Wait until they find out about non-American western countries
this post was submitted on 18 Aug 2024
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if I speak out online I could be muted or banned
Do you have any idea what social platforms look like when this is not the case?
The random board on 4chan is a good indicator for how that would look like (very NSFW and depending on your location illegal content there)
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Hint: it starts with a number
Oh so baity!
You can remove "western democracy" there I guess.
Also nah, I can speak out against my boss, my eventual landlord and protest in the streets, because I live in France, a western democracy.
YMMW.
I bet OP hasn't actually done any of the things they listed. Reads like an edgy teenager.
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I remember when online interactions didn't make me paranoid... But it seems power-tripping banhappy idiots exist everywhere, at least they do on reddit.
Took me awhile to realize Lemmy isn't like that.
Eh they still are here, it's just easier to avoid them by leaving their instance or finding different communities. I've noticed Lemmy still has a lot of the same type of drama Reddit has but instead it's focused on defederation and beefs between instances instead of stuff like splinter subreddits.
That’s the least this person deserves for that crime against readability.
Freedom of speech protects you from the government, who could otherwise publicly execute you for speaking out against them.
So just semi-public executions then :)
The ones lucky to get mentioned once in the 24h news cycle.
Also "freedom of speech" should protect you from all.
Its just that the specific brand of "freedom of speech™" you are probably referring to is limited by your personal power.
Ie megacorps and the rich have freedom of speech bcs its costs them virtually nothing. But citizens don't. Citizens get gag orders or sued to oblivion & ruined lives (regardless of the court outcome). I'd say that that is a very strong deterrent that in practice limits your meaningless theoretical rights.
Also "freedom of speech" should protect you from all.
No. Absolutely not. This is why slander and libel exist.
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For the first 2 points: Don't use "Western democracies". This is a US problem. Canada has much stronger labour and home protections.
3rd point: Getting banned online is a "you" problem. Your government has nothing to do with why your shitty opinions get you banned or muted. The fact that you even have the ability to complain about your government online is a luxury many other governments don't afford to their people.
4th point: Whining about cereal variety makes the entire argument hold less water. Who the fuck cares about brands of cereal. Buy your cereal or don't, but shut the fuck up about it. This is an empty complaint about capitalism.
5th point: Fair enough.
I don't directly mean you, OP. Unless you made the meme... In which case I do mean directly you.
I think cereal is brought in to demonstrate the absurdity of the situation, where something so basic as worker's or renter's rights are non-existent but somehow energy already has went into something so stupid as cereal, which indeed nobody cares about.
It's more about how one of the big reasons America is supposed to be great is all the options you have. 40 brands of cereal is worth it all, is it not?
Not to mention the huge variety of great cheeses, wines, beers and deli meats you should be responsible and not waste your money on.
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I agree with the fish that what you say is USA only isn't.
Basically where economy (power) is dominated by the few such problems exist.
But I would just like to add that I still cringed when you brought up Canada as the counterpoint to USA. Its not that I disagree with what you wanted to compare, its just that to me those two countries are such an extremely similar shade of late stage systems they seem the same unless in direct comparison.
Canada is very different from the US in many ways relevant to this post.
Canada doesn't have "at will" work. Medicine is purchased by the government with immense buying power. Canada has anti-hate laws that supercede free speech, and still have the right to protest and assemble (which has basically been removed in the US). Women's health is protected, and hopefully soon they will offer free hygiene products for women. Maternity/paternity leave is protected. No abortion bans here. Weed is legal, and harm reduction therapy is a common thing.
I could go on but i feel like you just wanted to cringe at people who don't think the US is a proper "developed" country.
You are also wrong about the economy being controlled by a few. When there is actually only a few, like dictators, they come and take your entire crops for almost nothing, which is an unthinkable tax rate for democracies. You don't get education, and you don't get highways or drinking water. These things are offered to you because the government needs productive citizens to make money. It's The rules for rulers. Democracies are complicated and full of corruption specifically because it takes many people to do anything, not a few.
Tl;dr It takes 2 seconds of research to see you are wrong on every point.
I think you have not understood me when I explicitly agreed with the point - twice in the same post.
What did you even "research" (and why/how was that new to you)?
Ok try not to trip over backpedaling there.
You said you cringed at comparing the US to Canada because it's the same shade of grey. It's not. That's what we're talking about, it doesn't matter that you agree with the post in general.
I didn't need to research, because I'm not an ignorant idiot who speaks about countries they know nothing about. You on the other hand, could have done some research before making shit up. There's literally a 20 minute educational video in my link, watch it, that's considered researching this information..
Even if not in direct comparison, they aren't the same shade of grey at all. Canada is comparable to Europe, not the US. And yes they are all late stage capitalistic nations, congrats on that astute observation. It doesn't mean you aren't wrong
Side topic: I find it very interesting that mods will not act against toxic comments like these that obviously use ad hominem but will remove a lot of comments that are critical of ideas that the mods support simply for existing. Go figure.
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First point is definetly a problem in other western democracies. In Sweden there is the "loyalty obligation", which states that you have to -- according to one of the centrist unions here -- "put the interest of the company above your own". It is a strong intrusion in your freedom of speech.
Sweden is a western democracy?
Sounds like that Swedish centrist union should pound sand
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What disgusts me most about conservative voters and capitalists is most of them are so ignorant to admit that capitalism requires balance by virtue. You cannot exist in an environment where everyone is free to have money and buy things with that money and there will always ben enough supply for demand without serious guardrails to ensure it. What MAGA stands for is the idea that capitalism should be highly regulated, highly balanced, and highly fair. These people believe that to their core. They just… don’t vote that way. They’re so arrogant, so propagandized, they’ll continue to vote for the people that wish to continue destabilizing the balance.
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