I don't think this is flamebait/unsubstantive. A decent part of German population has first-hand experience with living in an overt mass surveillance state tha

I don't think this is flamebait/unsubstantive. A decent part of German population has first-hand experience with living in an overt mass surveillance state that people in the US do not have. As such, we can expect Germans to be more aware of surveillance issues, simply because many have seen where that road leads (while we in the US have not). The parent message is akin to saying that one should take advice on workplace safety from a person injured at work seriously due to them having first-hand experience of the consequence.