Asklemmy

"Charlie Kirk was a wonderful person"

"We need to help African kids!"

These often don't know a single African country besides "South Africa"

"They should just protest/go on the street/revolt/start a revolution" when talking about Russia or, to some extend, other countries like China or Noth Korea.

It's not even that this is a highly brutal military state that will kill you without blinking. Or that they will not just put you in prison but threaten your family if you dare to resist. It's not even the cover ups, or that no news on easily accessible media would run a story about your case.

I'd argue it is the underestimation of how propaganda gets you. All of you. All of us, me and you. No one is immune. And I'm not just talking about "oh our government and leader is the best". I'm talking about generations of oppression where you know that this one uncle or neighbor who tried something, who tried to be different, to change something, just brought destruction over himself and his loved ones. It's the propaganda of "just look away, don't bother, your actions won't change anything, just try to live your life as nicely as you can".

Thinking people who were raised with this mindset, by people who have the same mindset because they in turn were raised by people with a similar mindset, can just "get up and revolt" is so naive.

I also want that, sure, I also want them to get up and revolt, desperately, but man, you have no idea, do you.

Totally buying the touristy theme park version of whatever other culture. No, the people at the resort don't actually think you're great. No, tripping with a self-proclaimed shaman who charges a month's local wage to resolve your mommy issues is not how the locals do mysticism.

"$1 million isn't a lot of money."

A close friend (bless his heart) asked me if I "really think China is more free than, say, France?" when talking about things like freedom of the press and journalistic integrity. I've seen a lot of that recently, that because we live in a country which had been once considered to be "socialistic" that the stories we are told and things we have been taught wouldn't align as much with what global and local capitalists want us to believe is true. At one point I remember him critizising me for using the term "wage slave" (which I used jokingly but w/e) because "none of us here are actual wage slaves". Because you apparently have to be an Asian child in a Nike sweatshop to actually be opressed by capitalism. My brother, no-one is free until all are free.