, they are stomped into the footnotes of history.
Lately, as totalitarian states repress such movements with increasing brutality, dictators and yellow journalists are using an old narrative to silence dissent- “Anti-Imperialism.”
In the theater of the street protest, how a movement is perceived is critical to its success. The people clamor for freedom, or against unjust rule and the State survives by painting them as agitators, thugs or treasonous foreign agents. The tactic is as old as tyranny, and has been used the world over.
Within three contemporary struggles in particular, the slogan has become a buzzword for totalitarian governments that employ…
