this post was submitted on 29 Jul 2024
33 points (63.0% liked)

US Authoritarianism

702 readers
342 users here now

Hello, I am researching American crimes against humanity. . This space so far has been most strongly for memes, and that's fine.

There's other groups and you are welcome to add to them. USAuthoritarianism Linktree

See Also, my website. USAuthoritarianism.com be advised at time of writing it is basically just a donate link

Cool People: !thepoliceproblem@lemmy.world

founded 6 months ago
 

Hey, so I just started like two new jobs. I absolutely I love all of you, but I’m probably going to have to post a little less. The secret sauce was Facebook. I curated a Facebook algorithm with nothing but the worst most accurate dystopian stuff about the USA Training the newsfeed on a new Account with purpose.

top 15 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Quacksalber@sh.itjust.works 12 points 1 month ago (3 children)

I don't get this 'meme'. Are they suggesting, that communist countries had more freedom of speech than western contries currently have?

[–] jwiggler@sh.itjust.works 20 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I think its less about communist countries, and more about the West (in my personal case, the US) believing they are somehow free, while at the same time most of its citizens are dominated by authoritarian structures of the private workplace, forced to rent out their freedom to their employers for the majority of each week, with little option to pivot due to the necessity to pay tribute to the owners of land and property (either the bank or the landlord), while the news organizations are in the interest of keeping themselves afloat, which in turn means upholding those same owners who fund them.

No major news outlet would publish something that undermines its own existence, and therefore is not completely free.

Edit: all that says nothing about state-communism, which historically does the same and worse. And still, I think the US is more free in terms of speech than many

[–] pop@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Pointing out some negative aspects of the west and people straight up taking it to mean "so communist countries are better?" must be some kind of brainrot.

Communists are shit with super fucked up history, and so does the West. CCP doing blantantly awful things and the the West doing it while hiding behind some plausible deniability is evident with how west treats Israel/Palestine conflict.

All the freedom after looting and pillaging the rest of the world, genociding the native population to brink of extinction, or destabilizing other countries for their own benefit is not the flex you think it is.

"You can give more to your own people, so they'll have time for art and innovation, and then you can claim the people you steal it from are/were "dirty savages" fighting for scraps."

So convenient right? Who knew?

Trying to take it as a natural growth of wisdom or whatever you think you've achieved is all thanks to atrocities of your ancestors of the past, which you'll soon downplay as a commonplace and stawman into deflection.

If anything you should thank the chinese for the invention, which is the foundation of your freedumb.

[–] Quacksalber@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Pointing out some negative aspects of the west and people straight up taking it to mean “so communist countries are better?” must be some kind of brainrot.

"You are an animal on a leash, led around by your betters. But because you are lazy and weak-minded, you don't even know how shackled you are."

some negative aspects of the west...

[–] rbesfe@lemmy.ca 10 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Anyone complaining about free speech in America just needs to stop using corporate internet infrastructure. Spin up your own website about whatever you like, you'll be fine.

[–] disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Correct. Private platforms are not protected by free speech.

[–] retrospectology@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

-user freely expressing their communist views on an open Internet infrastructure developed and supported by the US government-: "Is this a suppression of my free speech?"

[–] webghost0101@sopuli.xyz -1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Just because it’s not prosecuted doesn't mean it’s free.

In some countries you can be lgbt on social media all you want but state media is banned from even mentioning its existence.

When your social media becomes to popular they have means to make you comply with national branding or shut you down.

I am not saying this is how it is in the west but what i am saying is that the ability to post to on an obscure decentralized forum is not an effective counter argument against their point.

There is very little need for an oppressive regime to invest into prosecuting speech on this level.

[–] retrospectology@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

Just because it’s not prosecuted doesn’t mean it’s free.

Yes, that's literally what free speech is.

In some countries you can be lgbt on social media all you want but state media is banned from even mentioning its existence.

Not happening at a federal level, but yes, the far-right is trying to legislate the erasure of lgbt people from society, but it's not something that has happened in the way you imply.

The meme is a misrepresentation of reality. It could happen that we eventually have oppressive state censorship like China, but we aren't yet at that stage and its a disservice to people to mislead them about the rights they still have.

[–] orcrist@lemm.ee 0 points 1 month ago

Your definition of free speech is actually wrong at face value. If I post a comment on the government website in the US, most of the time they're not allowed to take it down, because it's covered by free speech. If I want to speak at public comments at a City council meeting in the US, most of the time they have to let me speak. If we're only focusing on the US, it's clear that free speech is more than your ability to speak without being prosecuted. Free speech also has to do with limitations on what the government can do before or after you speak.

[–] webghost0101@sopuli.xyz 0 points 1 month ago

Only free speech is free speech. Almost every country has explicit laws that are rarely worth prosecuting so the singular experience of not getting prosecuted is not an accurate measurement for a places laws.

The west is much more lenient then asia in regards to free speech. I am not contesting how varying too points on the same spectrum can be.

For an absolutist like me your argument appears like a invitation to meet in the middle. You would consider both china and my perspectives as being extremist and the current way of the west that is not being perfect as the preferred system.

I have to disagree with such argument on principle, i see great potential in a more radical status quo, accepting the current system as good or neutral devalues the anarchists goal.

You can find my reasoning to disagree in the quote below.

Note, you are not the unjust man, i don't wish to offend. lawmakers are the ones taking a step back here.

Meet me in the middle, says the unjust man.
You take a step towards him, he takes a step back.
Meet me in the middle, says the unjust man.

[–] pixeltree@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 1 month ago

This memes a bit shit i think. The government not being able to punish you for speaking out against it is to my mind the thing that seperates us from other similarly/more authoritarian countries. And, while I don't have anything against communism in theory, anyone implying china and russia aren't ludicrously authoritarian could use a head examination.

You are posting less because you have 2 new capitalist jobs?