6 ms·

Authoritarian regimes often punish scape goats to appease public.

by keymone 7y ago

tartoran 7y ago
Thats a known tactic of authoritarian regimes. And people don’t get it, they’re brainwashed and powerless
- wefarrell 7y ago
  It's human nature and isn't unique to authoritarian societies. People prefer to know that a problem was caused by a villain rather than a systemic failure. Authoritarians are particularly good at getting people to take the blame.
  - keanzu 7y ago
    > Authoritarians are particularly good at getting people to take the blame. Everyone is guilty of something, you can get people to take the blame for things they didn't do even in a democracy. "Most of the defendants were persuaded that they had repressed memories of the crime." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Six https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Six
allovernow 7y ago
Good point. I hadn't considered that. What a terrifying way to live - serving your government knowing that at any point you may be thrown under the bus for following orders.
- SolaceQuantum 7y ago
  As long as you're not the scapegoat you're in a position of power relative to the proles, though.
- timc13 7y ago
  see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Vindman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Vindman
  - davidw 7y ago
    Indeed, I feel terrified these days. I'm old enough to have seen various administrations, but nothing quite like this in scope and quantity.
  - jedmeyers 7y ago
    Which orders did Vindman follow and later was punished for, exactly? I would actually put Snowden as an example of a regime punishing the whistleblower.
    - keanzu 7y ago
      Snowden didn't follow the orders to the letter and then get punished. He wasn't a scapegoat for following a broad government policy which later became inconvenient/unpopular. He became an enemy of the state for opposing a government policy.
    - seppin 7y ago
      Snowden famously avoided any type of punishment by fleeing. Vindman was fired but will surely land on his feet somewhere.
      - jedmeyers 7y ago
        > Vindman was fired but will surely land on his feet somewhere. Was he "fired" or just reassigned? As far as I understand he is still an officer in the armed forces.
        davidw 7y ago
        The admin is now making noise about 'disciplinary action' against him, I read just now. That seems to be very recent, so we'll see if it's the full story. FWIW, his brother was turfed out, too.

Authoritarian regimes often punish scape goats to appease public.

tartoran 7y ago

Thats a known tactic of authoritarian regimes. And people don’t get it, they’re brainwashed and powerless

wefarrell 7y ago
It's human nature and isn't unique to authoritarian societies. People prefer to know that a problem was caused by a villain rather than a systemic failure. Authoritarians are particularly good at getting people to take the blame.
- keanzu 7y ago
  > Authoritarians are particularly good at getting people to take the blame. Everyone is guilty of something, you can get people to take the blame for things they didn't do even in a democracy. "Most of the defendants were persuaded that they had repressed memories of the crime." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Six https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Six

allovernow 7y ago

Good point. I hadn't considered that. What a terrifying way to live - serving your government knowing that at any point you may be thrown under the bus for following orders.

SolaceQuantum 7y ago
As long as you're not the scapegoat you're in a position of power relative to the proles, though.
timc13 7y ago
see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Vindman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Vindman
- davidw 7y ago
  Indeed, I feel terrified these days. I'm old enough to have seen various administrations, but nothing quite like this in scope and quantity.
- jedmeyers 7y ago
  Which orders did Vindman follow and later was punished for, exactly? I would actually put Snowden as an example of a regime punishing the whistleblower.
  - keanzu 7y ago
    Snowden didn't follow the orders to the letter and then get punished. He wasn't a scapegoat for following a broad government policy which later became inconvenient/unpopular. He became an enemy of the state for opposing a government policy.
  - seppin 7y ago
    Snowden famously avoided any type of punishment by fleeing. Vindman was fired but will surely land on his feet somewhere.
    - jedmeyers 7y ago
      > Vindman was fired but will surely land on his feet somewhere. Was he "fired" or just reassigned? As far as I understand he is still an officer in the armed forces.
      - davidw 7y ago
        The admin is now making noise about 'disciplinary action' against him, I read just now. That seems to be very recent, so we'll see if it's the full story. FWIW, his brother was turfed out, too.