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It's easier to condition a population to abuse if they're isolated from the rest of civil society. This is just as true of abusive interpersonal relationships.
by ecocentrik 5y ago
It's easier to condition a population to abuse if they're isolated from the rest of civil society. This is just as true of abusive interpersonal relationships. Keeping outsiders out is just as important to authoritarian states as keeping people in because outsiders make it difficult to control the narrative.
- WalterBright 5y agoI've seen the Wall in its heyday. The defenses all pointed to the East, not the West. It's unmistakable. BTW, not a single person was shot trying to "escape" to the East. At least, I've never heard of one. AFAIK, nobody even tried.
- Gibbon1 5y agoGot to say the parent should get a prize for finding anyone that thought the wall was to keep people out East Berlin. In the 50's East Germany lost a couple of million people who were done with the East Germans Police State. What's to like, the thing was basically run by ex-Prussian, ex-Nazi, now Communist dickheads. I think was it Willy Brandt who said something along the lines of not being unhappy with Prussia being on the other side of the line.
- ecocentrik 5y agoI get it and believe me I was not trying to underplay the brutality of East German government under the Soviets or the risks people are willing to take to escape authoritarian countries.