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Well, I'm more concerned about my platform being subject to the control of my own government. Because I don't care very much about foreign governments given I h

Well, I'm more concerned about my platform being subject to the control of my own government. Because I don't care very much about foreign governments given I happen to be a western citizen that has nothing to do with that countries. But what about ours, do you think our government is better than theirs? For how long?

jeanvalmarc 6y ago
> do you think our government is better than theirs? For how long? America has problems, but your order-of-magnitude calibration is way off if you think a concentration-camp operating (i.e. the real kind with over a million people who committed no crime and are held just for their beliefs and culture) expansionist (Hong Kong, Tibet, Taiwan) totalitarian (speech is monitored and punished in a "go to prison, right away" manner rather than "twitter deleted my racist shit and nothing else happened to me" way) government. So yes, occasionally ineffective democracies that value human rights and freedoms (i.e. the west) is better than the CCP government, and will continue to be better now and into the foreseeable future.
- sukilot 6y ago
  On a per capita basis, the US has more people in prison than there are Uyghurs in Chinese camps and Chinese residents in prison combined. The US invaded Iraq for oil colonization.
  - Larrikin 6y ago
    Your whataboutism didn't mention the ongoing protests that are working to fix the problems you're referencing which would never be allowed in China.
- severino 6y ago
  Yes, you're right. My mistake was talking about better/worse governments, while we don't have to choose at all. I should rephrase it as: is our government good? I'm sure nobody can say it is, whichever government it may be. So that's why I find uncomfortable to hand all my data over to the ruling party in my country, while I don't care what a random CCP functionary can learn about the cafeterias I frequently go to.
SiVal 6y ago
do you think our government is better than theirs? Can't answer specifically without knowing who "ours" and "theirs" are, but I can answer generically. Governments that hold elections where more than one genuinely competing party can win if enough voters want to vote for them are better than governments that declare themselves the rulers. Governments that defend the rights of people to express genuinely competing opinions, regardless of who agrees or disagrees, are better than governments that use or enable coercion to silence opinions they don't want people to hear. Governments that use pervasive surveillance to monitor and punish people for thought crimes, where having or expressing forbidden opinions is treated as an actual "crime", are worse than governments that don't. There is clearly a spectrum, and though my Chinese relatives keep pointing out how many US institutions are coming to resemble the Marxist institutions and people resemble the Red Guards they remember, the actual government of China is still far worse. "Since we, the CCP, are the People's Gov't, there is no further need for elections, and anyone who disagrees is an Enemy of The People, needs to be discovered, and deserves to be punished for that crime."

jeanvalmarc 6y ago

> do you think our government is better than theirs? For how long? America has problems, but your order-of-magnitude calibration is way off if you think a concentration-camp operating (i.e. the real kind with over a million people who committed no crime and are held just for their beliefs and culture) expansionist (Hong Kong, Tibet, Taiwan) totalitarian (speech is monitored and punished in a "go to prison, right away" manner rather than "twitter deleted my racist shit and nothing else happened to me" way) government. So yes, occasionally ineffective democracies that value human rights and freedoms (i.e. the west) is better than the CCP government, and will continue to be better now and into the foreseeable future.

sukilot 6y ago
On a per capita basis, the US has more people in prison than there are Uyghurs in Chinese camps and Chinese residents in prison combined. The US invaded Iraq for oil colonization.
- Larrikin 6y ago
  Your whataboutism didn't mention the ongoing protests that are working to fix the problems you're referencing which would never be allowed in China.
severino 6y ago
Yes, you're right. My mistake was talking about better/worse governments, while we don't have to choose at all. I should rephrase it as: is our government good? I'm sure nobody can say it is, whichever government it may be. So that's why I find uncomfortable to hand all my data over to the ruling party in my country, while I don't care what a random CCP functionary can learn about the cafeterias I frequently go to.

SiVal 6y ago

do you think our government is better than theirs? Can't answer specifically without knowing who "ours" and "theirs" are, but I can answer generically. Governments that hold elections where more than one genuinely competing party can win if enough voters want to vote for them are better than governments that declare themselves the rulers. Governments that defend the rights of people to express genuinely competing opinions, regardless of who agrees or disagrees, are better than governments that use or enable coercion to silence opinions they don't want people to hear. Governments that use pervasive surveillance to monitor and punish people for thought crimes, where having or expressing forbidden opinions is treated as an actual "crime", are worse than governments that don't. There is clearly a spectrum, and though my Chinese relatives keep pointing out how many US institutions are coming to resemble the Marxist institutions and people resemble the Red Guards they remember, the actual government of China is still far worse. "Since we, the CCP, are the People's Gov't, there is no further need for elections, and anyone who disagrees is an Enemy of The People, needs to be discovered, and deserves to be punished for that crime."