Tbh, we’re not doing a lot better in terms of only allowing state-approved dissent. We night have slightly different vehicles and methods so we can still keep up appearances, but the real dissidents still get 360 no scoped by the FBI or harassed by the fascist public-private cooperative. That trend is only getting worse under Trump’s guidance, paired with the endless Republican simpering for him and a democratic party that fights its activists harder than it fights the opposition.
Yeah definitely true, but this stuff is more relevant for people who actively try to be a thorn in the government’s side, like lefties or dedicated pro-Palestine activists. The average prospective international student isn’t that so they can easily get by (of course this doesn’t apply to the current admin), while on the other hand I simply wouldn’t feel safe in a place where mildly politically charged comments about food prices or the job market can get me rounded up and interrogated, or where I don’t know which of my classmates or colleagues is a government informant. More than political freedom the personal safety guaranteed by that political freedom (even if, as you said, it’s just keeping up appearances) is what’s at stake here.
Tbh, we’re not doing a lot better in terms of only allowing state-approved dissent. We night have slightly different vehicles and methods so we can still keep up appearances, but the real dissidents still get 360 no scoped by the FBI or harassed by the fascist public-private cooperative. That trend is only getting worse under Trump’s guidance, paired with the endless Republican simpering for him and a democratic party that fights its activists harder than it fights the opposition.
Yeah definitely true, but this stuff is more relevant for people who actively try to be a thorn in the government’s side, like lefties or dedicated pro-Palestine activists. The average prospective international student isn’t that so they can easily get by (of course this doesn’t apply to the current admin), while on the other hand I simply wouldn’t feel safe in a place where mildly politically charged comments about food prices or the job market can get me rounded up and interrogated, or where I don’t know which of my classmates or colleagues is a government informant. More than political freedom the personal safety guaranteed by that political freedom (even if, as you said, it’s just keeping up appearances) is what’s at stake here.