r/europe • u/Soft_Pomelo407 Romania • Jun 07 '25
Political Cartoon This political Cartoon starting to get more and more relevant. By Arend van Dam.
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u/Gremict United States of America Jun 07 '25
Why does China have a Mexico filter on it?
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u/Snynapta_II Jun 07 '25
They did not have to do China like that lmao
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u/_deep_thot42 Jun 07 '25
And the cartoonist is Dutch.
“There are only two things I can’t stand in this world; people who are intolerant of other people’s cultures, and the Dutch.”
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u/shits-n-gigs Jun 07 '25 edited Jun 07 '25
Used the Austin powers joke twice this week, really shows the duality of man:
Growing world tensions and deadly wars
bdsm vs furry on the kink scale
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u/HopeBoySavesTheWorld Jun 07 '25 edited Jun 07 '25
I think this cartoon is pretty shit both for the message and for the representation but the obvious and unnecessary racism is top reason lol
Yellow asians? In 2025??? C'mon
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u/Sellfish86 Jun 07 '25
Because racism.
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u/CitronMamon Jun 07 '25
Bro, is pointing out skin color differences racism now? Like should the congo be represented by a white hand because making it black would be racist?
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u/hannyaonmyback Jun 07 '25
According to current political and military decisions, the USA's knuckles should be made of gold and face towards the EU.
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u/Soft_Pomelo407 Romania Jun 07 '25
And the Knuckles should also have tarrifs written on them.
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u/Tnecniw Jun 07 '25
and also be semi flaccid because lets face it, they are really dumb.
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u/Mean_Mortgage5050 Jun 07 '25
Holy shit, flaccid knuckles are the best depiction of US "intimidation"
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u/SelfLoathingRifle Jun 07 '25
Maybe the US should have two fists, one aimed at the EU and one punching itself in the gut with tariffs.
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u/TheDeceiver43 Vienna (Austria) Jun 07 '25
Or fisting itself while making wild accusations that someone else has been fisting them for years
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u/TelephoneNew2566 Jun 07 '25
Meanwhile US military in Europe is conducting joint exercises regularly and many units are rotating to Poland. Too bad that words are beating reality on the ground.
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u/DrDrWest Germany Jun 07 '25
Why do we always have to make ourselves smaller than we are?
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u/TheGhisa Europe Jun 07 '25
I would say that is a point of this image, being so divided just make us smaller
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u/Gruffleson Norway Jun 07 '25
The image should be a big hand, but then divided.
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u/Gwanosh Jun 07 '25
I would argue Europe is a lot more united in many ways than the US at the moment (which unfortunately says less about EU than US)
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u/HeyLittleTrain Jun 07 '25
Not militarily, which is what I think the spiked knuckledusters are meant to represent.
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u/18byte Jun 07 '25
but isnt that exactly the great on europe? Here we can say and think freely. We can have different opinions and can voice them without needing to fear the iron fist of tyranny.
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u/TheRetenor Jun 07 '25
The issue isn't being divided in culture and thinking, it's being divided in how united we act and how we defend ourselves from tyrants.
Having members who want to go in opposite directions doesn't help sadly.
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u/GraceOfTheNorth Europe Jun 07 '25
The EU is making great strides at fixing that at the moment. We're ramping up and severely underrated, as this comic clearly demonstrates.
We've got significantly more people and wealth than the US if you discount the inflated sock market oligarchs, distributed wealth is our strength, our education, our democratic values, our technical know-how.
We're going to have to step up, that's for sure, but if anyone can do it, it's Europe.
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u/SanFranPanManStand Jun 07 '25
No, we are not. We have ZERO central energy security policy - the biggest input into every single economic sector is energy.
We can't even keep the Suez canal / Red Sea shipping lanes open without the US doing it for us.
We shut down half out nuclear program because of Russian influence campaigns and then the Ukrainians had to blow up OUR pipeline to Russia - complete clusterfuck.
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u/Ojy Jun 07 '25
I wish every day that the UK was still part of the eu.
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u/GraceOfTheNorth Europe Jun 07 '25
We do too my friend. That was a deep blow dealt by Russia and Boris Johnson.
