TEHRAN, January 20 (MNA) – An American historian says double standards of the West on issues such as human rights are a means to justify the exploitation of the imperialist bloc.Following the recent protests in the US Capitol, social media rushed to condemn the violence, while, as history shows, this is not a measure that they had adopted in similar violent protests elsewhere in the world, especially in the West Asian region. Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and others imposed a ban on content that would entice violence and even blocked the account of US President Donald Trump, however, the same media platforms have been a tool to fuel protests in specific countries. “Double standards exist to justify exploitative practices by the imperialist bloc, so as the unwary will normalize this hypocrisy,” Gerald Horne, professor of African American Studies at the University of Houston, told Mehr News Agency in an exclusive interview. The outcry of the West over the Capitol protests comes as they have been seen to keep silent over suppressive measures of some undemocratic monarchies of the Persian Gulf region.

“They keep quiet for financial and geo-strategic reasons,” Horne highlighted. “The US state and particular leaders, e.g.

Trump family, have become heavily dependent on largesse from Persian Gulf monarchies,” the professor added. Interview by Mohammad Ali Haqshenas