“One small flaw in your reasoning, super-genius,” says Coleman who’s obviously agitated. You can tell he’s young and unaccustomed to such strong and vocal support for fascist, strongman rhetoric. It clearly grates on him.
“Smashing the Uyghurs with an iron fist may work initially, in the short run, but you’re forgetting that in Xinjiang, the Uyghurs ultimately number 21.82 million people. Xi can only push so far. One too many unjust ‘summary executions in the public square’ and you’ll have full-on revolt on your hands, in the streets, everywhere.”
“Who said anything about ‘unjust’?” replies Deepak. “You think anyone actually wants litter and drugs on their streets?”
“There’s a chasm I could sail the Titanic through between ‘litter and drugs’ and ‘free speech’,” says Coleman, waving around his arms to make his point. “If you left it there at just littering, then maaaaybe Xi could get away with it. But that’s not what this is! Dissent of any kind gets you jailed. Comparing Xi to Winnie the Pooh gets you jailed. Streaming non-sanctioned western TV shows and movies gets you jailed. This is totalitarianism!”
Katherine holds up her hands. “Wait a sec. Coleman, aren’t you the guy who just helped DTJ win the presidency last November in the States? The most authoritarian and hardline, far-right president in American history? How does that work?”
Coleman laughs. “You think I helped Junior win because he’s a shining beacon of humanitarian and democratic values? A guiding light for us all?”
“I’m guessing not,” Katherine says dryly.
“Junior’s the most bigoted and racist president in the history of the republic. His victory just helps accelerate the corrupt system’s collapse.”
I furrow my brow. “You want America to… collapse?”
Coleman shakes his head. It’s the headshake of a young man who clearly thinks he’s surrounded by complete imbeciles.
“Dex, my man,” he says to me, “look at the color of my skin. Take a nice, long gander to ensure you’ve properly registered its delicate shade and tone in your neural cognition. Do you think America these past few decades, no wait, ever, has ever been fair to a brother like me?“
“Uh–“
“No,” Coleman says emphatically. “No, it has not. At least the Republicans have the courage to actually just say what they think. The Dems are just wussy-footed liars. They may sing sweet words of ‘hope’ but behind your back, once they’re in power, they just cut budgets and give money to the wealthy, like everyone else.
“That’s the problem with you rich white people,” he says to me, “you all live out in the suburbs in your own sheltered bubbles. You have no idea what it means to be black in America. But you somehow think it’s ‘all okay’ because Obama got elected all them years ago. Obama was half-white, man! Half-white!“