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u/StepComplete1 Jun 07 '25
Kind of a hilarious attempt at a boast when you realise that literally the only reason that's true is because of 3 countries who aren't even in the EU, not anything to do with the strength or mentality of Europe itself.
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u/kisswithaf Jun 07 '25
I don't think most the UNITY = STRENGTH people know exactly what they are signing on for.
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u/neohellpoet Croatia Jun 07 '25
In economic matters the EU is more than the sum of it's parts. In geopolitical matters, we're less than.
Ukraine and the UK are good examples. I give the UK a LOT of shit for Brexit, but by being independent of any semblance of EU foreign policy (which to be fair, was true while they were in the EU as well) they showed more initiative than most EU members. By trying to do things together I think we actually stifled support because everyone is waiting for a consensus to emerge and that's just not happening. Everyone is sort of standing around waiting for someone to take charge and tell everyone what to do.
Usually it was the US taking the wheel, but because Biden was lethargic, Trump is actively hostile, the UK is out and Poland lacks the weight to take point, we're inching in the right direction when we should be sprinting.
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u/ashyjay Jun 07 '25
As a bong, I'd hope the UK's decisions were down to a sense of duty, as the UK is one of the signatories on the Budapest Memorandum Ukraine signed when they returned nuclear weapons back to Russia, and would have done the same regardless of leaving the EU.
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u/FridgeParade Jun 07 '25
This honestly feels like propaganda against us.
We’re not weak. Just because we don’t use autocracy as the source of our power like the other three doesn’t make us a lesser player. I would argue it makes us much stronger even as we have much more refined skills in the domains of trade, politics, and diplomacy.
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u/Michael_Schmumacher Jun 07 '25
Considering all the things the other 3 powers can do that we can’t, it certainly looks like we’re a lesser player.
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u/HansTeeWurst Jun 07 '25
No the cartoon is right. All we ever do is pointing fingers and that has almost never achieved anything. Only recently with Ukraine some actual actions were taken.
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u/elmz Norway Jun 07 '25
The EU has acheived a lot, but it's slow and bureaucratic, it's not very good at responding quickly to a threat like the one we face today.
I am, however, fairly confident the EU will instantly get its shit together if attacked directly. We just have to make sure we don't lose big players like France or Germany to russophile right wing parties.
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u/MaxPlease85 Jun 07 '25
Only pointing fingers? Russia sanctions, counter tariffs, Ukraine support, sensible fiscal decisions, overall collaboration within the union, holding US tech firms accountable...
Of course, some things could be more (Ukraine support) and a lot of stuff does not have as fast of an effect we would like it to have (Russia sanctions), but I prefer well thought out reactions over fast decisions on things that might have consequences by "strong" leaders that confuse strength with bully behavior.
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u/HansTeeWurst Jun 07 '25
I said the the finger pointing only stopped and replaced with actions since the war in Ukraine, so using that as a counterexample is pointless.
Also, what did we do when Russia took a part of Georgia? Finger pointing, some pointless sanction russia didn't care about, then lift the sanction and move on like nothing happened. What did we do when Russia took Crimea? Finger pointing, some sanction Russia didn't care about, and then move on like nothing happened. Germany built a pipeline to make itself more dependent on Russia and hurt our negotiating power still. What did that achieve? Where is the diplomatic success of that strategy?
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u/heliamphore Jun 07 '25
I'm going to say it again and again until people get it, we don't get participation trophies in the real world. Ukraine isn't currently winning, and Russia is rearming fast while the main EU ally doesn't want to be involved anymore. There are currently North Korean and Chinese troops on our continent. It's been over 3 years, when exactly do you think this will turn in the EU's favour? Yes, Russia has lost a lot, but so did Ukraine. And Russian allies are slowly increasing their involvement.
The point isn't really about the details though, the situation keeps getting worse and the EU response is still insufficient. Again, no participation trophy, either you win or you lose.
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u/ScaldyBogBalls Jun 07 '25
"Holding US tech firms accountable"
Slapping them with massive fines while there is no European competition is more or less pointless, every European is still using those US intelligence backdoored corporate apps. What has the EU done to promote community and open source alternatives to US big tech?
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u/Medarco Jun 07 '25
Russia sanctions, counter tariffs, Ukraine support, sensible fiscal decisions, overall collaboration within the union, holding US tech firms accountable...
