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Sure. But that's not because of freedom of speech. And I think this is a discussion related to freedom of speech rather than the more subjective and infinitely
by vnchr 7y ago
Sure. But that's not because of freedom of speech. And I think this is a discussion related to freedom of speech rather than the more subjective and infinitely broad, "Which is better: China or America?"
I can safely criticize my country and its officials because I am not a Chinese citizen.
- par4crsei 7y agoTry protesting Trump in front of the White House. Odds are you won’t even risk seeing how free your speech is. That’s the difference in America: most wont bother cause for most it’s fine. A lot of Chinese as a percentage of the population can say the same. I think fewer Americans are inclined to try and test it, more so than it being true. Look at the pipeline situation, campus protests, etc of the last five years. Police beatings and pepper spray in the face. That’s what happens when people stand and sit around in protest. Put together a protest on the scale of Hong Kong’s in NYC or LA. See how it goes. TL;DR it’s more explicit in China because they actually stand up more frequently than Americans. And as a percentage of our population we have more people in jail for minor drug possession related offenses. That’s seen as a tacit protest of government law and you’re put in the clink. Predetermined outcomes written into law plainly, we’ve all just normalized to.
- vnchr 7y agoLots of people protest Trump at the White House. Like, a lot. It’s cool. People call him out on Twitter constantly. No repercussions. Lots of organized protests, most of them complaining about him. No consequences for the protesting. Seriously, I can mail a letter telling my President that I think he’s shit, and there are no consequences. Freedom. Now, if I say something even vaguely threatening in that letter, the Secret Service will pay me a visit. And I’d feel uncomfortable. But that’s appropriate threat assessment. We don’t arrest our people for criticizing leaders. That’s a protected right. I’ll make a bet: you and I will both send the same insulting, critical letters to our respective national leaders, and I bet that I will suffer no consequences provided that the content is of a non-threatening nature whereas you may not be so lucky. In that respect, I have the opportunity to contribute to the public discourse that is necessary for my nation to progress. I can openly disagree with my leaders, and that is the very means for change in both who will lead and where we will go.
- par4crsei 7y agoRight, casually downvote literal behaviors of our government as if they’re being presented out of context. Cherry pick to support ones argument by omission. For a forum of “disrupters” it likes to remain politically milquetoast. I guess when you’re looking to simply disrupt how much money others have in their account, disrupting the political status quo that enables the gambling risks the game. So what about the things I brought up. Got disruption to do. Guess I’ll have to be the “politically unreasonable man” alone. Nothing exposes weakness like being a single minded doofus. Like Adam Smith warned, extreme division of labor will make for a mighty brain dead and easily manipulated public. Stick to your lane.