chapotraphouse

Same, at absolute worst you can get the treatment some whistleblowers get, while not always killed directly they're functionally banned from most legal employment and higher educational opportunities stateside, along with an odd inability to do things like open bank accounts, which is a slow assassination via poverty.

you have to be careful not to espouse these views publicly within the united states because it will trigger someone

As someone who runs a bunch of communities I have run into trouble with americans when I haven't been rabidly anti-china. It's caused mass exoduses from the community more than once.

The European users have never behaved that way in regards to China, only the Americans.

I even received a winnie the pooh death threat one time.

Definitely have to be careful. What I try to focus on when I talk to people are just the facts, because those are neutral and indisputable. But if you ever talk to someone who knows they can't argue against the facts, they'll resort to straw man arguments where the conversation then turns to establishing definitions (e.g. What is socialism?)

There's a corollary to this which is that if you're a cishet white man, or sometimes just white, or whatever other identity that is privileged enough to command a certain amount of respect within a given context, you can learn to use it in your favor to say what you know others who are less privileged are thinking. You gotta learn when it's your time to talk so you don't take up the air in a conversation that could see everyone contribute directly, but more often than not the case is some specific people are invited to speak their minds and most people are invited to either reinforce them or shove it. If you're part of the former group, it's good to try to push a different line when possible.

thank you, i very much do. only my close friends know i'm a communist.