Is this opposite day?

    • spectre [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      I think I agree with this statement, but one thing that's struck me is chapos who will happily proclaim "there are concentration camps at the border" while also saying "there's nothing wrong with what's happening in Xinjiang!". Possibly comes down to a few things:

      • Some people genuinely see them as different enough that one is worse than the other (I don't really agree, though I'm pretty sure ICE camps are going to be a few notches worse in brutality)

      • People are being diseneguous for propaganda purposes (doesn't really bother me that much tbh)

      • these are two different groups of people, and nobody actually believes both of these things at the same time (I'm kinda doubtful)

      Anyway, just something I've had noodling around for a few weeks...

      • ThatsNotPraxis [he/him]
        ·
        edit-2
        4 years ago

        Yeah there’s no difference between ICE treating people seeking asylum, or just trying to live somewhere better, like literal cattle at the border, during a pandemic, and the program of de-radicalization that’s going on in Xinjiang.

          • ferristriangle [he/him]
            ·
            4 years ago

            You literally said that you don't believe these things are different enough to say that one is worse than the other.

            Filing that statement in with an actual description of both things isn't a strawman. It's a restating your argument in clear and unambiguous terms.

            If you don't like how that makes your argument look, then don't speak without investigating the issue more thoroughly beforehand.

            • spectre [he/him]
              ·
              4 years ago

              Actually, I did not say that, I actually specifically said that I think ICE camps are worse. I'm not interested in discussing "which is worse?" because we already agree on that.

              • ferristriangle [he/him]
                ·
                edit-2
                4 years ago

                Admitting that one of these things may be "a few notches worse" does not materially change the core of your argument, which was that these things are basically the same and of comparable magnitude, and that you disagree with chapos who claim that these two things are categorically different.

      • JuneFall [none/use name]
        ·
        4 years ago

        CW sexual assault

        A while ago I noticed that the Soviet Soldier raping "our" women trope was leveraged in Germany by precisely the people who were Nazis and the people after them. Who did not in any sense argue as strongly against the murder or sexual violence committed by the Nazis and such. Thus the correct take is to understand is that it is propaganda which is used to dehumanize "slavic" people and is a continuity which shall not be used.

        In a similar vein, even if countries which aren't the western core do things that I'd rather see different it would be wrong to bring those points up or compare them directly in media.

        • spectre [he/him]
          ·
          4 years ago

          Of course, I would never bring such a discussion outside of this website, lest I aid Western imperialism in any way. As long as we are among comrades though, I don't think it's an issue since it's all meaningless jerking off without any sort of power base to do literally anything about it (regardless of the outcome)

  • ferristriangle [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    This is the adults in the room giving legal cover for backing out of what is clearly a suicide mission. There's no way that America survives conflict with China at this point.

      • ferristriangle [he/him]
        ·
        4 years ago

        Yeah, but the facts have never gotten in the way any other time the US wanted to go to war.

        I'm saying that officially stating that they were "mistaken" is gonna be used as political cover for de-escalation. If the state department was still planning on going forward with some kind of conflict/intervention they'd just keep the lies coming.

        • Theblarglereflargle [any]
          ·
          edit-2
          4 years ago

          It’s literally one article and goes agaisnt what the Biden admins stance is we gotta wait and see.

          • Alaskaball [comrade/them]MA
            ·
            4 years ago

            Tfw we wake up tomorrow and read that Biden has declared there's a new "axis of evil" in the world composed of Russia, China, and Iran. :whywhywhywhywhy:

      • ssjmarx [he/him]
        ·
        4 years ago

        The state dept lawyers still called it "crimes against humanity", so it's not like they're fully backing down. That said, if what China is doing constitutes a crime against humanity, then the US has at least three major government agencies that exist solely for the purpose of committing crimes against humanity.

  • RowPin [they/them]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Damn, Biden said he was going to make some concessions to the left, but I didn't expect THIS!

      • DeepPoliSci [none/use name]
        ·
        4 years ago

        Americans have this myth in their head that genocides can be a shadowy and secret operation.

        It stems from a myth in the Holocaust Industry, where we pretend that no one knew what was going on in Nazi Germany until the camps were liberated.

        • invalidusernamelol [he/him]
          ·
          4 years ago

          Yeah, stupid WW2 movies always make it seem like a big surprise to everyone instead of a very clear and public decision. The camps weren't hidden away, they were like right outside the city and people could see them and smell them.

        • cresspacito [he/him]
          ·
          4 years ago

          Any sources to read about on this? I've only ever heard that nobody knew about (the extent of) the camps until they were liberated

    • emizeko [they/them]
      ·
      edit-2
      4 years ago

      USA: "sure we have spy satellites that can read a license plate from orbit, but this is the best we've got for you. trust us!"

  • emizeko [they/them]
    ·
    edit-2
    4 years ago

    and then they sent an angry letter to the CIA telling them to do better

  • RedLeg [he/him,any]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Once again proving that there is almost ZERO foreign policy difference between Republicans and Democrats.

  • ssjmarx [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    The U.S. State Department’s Office of the Legal Advisor concluded earlier this year that China’s mass imprisonment and forced labor of ethnic Uighurs in Xinjiang amounts to crimes against humanity—but there was insufficient evidence to prove genocide.

    It's not opposite day, what we're seeing here is a clash between the general use of the word "genocide" and the legal definition (which, and I cannot stress this enough, was written by several countries who were all guilty of committing genocides).

  • GrandAyatollaLenin [he/him,comrade/them]
    ·
    4 years ago

    then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Jan. 19, one day before U.S. President Donald Trump’s presidency ended, that China was carrying out a genocide against Chinese Muslims,

    The Trump administration really tried to blow every bridge on their way out.

  • snackage [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    The State department doesn't know what the CIA is doing.

  • queenjamie [none/use name]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Curious how Current Affairs will handle this, considering their abysmal article about the topic recently.

  • fed [none/use name]
    ·
    4 years ago

    The UN definition for genocide is pretty simple, one must be physically murdering a specific ethnic, racial or religious group of people. Cultural destruction or simply depriving people of food does not constitute genocide. (not saying that china is doing that)