• bloodfart@lemmy.ml
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    4 months ago

    I’m not repeating myself as some eldritch truth summoning tankie incantation but to bring us back on track.

    The post I repeated myself in response to is one in which you build a fascinating argument against something that was not ever said or hinted at as far as I can tell.

    Rather than get embroiled in the fight you seem to want to have, I’m trying to keep things on topic.

    Why not take a look?

    • WhatTrees
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      4 months ago

      Is the original claim that people can’t talk about TS because the government won’t let them or that people can’t talk about for some other reason?

      The statement “people cant talk about TS” is a statement about the government’s actions to discourage discussion about it.

      You keep repeating the same thing while ignoring that the claim is about government action.

      • bloodfart@lemmy.ml
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        4 months ago

        okay, so you replied to something i said to someone else and i don’t wanna get all over the place so i’m replying to it here. the quotes are just to keep things clear, i don’t like quoted replies because its needlessly confrontational and weird. i’m not trying to fight you with quotes or fight you at all, just make it clear what i’m responding to here and the context.

        you quoted part of my reply to someone else:

        it’s sinophobic to disagree with the Chinese government, an idea I never expressed or even hinted at.

        and replied:

        You said the claim that “people can’t talk about TS” is sinophobic. But even a five year could follow that the reason proposed for that inability to talk is the actions of the government. So, saying it’s sinophobic to claim you can’t talk about TS is saying it’s sinophobic to disagree with the actions of the Chinese government.

        again the point of me quoting that is to yank that thread over to this one because you seem to be making the same claim both here and there.

        in response to that claim:

        straight out of the gate, saying that recognizing the false, racist claim that people can’t talk about tiannamen implies that disagreeing with the actions of the chinese government is racist is absurd.

        an eagle eyed reader such as yourself will recognize that i never conflated those two, so where are you getting that idea from?

        a person can easily criticise the chinese government without relying on false, racist claims and many do.

        to make a bigger point and hopefully get us some understanding:

        is the chinese government made up of some other non-chinese people? is it okay do use racist tropes and make false statements about the government but not the people themselves? are false claims that rely on racism acceptable criticism of a government composed almost entirely of the people that racism is aimed at?

        if you’re familiar with some of the dogwhistle rhetoric deployed against obama during his term, the same explanations were put forward: “i’m just criticizing the government, that’s not racist!”

        • WhatTrees
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          4 months ago

          saying that recognizing the false, racist claim that people can’t talk about tiannamen implies that disagreeing with the actions of the chinese government is racist is absurd.

          So first, you still haven’t provided any evidence that it is indeed false. Please do so.

          Edit: Since I just know that if you respond at all it would be with a shifting of the burden onto me, I’ll just go ahead and post this here as some evidence for the actions of the government to restrict speech about TS.

          Second, once again, in the claim you are saying is racist, why are people not allowed to talk about it? Is the claim that the culture doesn’t allow it? That the citizens around them don’t allow it? Obviously, the claim is that the government doesn’t allow it.

          Third, you still haven’t come close to proving it is racist just because it has similarities to other racist claims. My original analogy that you keep avoiding was exactly on this point:

          It is not antisemitic to claim that the Israeli government is lying about its intentions with the Palestinians even though there is a racist trope that Jews lie. If we were to say that any claim that the Israeli government, which as you point out is made of Jews, is lying is antisemitic then the Israeli government is entirely immune from claims of falsehood on their part. You give them a blank check.

          In exactly the same way, it is not sinophobic to claim that the Chinese government has policies and practices that ban and discourage public conversations about TS or memorial services for it even though there is a racist trope that Chinese people don’t know their history. If we were to say that any claims that the Chinese government, which as you point out is made of Chinese people, is “trying to hide their history” then the Chinese government is immune from claims of impropriety about the freedom of information surrounding TS. You give them a blank check.

          • bloodfart@lemmy.ml
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            4 months ago

            I don’t think I ever claimed that the Israeli government was “made of Jews”.

            You’re gonna have to forgive me for this, but it really seems like you’re having a shower conversation or are getting me confused with someone else.

