this post was submitted on 07 May 2025
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I'm finishing the last episode of S5 now, and I'll be fully caught up on this series. Between Afghanistan and Cambodia, China's willingness to play ball with the US and its agenda is frustrating to learn.

It leaves me wanting to learn more about the Sino/Soviet split. The way this division manifested really aligned China with some dark forces, it would seem.

I also imagine the process of "normalization" with the US plays a huge role in the way this history unfolds as well.

It makes me wonder what they knew about The Khmer Rouge's operations. I was left with the impression, based on how the history was laid out, that China was aware of just how aggressive and bloody the Khmer Rouge's policies were.

Something about that stretch of time between 79 and 89 seems to have resulted in a bunch of weird geopolitical stuff.

Need to finish this episode, I guess.

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[–] catter@hexbear.net 30 points 3 days ago (2 children)

I agree. It calls to mind that proverb "when elephants fight, the grass gets trampled." I think you're right that this is more an untold history.

Just processing out loud here: it's useful for getting rid of brainworms as well. Embarrassingly, I sat with the cognitive dissonance of the PRC supporting Pol Pot for a long time before resolving it with the obvious answer of it being wrong and bad, as others have mentioned in this thread. Getting out of that mindset of geopolitical "teams" is rough lol

[–] RedWizard@hexbear.net 20 points 3 days ago

"when elephants fight, the grass gets trampled."

Yeah, that really sums up my feelings here too. It's also a good reminder that geopolitical economy can still divide camps, even if they're supposed to be ideologically aligned.

The geopolitical team mindset is one of the things about Hexbear and more specifically the news mega that rub me the wrong way the most.

The arguments in this thread about the tradeoff between sticking to socialist ideals and sacrificing longevity vs capitulating to the existing order and staying alive are a pattern that plays out in almost any sectarian split.