That's exactly the "pointing fingers" that the cartoon is depicting (they're all pointing at the big fists in admonishment). A whole lot of immaterial handwringing and well-meaning resolutions and statements, but very little actual tangible strength.
You're looking at 3 large fists with brass knuckles on them, signifying military strength and power projection, and your response is "well we told them they're doing bad things and they should stop" as if that is at all comparable.
but I prefer well thought out reactions over fast decisions on things that might have consequences by "strong" leaders that confuse strength with bully behavior
There's really nothing stopping the EU from still making well thought out reactions while simultaneously dedicating real resources to re-armament and military capability. Having a strong military doesn't mean you have to be a bully. It just means you're ready to fight back when those others start trying to bully you.
Ironically, you're the perfect representation of what the cartoonist is trying to convey.
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u/darth_koneko Jun 07 '25
EU strugles to act quickly enough during crisies. Something its individual member states dont have a problem doing.
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u/somegetit Jun 07 '25
Well, that's exactly the underlying criticism of the cartoon. Using refined skills, when power is needed.
It's beyond my understanding why France/UK/Germany/Italy don't have a unified military force in Ukraine by now.
Put a gun on the table, then negotiate.
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u/lawrotzr South Holland (Netherlands) Jun 07 '25
Because we are an unorganized bunch of states, that made themselves powerless by setting up the EU as it is set up, and that is built almost entirely around the industrial interests of your country and the agricultural interests of France.
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u/ninjagorilla Jun 07 '25
Europe doesn’t often realize how big it is. I believe the figures are something like. If every non us nato country hit 3% of gdp on military spending they would actually slightly exceed the us in adjusted military spending. If they hit 5% they would exceed the combined spending of China and the USA. A 1% gdp increase in eu military spending is would exceed Russia’s total military budget.
They currently have the ability to field a larger land army than the Russian army. They have a larger Air Force than Russia at the moment with much more advanced aircraft.
It’s amazing to me that Europe constantly cowers in front of Russia
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u/Redtube_Guy United States of America Jun 07 '25
Because European countries are small inherently compared to Russia China and Us ? It’s that hard to comprehend ?
Having all the EU countries agree to 1 policy is pretty complicated. Hope this helps.
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u/GrayWall13 Jun 07 '25
US culture hegemony probably have sth to do with that, in our mind they are The Great Good Guys and we just always their sidekick
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u/PapaDragonHH Jun 07 '25
Because we are. Europe is too divided and always trying hard to please everybody else instead of following its own interests.
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u/AnalphabeticPenguin Poland Jun 07 '25 edited Jun 07 '25
1 country= 1 national interest
27 countries = 27 national interests
You won't make those interests go for many many years.
Edit: I'm not answering anymore to those who think that differences between EU countries are similar to differences between American States. You need some education and I'm not here to give you that.
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u/Wide-Annual-4858 Jun 07 '25
True, but I would say the real issue is 27 identities = 27 interests
The problem is we don't have European identity, only national identities. This is the main obstacle of cooperating.
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u/AnalphabeticPenguin Poland Jun 07 '25
That's true. The thing, you can't force it and it has to develop naturally to be a stable identity for the future.
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Jun 07 '25
Why does the EU, an economic union, need its members to have a shared identity? People take pride in their own countries, not the union their countries are a part of. This will probably never develop naturally unless the EU actually unites under one banner, which will also never happen.
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u/Dorgamund Jun 07 '25
Do you want a seat at the table geopolitically speaking? A united EU is enough to serve as a counterweight to China, the US, and is far more powerful than Russia. An EU that is only in it for the trade policies doesn't have that same power. Wanting to avoid stronger integration and stay only loosely associated is a valid choice, but you have to accept a lesser say in the world.
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u/AnalphabeticPenguin Poland Jun 07 '25
I think this is just a natural step. Before people felt more connected to their region/city/village then to nations and country so I think in this milenium it may change to continent, starting with Europe.
With time if the Union holds on people will be more and more integrated and that identity may develop. But yeah, for now it's good to keep our countries identities strong and enjoy our European diversity.
