maodun

joined 1 month ago
[–] maodun@lemmygrad.ml 20 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I'm assuming that notion is based on primarily proselytizing missionaries. Some of the Qing emperors flip flopped on allowing missionaries (foreigners) to do their evangelizing (so, if the "China persecutes Christians" is some anti-communist "commies oppressing freedom of religion!" angle then yes that's a lie or at least an exaggeration, because China's relationship with religions - in general and not just Christianity - has a ton of history. Also see other replies on the permitted Christian sects list in other comments regarding today's PRC). In more recent/modern history (may fourth movement known for anti-imperialism etc) that missionary stuff is seen by some as a foothold for colonizers, but also during the Republican era missionaries were sometimes allowed in (think Pearl S Buck's family) and were also faced with getting kicked out later as the tides changed.

[–] maodun@lemmygrad.ml 10 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Don't watch him and never heard of him before but going off on his video titles+thumbnails, this seems like average breadtuber stuff which is like some guy making 'video essay'-adjacent videos either constantly rebutting right wingers and/or just dipping their toes into leftism while researching their video topic. Not actually familiar with any serious theory, spotty and/or dubious citations, doesn't like AES, engages more with rightwingers (even if it is in opposition) than any 'leftists' because that's the most prominent way to get views on youtube, that kind of 'breadtuber'

LOL I'm literally 1 minute into ' "Socialism Always Fails": A Dishonest Claim (3 Times It Worked) ' he literally says "I do believe old communist states devolved into tyranny and state capitalism". Then he echoes a bunch of common anti-communist "leftist" claims like that the bourgeoisie wasn't dismantled and the state just replaced capitalists in subordination of the proletariat; USSR is technically bad because human rights violations; and nobody should look up to (my guess is this includes reading or studying... come on) Stalin or Mao and also throws Pol Pot in the same group as them (the insinuation I'm getting here is that he buys into the narrative of "holodomor" or kulaks or great leap forward or cultural revolution are actual genocides of which includes the Cambodian genocide). It's somewhat disappointing but also funny that I had him pinned... these types of anticommunist "leftists" like to have this moralist/perfectionist position where successful socialism is when you never ever make mistakes, or rather, don't survive long enough to make them because their projects were cut short due to intervention (the 3 he names as "worked in the past" are Sankara's Burkina Faso, Arbenz's Guatemala, and Allende's Chile). idk, maybe come back in a few years and hope he gets serious like 2nd thought.

[–] maodun@lemmygrad.ml 4 points 1 month ago

can't forget just completely dropping the ball on the most popular campaign promises (enshrining reproductive rights, student debt relief)

[–] maodun@lemmygrad.ml 26 points 1 month ago

if Dems win: wow our strategy of catering to the "moderates" and conservatives estranged by Trump worked!

if Dems lose: wow we didn't cater to the "moderates" or conservatives estranged by Trump hard enough. Gotta go harder next time.

[–] maodun@lemmygrad.ml 9 points 1 month ago (5 children)

hello (⊙ω⊙)7 new in town.

[–] maodun@lemmygrad.ml 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

if you want general history, there's a relatively comprehensive docu-series produced by CCTV6 from 2013 called 中国通史 General History of China (100 episodes). However it's in Mandarin Chinese, so not very podcast-able if you don't understand Mandarin, but there are english subs available (on a quick search, and a brief glance they look decent) and IMO the artifacts and depictions are worth the watch. If anything it might be a good launching point if you wanted to look into more specific topics, for example, philosophy which is often intertwined with religion and civics in Chinese history, or historic literature.

EDIT: found an english dub on youtube ^^ just search "general history of china eng dub"

EDIT AGAIN: comrade linked it below ^^

[–] maodun@lemmygrad.ml 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Well, re:Iraq/Afghanistan, news of soldiers coming back in caskets very much contributed to Bush's unpopularity. At the end of the day, chanting "we're fighting for freedom! and democracy!" isn't enough to keep 'muricans in hawkish zeal. It popped the popular perception that pointy end of the military industrial complex was only for ~~brown people~~ non-americans. Which is why proxy wars are the go-to now, much more secure in support from the metropole.

edit: and less news of Americans dropping missiles on weddings