• UnicodeHamSic [he/him]
    hexbear
    18
    10 months ago

    And by blind. You mean checking the numbers on us propaganda and realize it is lies written in blood?

    • @LittleLordLimerick@lemm.ee
      hexbear
      5
      10 months ago

      See that’s the thing: the fact that the west lies doesn’t mean that the east tells the truth. You are heavily skeptical of what the west has to say (good) but mostly uncritical of what any communist government has to say (bad).

      Capitalist countries have done horrible things, but so have self-proclaimed communist countries

      • UnicodeHamSic [he/him]
        hexbear
        14
        10 months ago

        I have entire history books about how the west lies.

        There is not a similar body of data about the loss of the east. Is it perfect? No. Do we have any reason to belive they are as bad or bad in the same kind of way as the people who oppose them? No.

        • Joe@discuss.tchncs.de
          hexbear
          1
          edit-2
          10 months ago

          General note: Most authors publishing critical material of the west in the (free speech) west don't get silenced (edit: although professional blacklisting is all too common). Yes, I'm sure there are exceptions. You might not want to do that openly in China, Iran, or Russia these days, because the risks are well known/accepted. It definitely makes life harder for scholars and historians.

          • UnicodeHamSic [he/him]
            hexbear
            2
            edit-2
            10 months ago

            Do you have any evidence of China suppressing criticism? We know the western media openly brags about making up stories about the east.

            I can find plenty of stories of publishing houses declining to publish material. That is effectively censorship but because it is done by a company we don't care

            Russia and Iran are more like the US than China so considering them as one unit is not helpful.

            • Joe@discuss.tchncs.de
              hexbear
              1
              edit-2
              10 months ago

              China seems to be far more about censorship and self-censorship. When public figures disappear from the public eye, they often reappear at some point. I hold great hopes for China's future, and its potential as a successful & peaceful role model. Xi worries me a bit though.

              • UnicodeHamSic [he/him]
                hexbear
                1
                10 months ago

                They are not liberals. Here in America the anivaxx movement has kill tens of thousands to millions depending on how you do the math. In a better world stuff like that would have been censored. It only causes hardship and wastes resources. China does censor stuff like that. Now, does China have boomers that take that instinct too far? Probably. However they don't have school shooters ever single day. They have 3x the population of us and that doesn't happen there. So something is working there and something isn't working here. A full rejection of their system is silly given how well it seems to work for most of them most of the time. Especially since, in every single case we can observe our system failing us most of the time.

                • Joe@discuss.tchncs.de
                  hexbear
                  1
                  10 months ago

                  I'd rather have big fat warning labels than censorship, to be honest. The issue is that many governments and people end up in a spiral of distrust & broken trust (justified or not).

                  Covid was/is a shitshow though. Where was the world class PsyOps then? Perhaps too busy scaring the hell out of everyone to notice that it might not be the smartest strategy.

                  • UnicodeHamSic [he/him]
                    hexbear
                    1
                    edit-2
                    10 months ago

                    I know you want that. I want to eat cookies for breakfast. Some things just aren't good for you however. Ask any person drowning to death in their own lungs if they were happy they had the freedom to choose to smoke. Given a sober assessment of the situation they would have chosen other than their wants. The world would be better if cigarettes were banned. Their blood is on the hands of the people who gave them freedom they weren't responsible enough to handle. Science has proven we are not fully rational creatures. We have biases and we need to protect and take care of eachother as we can to prevent that from causing harm.

                    The psyop around covid was to keep people from masks and vaccines. The million plus dead prove that was very successful.

                • Joe@discuss.tchncs.de
                  hexbear
                  1
                  10 months ago

                  Oh, and lots of countries don't have school shootings every day. That is a US speciality, it seems. But it feels to me like youth violence is trending up in parts of Europe too. Not necessarily in school though. Schools can tend toward prison-like atmospheres at the best of times - maybe it's worse in the US? I can't speak with any authority on the US though.