The 152 documented killings (and doubtless more undocumented) of African Americans between 1945-1951 are very sad, but you do realize that China carried out millions of political slayings about a decade later during the Cultural Revolution, right?
As for crimes abroad during the period you selected, China actually annexed an entire country (Tibet).
None of this is to excuse US failures to defend human rights and civil liberties, but China is in a whole different ballpark.
> The 152 documented killings (and doubtless more undocumented) of African Americans between 1945-1951 are very sad
I'm not even sure what this is trying to do except lowballing numbers? African Americans were not just killed, also not only "152", they were assassinated and locked up as political prisoners [0].
In places like US occupied Japan, it was weirdly enough only black soldiers that got court martial and executed over the blatant mass rapes that were going on [1].
> As for crimes abroad during the period you selected, China actually annexed an entire country (Tibet).
As opposed to the US, who never annexed any countries? I wonder how the people of Hawaii would feel about that claim, or any of the people in the dozens of countries the US has bombed to rubble and left with mines and unexploded ordnance for many future generations to worry about? At least they didn't get annexed! At least most of them didn't.
> None of this is to excuse US failures to defend human rights and civil liberties, but China is in a whole different ballpark.
"Failure to defend human rights"? Wow, that's some seriously weird language you are using there to handwave away the fact how the US government didn't "accidentally" commit atrocities but in many cases committed them with full intent.
Tbh it's saddening to see these "American exceptionalism!" response on HN out of all places.
China is violating fundamental human rights of over a billion people - both Chinese nationals and others abroad who can't speak negatively of China out of fear of repression - on a daily basis due to its heavy curb on freedom of expression. Whatever restrictions western democracies have on expression cannot even begin to approach China's.
China's stance on freedom is a calamity and the magnitude and impact of its state policies is one of the great tragedies in human history.
+1 And it's worth noting that the CCP* is still actively pursuing these repressions, increasing it's extent, and unapologetic for it. Versus, for example, Steven Harper as Prime Minister of Canada in 2008 made an apology to indigenous people for the residential school program and established the TRC to progress to reconciliation.
This is a world of difference than a 2021 report of torture and sexual assault of Uyghurs[1]. I think the most damning part to western cultures is just that we were willing to go to war over this happening to Jewish people, but not willing to do it over Uyghur people.
*: (i'm careful to not say Chinese, because there's a collision with race and this is not a genetic thing, there is actually many good aspects of long standing Chinese culture!)
As for crimes abroad during the period you selected, China actually annexed an entire country (Tibet).
None of this is to excuse US failures to defend human rights and civil liberties, but China is in a whole different ballpark.