            Are you having a talk with someone else about the same topic? That would explain some of the discrepancy…

            • WhatTrees
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              4 months ago

              Oh look, you finally decided to “respond” to my original analogy. To bad you entirely ignored it to obtuse about a direct reframing of your argument.

              This you?

              is the chinese government made up of some other non-chinese people? is it okay do use racist tropes and make false statements about the government but not the people themselves? are false claims that rely on racism acceptable criticism of a government composed almost entirely of the people that racism is aimed at?

              Ya, that’s the exact argument I was responding to and showing you how ridiculous it is when used in the context of Israel instead of China.

              Did you maybe notice something about the last two paragraphs of my last comment? They are almost identical with a few words and phrases swapped. It’s a direct analogy to show that your claim, that it is sinophobic to say “the Chinese government doesn’t let people talk about TS”, is indistinguishable from “it’s antisemitic to say the Israeli government is lying” for exactly the same reason. Maybe you’re having a hard time grasping that because you also think it’s antisemitic to disagree with the statements or actions of the Israeli government?

              Do I need to copy and paste your exact paragraph with Chinese swapped for Israeli?

              You’re gonna have to forgive me for this, but it really seems like you’re having a shower conversation or are getting me confused with someone else.

              Are you having a talk with someone else about the same topic? That would explain some of the discrepancy…

              While I get how confusing it must be to talk to the same person about the same topic more than once, I didn’t realize things were getting so serious. I have to admit, I’m not really one for monogamy, but I guess you could be exclusive if you want. Your jealousy is cute though. 😉

              Maybe this time you’ll bring even a shred of evidence showing that the claim is in fact false as I’ve asked for it numerous times and even provided evidence to the contrary. I know you won’t, because for some reason you are stuck saying the same “it’s false and racist” over and over again while failing to provide evidence it is false or a good argument that it is racist.

              • bloodfart@lemmy.ml
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                4 months ago

                See that’s where it seems like your analogy falls apart. It relies on an assumption that I never made and then tries to draw a parallel with a completely different country halfway around the world with wildly different history.

                I never engaged with your analogy because it’s bad and I’m not engaging with it now. Why not just talk to me about the things I said instead of making weird comparisons that are super obviously set ups?

                I explained in detail how the claim that Chinese people can’t talk about tiannamen square is sinophobic. Why not tell me what sticks in your craw about it instead of trying to make a bunch of weird analogies?

                • WhatTrees
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                  4 months ago

                  Leftist using idpol to attempt to defend authoritarian regimes certainly get “stuck in my craw” as you say. “Uh actually it’s racist to say mean things about China because its government is made of Chinese people”. Fuck outta here with that liberal idpol bullshit. And fuck the CCP for trying to ban and discourage discussion about TS or memorials of it.

                  It’s indistinguishable from the liberals saying “uh actually its antisemitic to say mean things about Israel because its government is made of Jewish people.” They can also fuck outta here with that idpol bullshit.

                  What the fuck does the distance between two countries have to do with this? Can we not compare China to America or any other country outside of Asia? Are there special rules for governments in Asia? Does the history of China somehow exempt their actions from criticism? Do governments made up of people who have historically faced racism get a hall pass because it would be racist to be mean to them? If your government does a bad thing, I will call it out. Whether in NA, Europe, Asia, or anywhere.

                  I have tried engaging with your “points” in every response and for some reason you keep failing to provide evidence that it is false or a good argument for why it would be racist. Liberal idpol isn’t an argument I or anyone should accept and I have a feeling you reject it in most other contexts. Being an oppressed minority doesn’t exempt you or your government from criticism of your actions.

                  • bloodfart@lemmy.ml
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                    4 months ago

                    The fundamental differences between Chinese and Israeli history even when examined across the same timeframe make the comparison in terms of discrimination and racism facile at best and a purposefully misleading tactic at worst.

                    The reason I refuse to engage with your absurd comparison is because it’s such a stretch as to be impossible to reasonably tie back to the point we were talking about.

                    It’s a waste of time and I’m not interested in that.

                    It would also be cool if you didn’t just put words in my mouth and argue against them.

                    I made a bunch of posts in reply to you, why not respond to the things I said instead of some stuff you’re thinking about?