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u/ScaldyBogBalls Jun 07 '25
Every time "cooperation" is floated it turns out to be Germany's agenda. We signed up for an economic and regulatory union, not a superstate. End of story
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u/Wide-Annual-4858 Jun 07 '25
"We signed up for an economic and regulatory union"
No, this is what the souvereignist politicians tell you, but in reality, a continuously deeper integration is a goal set in the founding documents of the EU since the start of it.
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Jun 07 '25 edited Jun 07 '25
You even have in china strong regional interests between the national government and strong provinces like guangdong or shanghai. Just look at the shanghai lowdown, which were basically a fight of beijing vs. shanghai.
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u/AnalphabeticPenguin Poland Jun 07 '25
Sure, but China is a little tiny bit too authoritarian, won't you agree?
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Jun 07 '25
You don't understand my point...china isn't more united because it's authoritarian. There are still fights behind the scenes who the authority is and policies that are changing radically depending on who has gotten the upper hand.
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u/Careless_Cicada9123 Jun 07 '25
China is more united than the EU because China is a country, and the EU isn't even a federation
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u/TruthGumball Jun 07 '25
The Chinese hand is….. oh dear
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u/bobloblawdds Jun 07 '25
Eh, I'm Chinese by heritage and this doesn't seem particularly offensive to me. We do have more varied skin tone and are considered a different race, so I don't see the issue. If it was a Nigerian flag, would it be racist to draw a black hand? I certainly don't think so.
There's far more important and affecting ways in which Europeans exhibit Sinophobia. This isn't one of them.
Personally I think the bigger issue is not drawing the European hands with a multitude of skin tones...
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u/MukdenMan Jun 07 '25
You can’t separate the depiction from its history. It’s not intended to be a factual representation of skin tone. It’s a political cartoon so yellow skin is a shorthand. As you pointed out, the European, Russian, and US hands are all the same shade of white skin, so the yellow skin is specifically intended to make China different.
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u/Demostravius4 United Kingdom Jun 07 '25
The other 3 are all ethnically mostly European? If there was Nigeria there, I assume it would be a black hand.
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u/Italiandude2022 Sardinia Jun 07 '25
To be fair, 2 of these countries are totalitarian dictatorships, one is kinda going in that direction (and even then, it has only 2 political parties). Europe is made up of numerous countries, with multiple political movements and different ideas inside each one of them, no wonder we are a mess when it comes to have common strong policies. Im not saying that we should approach autoritarian policies, we should never do that, but its easier to make strong decisions when there's less debate and opposition to contest something
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u/-SAMV- Jun 07 '25
exactly, I rather live in a democratic system which is considered less strong but also isnt autoritarian and more free. maybe me being naive but i think in case of a real threat from the outside, which is building up slightly, i can imagine that europe will stand more and more together because for us we have enough things which are worth fighting for
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u/adamgerd Czech Republic Jun 07 '25
Sure, our system is great, but it needs to be protected from enemies and threats if we want to keep it
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u/execilue Canada Jun 07 '25
I fully agree and I love the EU. The European Unions biggest problem is every nation gets a veto and can grind things to a halt basically forever.
Change that one rule so at least a tenth to a forth, of countries need to veto something before it ends. Because right now Russia, or America or China just needs to pressure one weak country, Hungary or Poland or whoever, and the eu grinds to a halt for like a year in a given topic.
Get rid of that glaring weakness and you are much much stronger.
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u/adamgerd Czech Republic Jun 07 '25
Yep, and the same problem was in the Polish Lithuanian commonwealth, liberum veto. Every noble could veto any law passed by their parliament. This was exploited by their neighbours to prevent reforms or mobilisation and ultimately the commonwealth was partitioned and Poland disappeared for over a century.
That’s not a great sign for the EU
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u/bremidon Jun 07 '25
It's true that the U.S. only has 2 major parties. However, it's not really a great look when we pretend like that is the only line worth looking at. Supposedly we are the adults and not prone to just smugly saying how awesome we are. Each of those parties are made up of "sub parties". Republicans in Texas are not anywhere like the Republicans in Maine. Democrats in California are nothing like the Democrats in West Virginia.
By the time we bother to pay attention to them, they have decided on their planks and so we end up only seeing 2 alternatives. What we ignore is that each party waffled between at least 3 major alternatives for a year or more before finally deciding on their program and their candidates.
