4 ms·

Hope this shoots the CCP in the foot. The interwebs are awash w/ the latest US election results, and viral youtube videos of Obama thanking his young twentys

by caycep 14y ago

Hope this shoots the CCP in the foot. The interwebs are awash w/ the latest US election results, and viral youtube videos of Obama thanking his young twentysomething campaign staffers. To give young Chinese such a glimpse of this and then brutally remind them that they don't have such luxuries of idealism and empowerment just highlights the failings of the CCP system even more...

Volpe 14y ago
A glimpse of what? That money buys power, and the "shining light" of democracy is just a plutocracy much like their own system... That IS brutal, but not in the way you think.
aes256 14y ago
> The interwebs are awash w/ the latest US election results, and viral youtube videos of Obama thanking his young twentysomething campaign staffers. Strangely enough, those kind of images remind me of a Chinese-style dictatorship. Legions of apparently adoring fans worshipping their benevolent leader, chanting slogans, etc. To the rest of the world, the presidential election is a reminder of everything that is wrong with America.
- wololo 14y ago
  you're from the UK, right? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britishness http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britishness In November 2007 The Times' Comment Central asked readers to define Britishness in five little words. The winning suggestion was "No motto please, we're British."
  - aes256 14y ago
    Not sure how this is relevant?
    - wololo 14y ago
      I'm sorry, what I meant was that (stereotype warning) the British are particularly cynical-reserved about putting your identity/politics on your sleeve, and the Americans are the opposite, so part of your disgust might be from cultural differences or to further quote, “The point I was making is, this idea of a statement of Britishness; I cannot think of anything less British than that,” said 25-year-old David Bishop, author of the winning motto.
seanmcdirmid 14y ago
They don't care about their international image. Wondering in the press on why "the world doesn't trust China" is a complete red herring, they really don't care and think they are in a strong enough position not to care. Everything went downhill after the 2008 Olympics, I mean, Twitter, Facebook, everything was open before that. Now? Its getting worse and worse every month.
caycep 14y ago
I know there is a tendency to be cynical, but I think a lot can be said about the following: The public appearances of the President as well as the candidates are not sycophantic party propaganda. While the Wen Jiabiao's and Hu Jintao's of the world are lionized in The People's Daily and other party organs, the US media regularly shows American officials getting grilled or having to explain one thing or another. That not only are critical things said of Obama regularly in print or on air, but also often horrendous things from his opponents, and who can "get away with it" (meaning, no trip to a labor reeducation camp), says volumes. Yes, this is a bit of a lionizing Obama video, but can you picture Xi Jiping doing anything this candid to his supporters? The whole idea of young students eagerly volunteering for a candidate they believe in is unheard of in China: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBK2rfZt32g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBK2rfZt32g And: despite the whole money thing. Yeah, it's bad, the problem definitely exists, etc etc. But the Super PACs lost and Karl Rove melted down on TV.

by caycep 14y ago

Volpe 14y ago

A glimpse of what? That money buys power, and the "shining light" of democracy is just a plutocracy much like their own system... That IS brutal, but not in the way you think.

aes256 14y ago

> The interwebs are awash w/ the latest US election results, and viral youtube videos of Obama thanking his young twentysomething campaign staffers. Strangely enough, those kind of images remind me of a Chinese-style dictatorship. Legions of apparently adoring fans worshipping their benevolent leader, chanting slogans, etc. To the rest of the world, the presidential election is a reminder of everything that is wrong with America.

wololo 14y ago
you're from the UK, right? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britishness http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britishness In November 2007 The Times' Comment Central asked readers to define Britishness in five little words. The winning suggestion was "No motto please, we're British."
- aes256 14y ago
  Not sure how this is relevant?
  - wololo 14y ago
    I'm sorry, what I meant was that (stereotype warning) the British are particularly cynical-reserved about putting your identity/politics on your sleeve, and the Americans are the opposite, so part of your disgust might be from cultural differences or to further quote, “The point I was making is, this idea of a statement of Britishness; I cannot think of anything less British than that,” said 25-year-old David Bishop, author of the winning motto.

seanmcdirmid 14y ago

They don't care about their international image. Wondering in the press on why "the world doesn't trust China" is a complete red herring, they really don't care and think they are in a strong enough position not to care. Everything went downhill after the 2008 Olympics, I mean, Twitter, Facebook, everything was open before that. Now? Its getting worse and worse every month.

caycep 14y ago

I know there is a tendency to be cynical, but I think a lot can be said about the following: The public appearances of the President as well as the candidates are not sycophantic party propaganda. While the Wen Jiabiao's and Hu Jintao's of the world are lionized in The People's Daily and other party organs, the US media regularly shows American officials getting grilled or having to explain one thing or another. That not only are critical things said of Obama regularly in print or on air, but also often horrendous things from his opponents, and who can "get away with it" (meaning, no trip to a labor reeducation camp), says volumes. Yes, this is a bit of a lionizing Obama video, but can you picture Xi Jiping doing anything this candid to his supporters? The whole idea of young students eagerly volunteering for a candidate they believe in is unheard of in China: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBK2rfZt32g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBK2rfZt32g And: despite the whole money thing. Yeah, it's bad, the problem definitely exists, etc etc. But the Super PACs lost and Karl Rove melted down on TV.