[–] 1 point 8 months ago

I think we are conflating two different things: the state's foreign policy stance and its domestic structure.

You are correct that 'authoritarian' is often a propaganda label used to justify sanctions or invasion. However, refusing to use the word to describe any state in the Global South implies that the only form of oppression that matters is Western imperialism. That effectively erases the lived experience of people in those nations who might be jailed or disappeared by their own government.

The term 'authoritarian' shouldn't mean 'enemy of the US.' It should mean a system where the people have no mechanism to hold their leaders accountable. By that definition, a state can be anti-Zionist and still be authoritarian toward its own citizens. Do you believe there is any word we should use to describe a government that silences its own working class, or should we just stay silent about that to avoid sounding like the US State Department?

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  • [–] 0 points 8 months ago (2 children)

    A state necessarily exercising authority changes nothing about how violently and uncompromisingly any particular state goes about it. So I'm guessing calling a state plainly authoritarian is essentially saying nothing at all, but if I say your country is as authoritarian as North Korea, you know exactly what I'm saying and that I'm certainly saying something that is neither doublespeak or propaganda, right?

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago

    I don't have a real solution, but for me I just try to be exceptionally mindful of precisely what you already described. On my way home I try to think of a few productive things I could possibly muster before compromising/collapsing back into idleness

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  • [–] 15 points 1 year ago (32 children)

    I know this is just thebad.website comic, but I'm genuinely curious (and an idiot) to know what the connection is with generally racist-inclined folk love for saying that everything is common sense. What makes them think in this way?

    It's the backbone of their every argument--no matter what it is, if I ask, "Why do you think x, y, or z is the case?"
    It is without a doubt their instant reply, 'It's just commonsense!'

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    The Carrington Event was the most intense geomagnetic storm in recorded history, peaking on 1–2 September 1859 during solar cycle 10. It created strong auroral displays that were reported globally and caused sparking and even fires in telegraph stations. The geomagnetic storm was most likely the result of a coronal mass ejection (CME) from the Sun colliding with Earth's magnetosphere.

    The geomagnetic storm was associated with a very bright solar flare on 1 September 1859. It was observed and recorded independently by British astronomers Richard Carrington and Richard Hodgson—the first records of a solar flare. A geomagnetic storm of this magnitude occurring today has the potential to cause widespread electrical disruptions, blackouts, and damage to the electrical power grid.

    Operation Wandering Soul (en.wikipedia.org)
     

    Operation Wandering Soul was a propaganda campaign and psychological warfare effort exercised by U.S. forces during the Vietnam War. It was an attempt to increase desertions and defections from Việt Cộng forces and weaken their morale. It was also to coerce the Việt Cộng forces into leaving and going home, weakening their numbers.

    Kompromat (en.wikipedia.org)
     

    Kompromat is damaging information about a person or a group, commonly a politician, businessperson, or other public figure, which may be used to create negative publicity, as well as for blackmail purposes, often to exert influence rather than monetary gain, and extortion. Kompromat may be acquired from various security services, or outright forged, and then publicized, e.g., via a public relations official.

    (Russian: компромат, IPA: [kəmprɐˈmat], short for компрометирующий материал, variously translated as "compromising material", "discrediting material", or "incriminating material")

    Fall guy (en.wikipedia.org)
     

    Fall guy is a colloquial phrase that refers to a person to whom blame is deliberately and falsely attributed in order to deflect blame from another party.

    A related term was "patsy", which typically (but not exclusively) referred to someone set up before the fact to take a fall, as opposed to simply being left "holding the bag" when something went wrong in carrying out a crime.

     

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