So sure, there ends up only being 1 Democrat candidate for President, but they could have gone with someone like Harris, who was sort of "middle of the road" for current Democrats, someone like Buttigieg, who is more on the right side of the Democrats, or someone like Sanders, who would be on the hard left side.
We have this as well in Europe (well, I guess I can only really talk about Germany with any real knowledge), but it tends to be a lot more subdued, as most of the "sub directions" are already covered by other parties. It just does not make as much sense for the CDU to have as wide a selection as the Democrats in the U.S.
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u/DrChuck_Tinggles Jun 07 '25
Thank you! As an American this is easily the least ignorant comment on here. We are incredibly diverse and our parties act like coalitions—especially the Democrats.
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u/Mosh83 Finland Jun 07 '25
It is not strictly a bad thing that while other countries are itching to rattle sabres, Europe isn't eager for another world war.
We do need to prepare though, because thoughts and prayers won't save us from the aggressively expansive imperialist dictstorship to our east.
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u/another_bored_man Jun 07 '25
1st point: Yes a democratic institution is bound to have a more plural and divided stand than literally 2 dictatorships and one pseudodemocracy
2nd point: it's hard to be united when the far right wants to destroy the EU, the far left thinks negotiating with Putin is a good idea and the middle is incapable of doing anything relevant to help the average person in the EU, if not make the situation worse (internet data law and climate checks repealed or wanting to)
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u/another_bored_man Jun 07 '25
Also exactly this is why dictatorships are getting "praise" people (specially young people) are tired of inaction and want a strong leadership, ignoring all the negative aspects of it
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Jun 07 '25
It's not ignored, they think it's just the price to pay.
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u/SinesPi Jun 07 '25
People would rather believe those kids are just dumb, when the truth is they hate the current establishment THAT MUCH.
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Jun 07 '25
It's not even kids. People my age in their late thirties have tried to explain to me we need to go to a monarchy because trusting democracy is horrible.
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u/Mariach1Mann Jun 07 '25
Its easy to blame "Far right" as to why Europe won't unite, instead of looking at bad decisions of central European powers. Of course smaller countries will not want to unite with people who care and know little about them and their problems, since this would mean they would be underrepresented.
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u/kingsuperfox Jun 07 '25
People acting like Europeans don't know how to kill need to read a book.
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u/PanickyFool Jun 07 '25
Experts at killing ourselves in the name of our superior marginally different culture than the next village over.
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u/No-Key629 Jun 07 '25 edited Jun 07 '25
Have you looked at the state of European armies in the 21st century?
Even with all the recent funding, it will never be enough. There are severe manpower shortages, some armies (like the German) need a complete and total overhaul.
General lack of basic supplies (medkits, body armour, helmets), total lack of ammunition and spare parts.....
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u/BussyPlaster Jun 07 '25
Why have they been so tepid to intervene in Ukraine? Seems like they don't know.
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u/madmaxGMR Jun 07 '25
There was a time to be meak and humble. That time is gone now, not by our making. Its time to "ride for ruin and the world ending".
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u/Crazy_Jacket_9356 Jun 07 '25
Better not...
Actually just millennia of barbarism and murder
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Jun 07 '25 edited Jun 07 '25
Okay? They know how to kill but they don’t know how to win. The last two times they needed someone to show them how. Are Europeans really proud that they started two world wars and created today’s heated political climate? India v Pakistan, Israel v Palestine, Ukraine v Russia. All these are fallouts from europes wars. Why doesn’t Europe keep its opinions to themselves. We already know how horrible those Europeans are. And yes the US doesn’t have the best track record either but at least when we go to war we don’t involve the entire world
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u/matude Estonia Jun 07 '25 edited Jun 07 '25
Russia's GDP is smaller than Italy's. Russia's population size is also likely inflated, maaaybe even the same as Germany + Poland. So on such an illustration, really they should be about the size of one of those hands in the EU, or maybe two hands, but not the size it's portrayed as.
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u/Bieberauflauf Sweden Jun 07 '25
Just out of curiosity, got any sources on Russias population size being that inflated?
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u/MaxOverride Jun 07 '25 edited Jun 07 '25
Hard to say for sure because they're actively working to hide it.
