Has imperialism become more blatant?

[GPDP]

Is it me, or are imperialists and their sympathizers not even bothering to put up a pretense of "human rights" or "democracy" or other nice-sounding goals to justify foreign intervention anymore?

Mind you, it's not yet an across-the-board thing, as you still have Obama and his ilk trying to dress up things like NATO intervention in Libya as humanitarian intervention, but the right-wing has been pretty brazen about their support of such ventures as of late without dressing them up with bullshit. They've been pretty upfront that the main goal above all is American interests, and no further justification seems to be needed anymore for such opinions to be out in the woodwork and be accepted as part of mainstream discourse. Examples would be Trump criticizing the wars for not getting their oil for our own benefit, and Ann Coulter saying wars for oil are as necessary as wars for oxygen.

It used to be you would only hear that kind of thing during candid moments, but it's like they've realized the people either no longer care enough or support imperialism to the point that they no longer feel the need to disguise their intentions. Imperialism is basically an acceptable part of the current platform for debate now.

[agnixie]

It's not quite at scramble for Africa levels of blatant douchebaggery. Well, except Coulter and that ilk, but she was fired from her magazine for wanting them to publish an article describing her "final solution to the muslim question", (used non-ironically in the text) so yeah.

[#FF0000]

It's not quite at scramble for Africa levels of blatant douchebaggery.

I'm (http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=201104141329dowjonesdjonline000 551&title=world-banks-zoellickhopes-bank-will-have-role-in-libya)

Not (http://subrealism.blogspot.com/2011/04/why-west-wants-fall-of-gaddafi.html)

So (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42344176/ns/world_news-africa/)

Sure (http://www.cnbc.com/id/42308613/Libyan_Rebels_Form_Their_Own_Central_Bank)

[Feodor Augustus]

IMO, not more blatant, but more desperate.

I think the western powers are terrified by the prospect of their hegemony coming to an end, and in contrast with the Chinese approach which is the hallmark of a confident imperialist, the western powers seem to be fast becoming a kind of 'imperialism in rags': increasingly brutal, obvious and single minded.

[unfriendly]

I saw a billboard on the Bay Bridge between Oakland and San Francisco yesterday advertising "a colonial city on the coast" in Mexico for tourism.

Made me super uncomfortable.

But to be fair there's been a Columbus Day celebrated every year since I was born, so I don't know if it's getting more blatant or if I'm just getting better at detecting it.

(PS - hey there gaming pal.)

[CHEtheLIBERATOR]

It has become more blatant as in the actions are blatant. But the motive is still a focus of there lies

[chegitz guevara]

More desperate, I think.

[Philosopher Jay]

I think it is a form of degeneration. Not having the Soviet Union to contend with anymore, the imperialistd do not have to come up with humanitarian reasons for their actions. They can just say "We did it because we wanted to and nobody can stop us because we are the most powerful military force on Earth."

[Hexen]

I think the U.S/Imperialists is having a villainous breakdown (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/VillainousBreakdown).