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Well, to be fair, the STASI was more extreme in many respects. Kinda hard to beat them, with there being informants basically everywhere, and a literal wall aro
by PavlovsCat 13y ago
Well, to be fair, the STASI was more extreme in many respects. Kinda hard to beat them, with there being informants basically everywhere, and a literal wall around the country. It's like being spied on and harrassed while in a prison. Maybe North Korea might be similar, I have no idea.
On the other hand we are stuck in this gravity well, with an adversary with unlimited reach and electronic eyes and ears everywhere. So the comparison may be much less far fetched than we'd like to believe. After all, the GDR had people who just "went along" and didn't mind any of the STASI stuff either; how is our situation any different? Some people not currently directly affected care, but I would guess all that don't, are not currently directly affected... because once this stuff turns on you, you're not in Kansas anymore, I bet you.
- Crito 13y ago> Well, to be fair, the STASI was more extreme in many respects. Sure, we are talking about one of many components of why the Stasi are maligned. Basically this is not a "Hitler was a vegetarian; you're a vegetarian" type of scenario. Rather this is a "Hitler wrote a book blaming Jews for everything; you wrote a book blaming Jews for everything" scenario. Yes, writing an anti-semitic book is by no means Hitler's greatest crime, it barely even ranks on that list; but you can be sure it is very central to the reasons that he is maligned. In other words, harassment by the Stasi is not an incidental attribute of the Stasi. It is one of many defining attributes of what the Stasi were.
- StavrosK 13y agoSure, the Stasi were more extreme in some respects. However, they'd piss their pants if they had the surveillance capabilities the NSA is using now.