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That the west allows unrestricted criticism of its own leaders shows strength - the governments aren’t afraid to be criticized. That China and other authoritar
by seibelj 4y ago
That the west allows unrestricted criticism of its own leaders shows strength - the governments aren’t afraid to be criticized.
That China and other authoritarian dictatorships are so obsessed with policing every last morsel of criticism shows weakness and intense paranoia. They are led by rulers deeply fearful about their own people and worried about their own legitimacy.
- mc32 4y agoMaybe there is a little of that. I think it mostly boils down to wanting to control the narrative. _Everyone_ wants to control narrative. Especially people who think they are right. People in power, leaders, managers, unions, workers, parents, kids... all, absolutely every last one wants to control narrative. It's relatively cheap and effective.
- zen_1 4y ago>_Everyone_ wants to control narrative. At least the marketplace of ideas types tend to want to control the narrative by having the most compelling arguments, while the CCP (and other authoritarians) are clearly above such nonsense.
- philliphaydon 4y agoSo they just want to control the narrative without any arguments?
- zen_1 4y agoWell their (CCP's) compulsion is entirely irrelevant to whatever arguments they're pushing.
- mc32 4y agoI don't think so. No. Often the arguments are won by omitting any counterarguments and by framing.
- hahapropa 4y ago
- nemo44x 4y agoAre you kidding me? The entire point of cancel culture criticism is that it (the dominant culture that cancels) is obsessed with policing language and thought and is in fact very sensitive to being criticized. It’s not just China that has this issue.
- seibelj 4y ago
- sircastor 4y agoYes, but cancel culture is a product of the people, not the government. While it may be misguided sometimes, it’s not the government entity stopping individuals from expressing an unacceptable opinion.
- nemo44x 4y agoIt might as well be.
- pertymcpert 4y agoIt’s fundamentally different.
- mc32 4y agoPerhaps outside cancel culture phenomena; but we did see the government attempt to control the narrative around Covid (and other thot button topics) and encouraged and continues to encourage algorithmic and manual overrides for social media and search companies.
- pyuser583 4y agoIf I actually felt “cancel culture” was organically “by the people” I’d feel a lot better about it. As it stands, it’s used by massive corporations to market products. To quote a recent tweet: “There is ZERO place for #racism or bigotry in fandom, whether it’s #StarTrek or #StarWars. Moses Ingram and her role as Third Sister has just as much place in the stories we love as any other actor or character. Stop the hate. #Reva #MosesIngram.” Compare the level of outrage to the level of outrage of Chinas human rights violations. Or Americas, for that matter. A slight against a racial minority who stars in a currently promoted tv show will bring more “cancellation” than running a concentration camp.
- juanani 4y ago