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The threat that I worry the most about vis-a-vis America is not Russia, it’s not China, it’s not any other external actor. What I worry about is the threat from
by blitzar 2y ago
The threat that I worry the most about vis-a-vis America is not Russia, it’s not China, it’s not any other external actor. What I worry about is the threat from within. The retreat of America from some of its most fundamental values: values shared with Europe.
Free speech, I fear, is in retreat.
- Hermel 2y agoFree speech is much more restricted in Europe than in de United States.
- dongdongdong 2y ago[flagged]
- orwin 2y ago> What I worry about is the threat from within. I'm not judging or anything, but this is typically the mythos of far-right movements. Basically "we are superior to our external adversaries, but the internal enemy prevent us from beating them". This is sightly different, but you should really assess your fears and try to see if this "threat from within" is really that threatening. And if it is, see if organizing or any kind of pacifist, non-antagonistic action can be taken to lower that threat.
- johnnyanmac 2y ago>This is sightly different, but you should really assess your fears and try to see if this "threat from within" is really that threatening. yes, it is. >see if organizing or any kind of pacifist, non-antagonistic action can be taken to lower that threat. Being done in real time. Sadly, peaceful protests are not as fast as a bullet. I just gotta keep the pressure up.
- starspangled 2y agoSeems like a typical mythos of most political movements these days, doesn't it? E.g., "the far-right is our greatest threat". And it's said that e.g., Russia themselves is no great threat, they're basically an incompetent tinpot dictatorship with a ramshackle military easily beaten by us / our allies. It is the traitors within who "collude with Putin" who are the real problem.
- sjsdaiuasgdia 2y agoIntolerant groups are a special problem for societies that wish to be tolerant. A tolerant society must be specifically intolerant of the intolerant to keep being a tolerant society. It's a required bit of looking within to maintain a tolerant society. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance
- starspangled 2y agoI wasn't commentating on the rationale behind the thinking or whether it is right or not, just that the idea of the internal enemy is not owned by any one political persuasion. Though I'm sure right-wing groups believe themselves to be tolerant of one-another and their allies and others with similar aims, and that groups that oppose them are intolerant and therefore must be met with intolerance. The paradox of the paradox of tolerance is that you can't claim tolerance by excusing your intolerance with the paradox of tolerance. Or said another way, one man's tolerance is another's intolerance.
- sjsdaiuasgdia 2y agoNah. The side that actively spouts racist, misogynistic, homophobic, and anti-trans positions is pretty clearly the intolerant one. This is not hard to see unless one is being willfully blind. Which is especially funny given this conversation is happening in response to giving Grok an intentional blind spot.
- starspangled 2y ago
- starspangled 2y agoLooks like the old "they're a private company, they can do what they want" chestnut is coming back around. Who could possibly have predicted this would ever happen?
- archagon 2y agoExcept it’s on the verge of becoming the government’s de facto social media (and eventually payment…?) platform.
- starspangled 2y agoThere's n except about it. It was previously on the verge of becoming the governments's de facto censorship and propaganda platform. But apparently it was a private company and could do what it wanted. People really should have thought a bit harder about that one.
- blitzar 2y ago> People really should have thought a bit harder about that one. The peole who said it didnt matter if it was a private platform, free speech absolutism is absolute should also have thought about it a bit harder too.
- techorange 2y agoAre you trying to imply that some group of people you are skeptical of supported limitations on free speech with the defense that they’re a private company they can do what they want, and now a different company is doing the same thing and that was a foreseeable consequence?