IDKWhatUsernametoPutHereLolol

Inspired by the recent c/AskLemmy question about Myanmar.

As a PRC-born ethnic Han-Chinese person who currently is a US Citizen and reside in the US, I'm curious on what people think of my former country.

Bruh 💀

Like, say, you are a revolutionary who's imprisoned, but you are allowed to write letters to your family. How would you covertly send a message to your fellow revolutionaries that only they can decode? (Your family are on your side will pass the letter along)

Obviously, it cannot appear to contain any obvious ciphertext, since the prison guards would just rip up your letter and not send it.

I'm wondering if I should just delete lemmy to stay under the radar. 🤔 (I'm a US Citizen currently residing in the US, and moving out of the country is not really an option)

I feel so conflicted on this. On one hand, this is kinda like giving in to authoritarianism, but on the other hand, dissenting is kinda dangerous. 😓

The Alien and Sedition Acts were passed by a Congress controlled by the Federalist Party, directed against the Democratic-Republicans, the party typically favored by new citizens. Only Democratic-Republican journalists were prosecuted by these laws. Publicity from Sedition Act trials caused massive criticism and contributed to the Federalists being removed from power in the 1800 election.

The acts were supported by the Federalist Party, and supporters argued that the bills strengthened national security during the Quasi-War, an undeclared naval war with France from 1798 to 1800. The acts were denounced by Democratic-Republicans as suppression of voters and violation of free speech under the First Amendment. While they were in effect, the Alien and Sedition Acts, and the Sedition Act in particular, were used to suppress publishers affiliated with the Democratic-Republicans, and several publishers were arrested for criticism of the Adams administration. The Democratic-Republicans took power in 1800 because of backlash to the Alien and Sedition Acts, and all but the Alien Enemies Act were eliminated by the next Congress. The Alien Enemies Act has been invoked several times since, particularly during World War II by President Roosevelt. These laws were used to imprison over tens of thousands of noncitizens of German, Italian, and Japanese descent, all known as "Enemy Aliens."

The Alien Enemies Act was mentioned by President Donald Trump during a campaign rally held at Madison Square Garden for the 2024 presidential election, claiming that he would use them to remove illegal immigrants operating within gangs and criminal networks on "day one" if he were to win the presidency by invoking the acts. After being sworn in as President on January 20, 2025, he mentioned it again during his inaugural address.

On March 15, 2025, Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act to authorize the deportation of Venezuelan suspected gang members to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador. Trump's executive order was temporarily blocked the same day by Judge James Boasberg, following a lawsuit seeking to stop the deportations.

History Rhymes... 👀

Excerpts:

Summary:

Self-censorship is the act of censoring or classifying one's own discourse, typically out of fear or deference to the perceived preferences, sensibilities, or infallibility of others, and often without overt external pressure.

China (PRC):

In China, the media and citizens have to go to even greater extents to censor much of the material that they would post online. Many companies have been shut down by government because of the content that they have published. Nearly 10,000 social media accounts in October 2018 were shut down that published entertainment and celebrity news. As well as 370 different streaming apps that were pulled off of the app stores for non-compliance. Due to these high numbers of government interference, the companies and networks that publish on the internet are now employing people and utilizing sophisticated programs to find videos and pictures that are offensive to remove before the government can get them in trouble.

Self-censorship by Western companies trying to appease Chinese authorities has also affected the quality of content available to the citizens in other countries. It increasingly affects video games, including those by Western developers who want to sell their products to Chinese gamers as well.

Russia:

Self-censorship existed in Russia for a long time. After a brief relaxation following the fall of communism in the 1990s, self-censorship once again became a quite frequent practice in Russia after 2000s government take-overs and consolidation of media, further deepened after the 2014–2015 laws on "undesirable organisations" and the invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022.

USA:

According to AmeriSpeak survey, 40% of Americans did not feel free to speak their mind in 2019. About 60% of college students reported that they did not feel comfortable expressing their views of campus at times. According to an article published by political scientists James L. Gibson and Joseph L. Sutherland, rates of self-censorship in America in 2020 had increased to 46%, up from 13% in 1954. Alternatively, according to an article by John. K Wilson, this may be an indicator of acceptable discourse becoming wider, not narrower.

What next, immigrants can open carry when crossing the border? 👀

Why YSK: Because if you are planning to attend a protest, you might want to be prepared for the possibility that these technologies are used against you.

I know, this sounds like some conspiracy nutjob's imagination, but it's real. Here are some wikipedia links:

Directed-energy weapon

A directed-energy weapon (DEW) is a ranged weapon that damages its target with highly focused energy without a solid projectile, including lasers, microwaves, particle beams, and sound beams. Potential applications of this technology include weapons that target personnel, missiles, vehicles, and optical devices.

Examples of such weapons include:

Long-range acoustic device

A long-range acoustic device (LRAD), acoustic hailing device (AHD) or sound cannon is a specialized loudspeaker that produces sound at high power for communicating at a distance. It has been used as a method of crowd control, which has caused permanent hearing damage, having an extremely high decibel capacity (up to 160 dB measured at one meter from the device). Other uses have included for negotiations in siege situations; to deal with piracy at sea; for mass notification during natural disasters or other emergencies; and by defense forces, including several navies.

The Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department used a LRAD at the January 21, 2017 Women's March. Protesters at the June 1, 2020 Washington, D.C. George Floyd protests said police gave little or no warning before employing aggressive tactics against them. A 2015 settlement requires federal police to give large crowds several loud dispersal orders before deploying chemical irritants and other dispersion tools. Using an LRAD to issue loud protest dispersal orders would have complied with the 2015 settlement requirement. In September 2020, it was revealed that federal officials had explored the use of the device and the Active Denial System ("heat ray") to disperse civilians protesting outside the White House in June of that year, but had been advised that the National Guard was not currently in possession of either device.

LRAD was reportedly used by the Oakland Police Department during the clearance of the Occupy Oakland encampment on the morning of 25 October 2011. Police in San Diego, California, used an LRAD on May 27, 2016, to order anti-Trump protesters to disperse.

Active Denial System

The Active Denial System (ADS) is a directed-energy weapon developed by the U.S. military, designed for area denial, perimeter security and crowd control. Informally, the weapon is also called the heat ray since it works by heating the surface of targets, such as the skin of targeted human beings.

The ADS was deployed in 2010 with the United States military in the Afghanistan War, but was withdrawn without seeing combat.

In 2014, there were reports that Russia and China were developing their own versions of the Active Denial System.

The Active Denial System (ADS) is a directed-energy weapon developed by the U.S. military, designed for area denial, perimeter security and crowd control. Informally, the weapon is also called the heat ray since it works by heating the surface of targets, such as the skin of targeted human beings.

Sound like something out of a conspiracy nutjob's imagination, but it's actually real, and it's terrifying.

My parents were in an arranged marriage in China, they argue like every week. They are toxic af.

I wonder if people who freely choose their partners have less toxic families... 🤔

Asking because of Mahmoud Khalil is trending...

I don't know if the first amendment still exist anymore 😖

Like crewless, zero crew. There isn't even any flight attendants.

Pilots are just an AI Autopilot and flight attendants are all just robots.