https://twitter.com/jacobin/status/1602849606034915331
Written by another white dude in Canada talking about "authoritarianism"
No but you see, if voting doesn't work exactly like it does in western "democracies" it just doesn't count sweaty
America doesn’t even have an election system that works exactly like western democracies
Chinese and DPRK citizens vote in the same party for half a century: bad, undemocratic, authoritarian
Japanese and Singaporean citizens both in the same party for half a century: good, democratic, free
No, no, they're demanding an "end to COVID testing/quarantine AND freedom of speech/right to vote".
If we don’t let the nazis do rallies is this really a good country?
Because it is not a consistent belief, nor does it ever actually result in a "freedom" of speech. Plenty of studies have shown that when someone is allowed to speak hatred in front of minorities, especially unempowered ones, it leads to a silencing of those people.
Plenty of studies have shown that when someone is allowed to speak hatred in front of minorities, especially unempowered ones, it leads to a silencing of those people.
That sounds very interesting. I'd love to read them. Which ones do you recommend?
I disagree that it's a dumb idea, but in a political economy dominated by the profit motive, it can never really work the way it's theoretically supposed to. IMO, the real ideal of free speech would be to have an opinion show network where the likes of Alex Jones and Tucker Carlson and Rachel Maddow would share space with people like Norman Finkelstein and Louis Farrakhan and Michael Parenti and whoever else. But that would never really happen under our current system.
Not... really. Treating a bunch of snake oil salesmen as being of equal worthiness as actual professors is a good way to convince the audience to listen to the snake oil salesmen. Don't even give them the time of day.
Snake oil salesman already have a larger reach than actual professors under our current system. Giving them equal reach would be an improvement.
Lmao you can't even get to the end of your first sentence without agreeing that we shouldn't have free speech
Ok fed. "Solidarity with the protestors" in your deleted comment lmao. You bleach demons sure do like "free speech" that will lead to the death of millions.
Those poor people don't have the freedom to drown in their own lung fluid and force other people to drown in their own lung fluid :cri:
Don't they select representatives? Like how is that not identical to what we do?
Also lol it's like 4 people in this pic, guess we really are in a recession :fed-sad-kelly:
Yeah, but the difference is when I ask my family back in China how they're doing there's always a noticeable trend of improvement. It's very refreshing when I talk to them and they actually have hope for the future while I'm just waiting for the day I have to grab my SKS and run off into the forest to avoid the anti Chinese lynch mobs.
There's also the fact that it feels like western "democracy" is especially oriented to the theater of democracy in which abstractive talking points create spectacular ratings but the outcome is damn near 80-90% the same minus whether or not the elected official is regular racist/homophobic/transphobic or a super mega phobe towards anyone not :lmayo:
You don’t.
Any Chinese citizen can run for the National People’s Congress and most members aren’t in the CPC to the extent it’s problematic. The average net worth of an NPC member is in the hundreds of millions of USD.
The combined net worth is around 500 billion USD (or at least it was in 2019, it’s probably higher now, the pandemic was a feast for billionaires and the US has had worse inflation than China) and there are just under 3000 members.
Not a surprise. The Shanghai cliche from Jiang and communist youth leagues faction from Hu own quite amount of real estate, which is why Xi purge them and don’t lets them hold much importance position from recent Congress
And who give a f*ck about voting when nothing change. Chinese want to see results, not vote on promise like idiot west
Pretty sure they just meant that Chinese citizens do vote, but that it's funny Westoids harp on about the right to vote when it doesn't do shit in their own countries.
That's why I read this as "protesters are demanding an end . . . to the right to vote" at first.
freedom of speech and the right to vote
In the US, neither of these things are actually valued or protected by the ruling class or its enforcers. :joker-amerikkklap:
We have free speech in the US only because it isn't a threat to power. The moment it does become a threat it will be immediately revoked.
With the ever increasing efficiency of surveillance they can just make it more difficult to say things they don't like, or to find others who agree. We joke about :fedposting: but most of us probably really are on a list or 3.
Only I, a white man, can explain to you the mysterious ways of exotic East Chinesia
Western media started covering the protests two weeks after the protests started and are still covering them after the protests have already ended. It goes to show how out of touch they are with China on top of just being imperialist stenographers.
In America, peoples demand to reduce police funding and end police brutality. But that doesn’t happen, why don’t you look at yourself first you scum bag.
My favorite part is that the official, high minded liberal reason for why China isn't Democratic is that people can't directly vote for President.
Ah yes hmm very undemocratic.
I wonder if American citizens can vote directly for president 🤔
I mean, Jacobin types would probably agree that America isn't a democracy.
