China has lashed out at Germany after its foreign minister called Xi Jinping a “dictator” and summoned Berlin’s ambassador for a dressing down, in the latest flaring of tensions with a western democratic power over how the Chinese leader is described overseas.

    • MeowZedong@lemmygrad.ml
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      1 year ago

      Dehumanizing people through racism is a well established method the US has historically used when manufacturing consent to go to war among its people. Look at depictions of Germans and Japanese in WWII. Look at depictions of Koreans, the Vietnamese, Afghans, and Iraqis during the invasions of their countries.

      Just because its origins weren’t racist doesn’t mean it hasn’t taken on a racist meaning. Sinophobia is rooted in racism and ignorance.

        • MeowZedong@lemmygrad.ml
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          1 year ago

          Right, because if you allow racist tropes a little bit of leeway they won’t become normalized and propagate over time.

          How has voting in your bastion of democracy been working out for you? Did you get to vote to go to war? It’s not like your leaders are any less authoritarian.

          • eltimablo@kbin.social
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            1 year ago

            I’m allowed to criticize my government without being hauled off to fucking jail, how’s that for freedom?

            • MeowZedong@lemmygrad.ml
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              1 year ago

              The US arrests journalists for not revealing their sources that are damaging towards the US government. I wonder why they want to know those sources so badly? Maybe Julian Assange or Edward Snowden.

              Not from the US? That’s ok!

              Plenty of European countries also have laws on the books to deal with you harassing government officials. I’m not even going to bother going into the topic of how these same governments quiet the dissent of socialists to this day. Turns out, if they feel like your criticism is damaging enough, they CAN haul you off to fucking prison.

              Say it louder and I’m sure that will make it true. YOU ARE FREE!

              • eltimablo@kbin.social
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                1 year ago

                The most recent case you can find is from 2006? Jesus, dude. Please, I beg of you, get outside and interact with a person face to face. It has to have been years for you at this point.

                • MeowZedong@lemmygrad.ml
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                  1 year ago

                  There’s plenty of more recent examples, but I’m not going to go to the effort to dig up more in a conversation where the majority of the replies I get boil down to “nuh-uh, I saw different online stupid tankie.”

                  If 2006 is the year that you landed on, I’ll again point you to the two specific names I dropped, Julian Assange and Edward Snowden, both of whom experienced this with the US and allies more recently.

                  Do you see why I wouldn’t bother putting the effort into finding a better source? The low effort replies and baseless personal attacks are all over this thread. Even the people I gave the benefit of the doubt to while replying didn’t reply in good faith.

                  What do you feel like you’ve added to the conversation by trying to personally attack me? Does it feel good to attack someone behind the protection of anonymity? I wonder, if we did meet face-to-face, would you have the courage and strength of character to engage with me in a conversation as a fellow human worthy of respect despite our differences in belief or would you still hide behind weak, uninspiring insults as you have here?

            • LarkinDePark@lemmygrad.ml
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              1 year ago

              No you’re not! Even people outside of the US are hauled off to its torture camps for criticising its war crimes and atrocities. Ask Assange.

      • jcit878@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        woah wtf you are being ridiculously racist. get the fuck out of here with that racist offensive stereotyping