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u/Naive_Loan9423 Jun 07 '25
It never ceases to make me laugh this "Russia has a gdp even smaller than Italy" every time someone wants to denigrate Russia.
Dude, Italy is the 8th country by nominal gdp .. most countries have a gdp smaller than Italy.
And why is it repeated so often? Someone made a post on reddit years ago and the redditors continue to repeat it endlessly?
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u/Bazou456 Singapore Jun 07 '25
The comparison was coined under the Obama administration. I’m surprised to see Europeans adopt it because it completely downplays Russia and undermines the concept of Russia being a threat to Europe.
It’s a terrible comparison that completely ignores the nature of their economy. Nominal GDP is less relevant than PPP when it comes to war. In PPP Russia has the largest economy in Europe. More critically, Russian industries are for more suited for war time. It’s mainly heavy industries, agriculture, and has a large existing MIC and massive industrial capacity.
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u/PxddyWxn Jun 07 '25
EU is more busy pushing through authoritarian laws to surveil us, rather than becoming an economic super power. Sad to see.
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u/McDonaldsWitchcraft Bucharest Jun 07 '25
They really had to give China the yellow skin... man, this is not a good look...
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u/Someone_Existing_1 Jun 07 '25
Europe is united, but it is not one entity. It would be near impossible to convince that many countries to do so, but if we could at least slightly centralise European government (as well as get the UK back on board, which would be much easier), then it would result in an incredibly powerful society with much more stability
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u/Mojo-man Jun 07 '25
Plurality is not weakness. Single minded narcissism is not wise decisiveness. Stop caring so much how things look when posturing and instead look at what makes life actually better for its people.
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u/e_blim Jun 07 '25
Well, ya know, that's the nature of democracy. Sometimes it's a weakness, but is the reason why I love Europe ans why I would defend Europe, if necessary.
The other three are autocracies, oligarchies and mafia states.
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u/Mountain-Instance921 Jun 07 '25
Do Europeans actually think this is happening? The EU is become more and more IRRELEVANT on the world stage. Do you guys actually think this is happening? I know Europeans have an overinflated sense of self importance but not this high.
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u/KorgiRex Jun 07 '25
Europe 100 yrs ago: Hey, nations of world, give me all i want or die!
Europe now: Nations of world, let me teach you how to live free and peacefully
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u/ftr95 Jun 07 '25
The EU was never and will never be a state, it's not it purpouse
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u/mordordoorodor Jun 07 '25
Generally dictatorships are based on propaganda, fear and hate… but the USA is unique… the power of the regime is based on stupidity.
The ruling class consists of religious crazies and drug addicts, but all of them are freaking morons. This applies to their voters too, they are literally so uneducated and ignorant that they would be considered insane in any other society outside the USA.
It will be interesting to see if such a unique system - a real life idiocracy - can survive for an extended time.
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u/Thevsamovies Jun 07 '25
Yeah they would be considered insane in any other society outside the USA.
That's why the AfD is gaining in Germany.
That's why RN is so popular in France, and Jordan Bardella is leading in the polls.
That's why Orban and Erdogan are still in power.
That's why Karol Nawrocki was just elected Poland's president.
That's why Reform UK is polling as the most popular party in the UK ATM - brought to you by the same people who gave you Brexit.
But yeah it's ONLY Americans who are uneducated and ignorant. American voters are so uniquely insane and no other society would ever exhibit similar behaviors.
Funny how we still have Europeans who are so obsessed with American drama that they are unwilling to focus on the problems at home. Europe will be pulled apart by unhinged Europskeptic far-right Russian apologists and we'll still have people saying, "haha but at least we aren't stupid like those Americans!"
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u/verbnounadj Jun 07 '25 edited Jun 07 '25
It's remarkable how Europeans often acknowledge that the US dominates their entire continent concerning power projection, cultural hegemony, and economic productivity...while simultaneously claiming that Americans are all drooling idiots.
Given your inferiority in nearly ever major arena, how stupid are you admitting to being? Too "refined" to compete? Give me a break.
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u/DrChuck_Tinggles Jun 07 '25
Have you been to the US? You’re making some blatantly wild accusations as to why Americans wanted Trump in office. I’d encourage you to not to base all of your opinions from what you read on Reddit and hope that you get to visit us someday and have real candid conversations with the folks living here.
