Plenty of Western and international sources claim that nothing happened in Tianamen Square that night.
Those sources do often claim that violence did occur elsewhere and I honestly wouldn't put it past any military or police group to use violence if they can get away with it but it's certainly not as set in stone as you might think.
It's also important to note that governments can often be so segmented in control that soldiers firing on a group won't always be representative of command. For all the deaths and murders that are accountable to the US government in the Middle East, there's also no doubt plenty of murders that were done by more rogue soldiers and squads all promising each other not to tell the higher ups.
So we would want internal documents and communications between higher-ups of the military and the Chinese government at the time to determine intents.
There's certainly a lot of evidence suggesting that there was some pretty violent military action going down, but the details aren't really set in stone at all.
Generally? Cops can be less bastards but they're going to default to being shit the large large majority of the time just due to the position and the offen unchecked (sometimes impossible to check) positions of power they can be in.
Like sadist types are always going to be attracted to that sort of role and they're always going to have situations where they beat up and abuse people while their buddies look the other way.
The idea of a communist state as being perfection free from human evils is just absurdity.
This assumes that we can and eventually will go full communism which is a nice assumption to make but never guaranteed.
Also hopefully we can make other structural changes that better accounts for these issues, how things like the economy functions is only one part of overall life.
Like let's say Life is 50 different pieces, making one or two pieces good doesn't mean that all pieces will just fall into place.
generally cops in the imperial core/western/capitalist country protect the wealth and wealthy, in communist/leftist countries the cops are there to protect the people.
If one believes the PRC is trying to act towards the benefit of humanity, people who work under the direction of the state will be working towards the state’s causes. On this basis, it makes sense to say Chinese cops are not all bastards.
So, on the other hand, if one believes that the US Government (state/local, in the case of the Police) are working towards the benefit of humanity, then are they justified in saying that not all American cops are bastards?
A State is State is State, and all states believe they're working toward the good of humanity.
“Does being a cop in China give one the ability to exercise cruel control over local civilians with a degree of impunity?” In some places, maybe so. In others, probably not, on the basis that cops have way less leeway to behave abusively [at least in some parts of China] than cops do just about anywhere in America.
I would say that cops in San Francisco have a different level of leeway to behave abusively than cops in Florida or the rest of the South do.
you’re one of those liberals that will readily denounce the US while parroting its propaganda
First of all, I resent you calling me a liberal. I am a leftist. One can be a leftist without being a tankie.
Secondly, there is a kernel of truth in almost every bit of propaganda. That's how you get good propaganda.
state officials often lie
Like when China says they had zero covid deaths yesterday?
I think most politicians, being paid to vote and legislate the way they do, are probably not terribly concerned with the morality of their actions, otherwise they probably would not be auctioning their loyalty.
I agree with that.
My argument had to do with the reader’s own evaluation of a state, not the state’s evaluation of itself.
My point is that the purpose of the formation of any state/government is always to "work toward the good of the people of the state". No matter if the policies of that state are objectively moral or immoral, the intention is always benevolent, and often genuinely so.
Plenty of Western and international sources claim that nothing happened in Tianamen Square that night.
Those sources do often claim that violence did occur elsewhere and I honestly wouldn't put it past any military or police group to use violence if they can get away with it but it's certainly not as set in stone as you might think.
It's also important to note that governments can often be so segmented in control that soldiers firing on a group won't always be representative of command. For all the deaths and murders that are accountable to the US government in the Middle East, there's also no doubt plenty of murders that were done by more rogue soldiers and squads all promising each other not to tell the higher ups.
So we would want internal documents and communications between higher-ups of the military and the Chinese government at the time to determine intents.
There's certainly a lot of evidence suggesting that there was some pretty violent military action going down, but the details aren't really set in stone at all.
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Makes sense. So - here's a question for you... are all cops bastards even when they're communist cops?
Generally? Cops can be less bastards but they're going to default to being shit the large large majority of the time just due to the position and the offen unchecked (sometimes impossible to check) positions of power they can be in.
Like sadist types are always going to be attracted to that sort of role and they're always going to have situations where they beat up and abuse people while their buddies look the other way.
The idea of a communist state as being perfection free from human evils is just absurdity.
Makes sense. So when we eventually DO go full-communism, it's still going to be ok to say ACAB? Right?
This assumes that we can and eventually will go full communism which is a nice assumption to make but never guaranteed.
Also hopefully we can make other structural changes that better accounts for these issues, how things like the economy functions is only one part of overall life.
Like let's say Life is 50 different pieces, making one or two pieces good doesn't mean that all pieces will just fall into place.
Kinda like allowing child labor to flourish and billionaires to exist, and to empower western billionaires... but somehow they're "on a leash"?
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That's a good start. They've got at least 400 more to go .
generally cops in the imperial core/western/capitalist country protect the wealth and wealthy, in communist/leftist countries the cops are there to protect the people.
Oh, like this?
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So, on the other hand, if one believes that the US Government (state/local, in the case of the Police) are working towards the benefit of humanity, then are they justified in saying that not all American cops are bastards?
A State is State is State, and all states believe they're working toward the good of humanity.
I would say that cops in San Francisco have a different level of leeway to behave abusively than cops in Florida or the rest of the South do.
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First of all, I resent you calling me a liberal. I am a leftist. One can be a leftist without being a tankie.
Secondly, there is a kernel of truth in almost every bit of propaganda. That's how you get good propaganda.
Like when China says they had zero covid deaths yesterday?
I agree with that.
My point is that the purpose of the formation of any state/government is always to "work toward the good of the people of the state". No matter if the policies of that state are objectively moral or immoral, the intention is always benevolent, and often genuinely so.
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The type of person that becomes a cop is always gonna be a bastard
I agree with you there.
Yeah. All means all.