If we call art, no matter how gross, CSAM, then it removes power from actual survivor-victims. That is *our* term. That is what we went through. Uncomfortable art, no matter the intent is *not* the same. No one was traumatized to make that image.

It’s like how “triggered” was taken away from PTSD.

it just reads as a complete dismissal of empires throughout history in all parts of the world—maintaining territory and having rituals that bind people together through “imaginary” bonds is not a European invention

like at worst it’s circling back around to “Indigenous peoples as one with the earth— they’re too good for civilization” we’re all human beings. human societies shift and enact violence upon each other century after century. the us feels unique in its evil might but its not the first to Be A Nation

“relative to other nations is central to its imaginary community. The nation knows itself, claims its uniqueness, by its distinction from its others, neighbors as well as threatening enemies.” (McCan et. al 2020, pp 99)

“patriotic rituals, which are based on a naturalized and immutable formation of common blood, history, heritage, and/or language. Such myths and rituals hold the nation together, dissolving differences within its bounds as it ties together people, time, and territory. A nation’s position…”

“and places (Ashcroft et al. 1998). However, the nation itself is “an imagined community” (Anderson 1983).
Most citizens will never know or even meet most of their compatriots. However, citizens are bound together in their imaginations through national myths, holidays, and…”

this is from the Feminist Theory Reader 5th Edition from 2020 edited by Carole McCann et. al.
“Like the classification of humans by race, the idea of the nation is a product of European expansion. The nation was the entity for which the colonies were claimed; national well-being and…”