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Comment on US lawmakers vote 50-0 to force sale of TikTok despite angry calls from users

Cethin@lemmy.zip ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

This isn’t even about maintaining hard power; this is just about keeping the inhabitants of the Western world from seeing how the elites make the sausage.

It’s about soft power. I don’t think it has to do with people of the western world seeing what’s being done either (they don’t and won’t if Tic-Tok is the thing they’re using). It’s just about gathering data and also having control over a service that could be used to influence people. It wouldn’t matter if it’s China or Russia (mostly white) in control of it.

Power and racism are inextricably bound together when it’s the Americans doing things.

Is it? Many people saw through the racism of slavery and yet still used it, because racism was an excuse, not a reason. Usually racism is an excuse. It’s something that’s easily sold to the masses, and for some reason people still buy it, and people like you buy that that’s still the reason and not seeing what’s really being played. Sure, there are a lot of racist people, but even that is only because some people use it to gain power. Racism has the same purpose as religion. It’s a method of control, by defining “the enemy”. Usually if anyone is defining an enemy it’s a form of control for that matter. There are plenty of bad people, but it’s hard to say any group is bad by default. There are bad systems though.

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frauddogg@lemmygrad.ml ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

I don’t think it has to do with people of the western world seeing what’s being done either (they don’t and won’t if TikTok is the thing they’re using).

Tiktok is literally how my nieces, nephews, and their peer groups have been learning about American malfeasance, but sure, they’re TOTALLY not seeing anything.

It’s just about gathering data and also having control over a service that could be used to influence people. It wouldn’t matter if it’s China or Russia (mostly white) in control of it.

Bull, if it was ‘just about gathering data’ they’d go after Zuck and Musk too. Further, if Russia were considered ‘mostly white’, NATO wouldn’t be trying to encircle and exterminate them. Try again.

Is it? Many people saw through the racism of slavery and yet still used it, because racism was an excuse, not a reason.

Further bull, America’s done everything in its power to keep forms of slavery in play; specifically pipelining the minorities they used to keep as chattel into prison slavery instead. It’s always maintenance of an Anglo status quo. Don’t try again here; I know you’re not going to go look up the Fourteenth Amendment to see how the Anglos have historically played with legalese to maintain unjust systems.

There are plenty of bad people, but it’s hard to say any group is bad by default.

Four hundred years of slavery, genocide, resource extraction, ignorance of sovereignty, and extrajudicial murder says what now? Tell your handler I said hi.

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- flying_sheep@lemmy.ml ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  They already have control over Xitter and Facebook/Instagram.
  
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  - frauddogg@lemmygrad.ml ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    America already controls Tiktok’s data via Oracle server farms in Virginia, so make it make sense. Why is there a need to ban them that DOESN’T boil down to the usual anglo Yellow Perils and Red Scares? And why haven’t Twitter, Meta, Instagram, or Trust Social been banned yet? Make. It. Make. Sense.
    
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    flying_sheep@lemmy.ml ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    I’m from the EU, where there’s laws in place for some industries to put EU user data exclusively on servers that are in the EU. I’m assuming that the US doesn’t have that kind of law applying to TikTok, and that the US servers are an infrastructure decision by Tiktok’s owner company. If I’m right, then that’s your answer. If I’m wrong then they really don’t need to ban them.
    
    For the record, please keep in mind that I’m not defending any party here. I’m very aware of post cold war yellow/red scare stories, I just don’t see how this inevitably has to be the consequence of one.
    
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- Cethin@lemmy.zip ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  
  Bull, if it was ‘just about gathering data’ they’d go after Zuck and Musk too.
  
  They’re amaerican. They already have them.
  
  Further, if Russia were considered ‘mostly white’, NATO wouldn’t be trying to encircle and exterminate them. Try again.
  
  Dude, if NATO wanted them destroyed they wouldn’t be as passive as they have been. It has nothing to do with race. There are plenty of Russian/Caucasian people in the west.
  
  Further bull, America’s done everything in its power to keep forms of slavery in play; specifically pipelining the minorities they used to keep as chattel into prison slavery instead.
  
  I agree this is happening, but is it because of race or because it’s an easy excuse. You can’t tell the difference.
  
  Four hundred years of slavery, genocide, resource extraction, ignorance of sovereignty, and extrajudicial murder says what now? Tell your handler I said hi.
  
  Show me a nation that doesn’t have exploitation and/or genocide in their past. There isn’t one. All nations exploit. Governments are corrupt. I’m not arguing the US is good, I’m arguing all nations are bad. You are just willfully ignorant. Whatever government you support (Russia presumably, by your instance?) it has exploited people at some point in time at least. It almost certainly is even now, or someone else would be in power.
  
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  - sooper_dooper_roofer@hexbear.net ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    
    There isn’t one. All nations exploit. Governments are corrupt. I’m not arguing the US is good, I’m arguing all nations are bad.
    
    Cool, why haven’t any Black people been shot in China?
    
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    axont@hexbear.net ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    i hate when liberals do this, the “i hate all countries” thing. America invades another country every 3 years on average and this is just as bad as China, a country that hasn’t invaded anyone since 1979? What is this reasoning. This is like those Protestants who say lying about your homework is an equal sin as murdering someone
    
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    Cethin@lemmy.zip ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    I guess this was shared on hexbear or lemygrad. I’ll see it soon enough from there I guess.
    
    Why does China not allow all western companies into their ecosystem? Is it because of race? Obviously not. It’s about power and control, and I’m not dense enough to think otherwise.
    
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  - frauddogg@lemmygrad.ml ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
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    Frogmanfromlake@hexbear.net ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Imma be real the people who argue like that online aren’t usually neurotypical lol
    
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    Cethin@lemmy.zip ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Alright. Explain how China having their own ecosystem is better. I know what they’re all doing. You’re the one saying any one is doing it because of a race thing.
    
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  - sooper_dooper_roofer@hexbear.net ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    
    I agree this is happening, but is it because of race or because it’s an easy excuse. You can’t tell the difference.
    
    things have multiple reasons, dummy
    
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    Cethin@lemmy.zip ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Sure, it has multiple causes. Anyone intillegent is just using race as an excuse. China has an ecosystem almost exclusive to China. Is it because they’re racist or because they want control, or both?
    
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  - GarbageShoot@hexbear.net ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    
    Dude, if NATO wanted them destroyed they wouldn’t be as passive as they have been. It has nothing to do with race. There are plenty of Russian/Caucasian people in the west.
    
    This is a bit silly. With how NATO works, they’d be inviting WWIII and do serious damage to ties with China that they are critically dependent on, and there’s a good chance the alliance would implode if they were that much more aggressive since many of the countries in it don’t want war, they just want to cower behind whoever has the biggest gun, to say nothing of the fact that the US government is already unpopular and would probably be forced to start conscripting soldiers, which would produce massive backlash. There are a lot of reasons for the US to stick to proxy wars for as long as it can manage.
    
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