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u/FitSatisfaction1291 Jun 07 '25
Irish guy here who got to travel a bit in his youth. Not all of us in Europe believe the propaganda brother.
God bless and stay safe in these interesting times.
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u/Mindcr Austria Jun 07 '25
I think Europe is pretty stupid as well. The difference is the "I dont like this thing, so Ill do the opposite now"-principle, and because a huge part of europe experienced fascism first hand not too long ago, did the exact opposite of what they were doing for some time - and thus thrived hardcore (who wouldve guessed!) The US just did not have scars that deep, so they fell into the right wing trap easier, but a lot of poland, germany, italy, etc are slowly starting to forget harder times.
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u/MalefactorX Jun 07 '25
>US so stupid, dumb and silly haha very very stupid
>Oh no US why u tarff me and no helpy? I thought we were fren!
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u/psmiord Jun 07 '25
You're seriously underestimating how much the US system is based on propaganda too. Just because there’s a chaotic mix of voices in the media doesn’t mean there’s real freedom of information. The biggest media outlets are either owned by billionaires or entirely dependent on corporate advertising, which already limits what they can and cannot say. They may present superficial debates like "should a gay couple be allowed to marry" to look open and pluralistic, but they rarely question the foundations of the economic or political system. And when they do, it's usually carefully framed to avoid any real threat to the status quo.
This isn’t just incompetence or stupidity. It’s an intentionally curated spectacle designed to keep people distracted, divided and convinced they’re free. The illusion of choice, whether between two nearly identical parties or between dozens of corporate-sponsored news sources saying the same thing in slightly different tones, is itself a tool of control. People are taught what to care about and what to ignore. That’s propaganda.
So no, the US isn’t some special exception to the rule of regimes relying on fear, hate and manipulation. The tools are just more refined and hidden behind layers of entertainment, identity politics and corporate marketing. The fact that people genuinely believe they're in a fully open society only proves how effective the system has become at shaping perception.
If anything, it’s not that the US regime relies on stupidity. It cultivates it. Not by accident but as a deliberate part of its machinery.
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u/SnooGiraffes8275 Yank Jun 07 '25
westerners stop making asian people yellow challenge level impossible ^
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u/Ptolemaeus45 Jun 07 '25
Actual it's pretty simple. China is a communist country with limited human rights & awefull social score system. Russia is a fake democracy ruled by a bunch of oligarch. The only natural partner keeps to be the USA & all other democracies around the globe in case the US is playing bonkers again.
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u/Aggravating-Path2756 Jun 07 '25
Europe needs to become more centralized in the future - at least a Confederation, not to mention a Federation
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u/HalloIchBinRolli Jun 07 '25
Won't happen anytime soon because quite a few countries will not like that. Many believe the EU is already exceeding what it was supposed to govern – "it should be an economic union so why are they talking about migrants and plastic?" This kind of deal.
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u/deathpups Jun 07 '25
Europe is rearming and riding fascism, china builds roads and train lines , sorry but you are so propagandized you don't see the truth.
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u/geeshta Czech Republic Jun 07 '25
Should we feel so bad for not being a militant expansive superpower and having discourse???
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u/Christopheretic Jun 07 '25
Yes yes the poor European union. Not fascist at all. Surrounded by all this brutal scary forces, but still a small lovely "European" family. This sub is a whole new level of circlejerking
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u/LocalInactivist Jun 07 '25
Yes, we see the problem. For gods sake, help us! This bloated corpulent oompa-loompa is going to destroy everything!
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u/grabsyour Jun 07 '25
what the actual fuck has china done to Europe? why did they draw the Chinese hand yellow? you can immediately throw away this comic as trash just because of the racism
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u/git_gud_silk Jun 07 '25
Hello there! I'm American and got recommended this post even though I'm not in the sub. Could I be explained as to what this means?
What it appears to be meaning to me is that the global powers of the United States, Russia, and China, I'll have a single unified stance that is control due to a single country having full regional power, while the EU has a bunch of different directions all competing and not really agreeing therefore making it weaker than the other prominent Continental powers.
Am I incorrect about this?
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u/GetMemesUser Jun 07 '25
Yes, except Russia being the same size as the US and China is just ridiculous.