Quote (theCrossbones @ Jul 18 2020 03:40pm)

this is false

Quote (fender @ Jul 18 2020 09:30am)

there sure are many striking similarities:

- unwanted minorities locked away in camps under awful conditions
- protesters labeled 'terrorists'
- massive and brutal police crackdown without accountability
- critical media under constant attack
- mass surveillance and incarceration of citizens
- denial of embarrassing historical events
- coordinated efforts to hide facts and case numbers about covid-19 from the population and the world

to be clear, i think it's fair to point out that in almost every single aspect (except from mass incarceration), america is NOT quite as bad as china (yet), and not all of those issues were created by trump (although he surely exacerbated them critically), that's NOT what i am suggesting.
it sure looks like a dangerous path though, and about 30% of the population are supporting it uncritically, stuck in a hyper-partisan frenzy against an imaginary / artificial enemy, while largely ignoring or even rationalising and downplaying those issues.

really disheartening to see how quickly a whole country can devolve, given the 'right' circumstances and 'leaders'.

https://i.imgur.com/QGZ2TsM.jpeg

#freedom™

Quote (Black XistenZ @ Jul 18 2020 01:46pm)

Trump has actually been supportive of peaceful protests in the beginning. Only after the protests devolved into riots in many places, with widespread looting, arson and violence, did he turn hard on these protests.
By contrast, the Chinese government considers any protests, even completely peaceful ones, to be illegitimate and a crime.

Quote (thundercock @ Jul 18 2020 03:57pm)

No, not even in the same universe. We should be concerned but these type of overreactions have the opposite effect. They make people think you're the boy who cried wolf.

Quote (chemoshots @ Jul 18 2020 01:03pm)

better to cry wolf when it's coming at you then when it's chewing on your face!

Quote (Black XistenZ @ Jul 18 2020 02:46pm)

There are some fundamental differences:



China is locking away its own citizens, even if they didnt break any laws. They are not free to go until they give up their faith and their culture.
By contrast, the U.S. is locking away unwanted minorities who came to the U.S. voluntarily, who broke U.S. laws by entering the country illegally, and they are free to go back to their countries of origin at any time. U.S. authorities do not force them to renounce their relligion or culture.




Trump has actually been supportive of peaceful protests in the beginning. Only after the protests devolved into riots in many places, with widespread looting, arson and violence, did he turn hard on these protests.
By contrast, the Chinese government considers any protests, even completely peaceful ones, to be illegitimate and a crime.

To reiterate: Trump emphasizes the crime that's taking place in the wake of the protests, while China is criminalizing the protests itself.



There is not zero accountability with the U.S. police, but yeah, it's far too little oversight and far too many black sheep who are getting away with their crimes. Overall, I tend to agree with you on this point.



In the U.S., critical media is still going strong, there are very few journalists getting locked up, speaking up against the government almost never gets you into jail or on the unemployment line. The U.S. is also worlds ahead in terms of censorship and freedom of the press.



Yes, good point.



Name one major country on this planet that doesnt do this to some degree.


True, but this is not a structural deficiency of the U.S., it's very specific to the Trump administration and its haphazard handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Quote (thundercock @ Jul 18 2020 04:05pm)

What happens if it's just a Pomeranian shitting in your yard though?

Quote (cambovenzi @ Jul 18 2020 01:06pm)

agreed with basically all of this

and I would add that antifa are the ones being called terrorists(because they are), not "protesters".

Quote (cambovenzi @ Jul 18 2020 03:06pm)

agreed with basically all of this

and I would add that antifa are the ones being called terrorists(because they are), not "protesters".

Quote (Thor123422 @ 18 Jul 2020 22:01)

Calling bullshit on this. He specifically used the military to disperse a peaceful protest so he could get a photo-op. It was a very fascistic display and it was on our capital's doorstep. Your point here is "we're not at China yet", but the thread title is "are we devolving into China", and I'd say our treatment of protesters is absolutely a point in favor of us becoming more like China.