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Comment by lustysocietyorg | Hacker News Reader

> Whataboutism

Typically used by people who have nothing else to say.

I did not write anything to excuse China.

I wrote something that accuses the USA and our western democracies of being far worse than China for the world. Something very relevant regarding the fear mongering against Russia and China promoted by the message in the linked article that also promotes the worldview that the USA and the western democracies are beacons of goodness that must act against Russia and China.

Besides, Russia was invited by the official and elected Syrian president. The USA invaded Syria and promoted terrorism. You should read about what Syrian people think about Russia and the USA in their country.

Example: 'Thank you, Russia, Thank you, Putin' - BBC News https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNTgL82D4Xo

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> I wrote something that accuses the USA and our western democracies of being far worse than China for the world.

I think that's a denial of reality, though. Soviet Russia killed roughly 10 million of its own people [1]. Mao's Great Leap forward killed roughly 45 million people. [2] This isn't some "they mucked around in someone else's backyard--cultural interference!!!" badness. Together, Russia and China killed the same number of people that World War II did (~ 55 million), and they did this to their own subjects. What the U.S. and other Western democracies did was to prevent these horrors from visiting the rest of the world.

What Russia and China had in common, and still do, is that they were, and still are, totalitarian dictatorships. China happens to be the largest, most technologically advanced one we've ever seen. But it still is one. Totalitarian dictatorships are worse for the world. History has taught this much, at least.

You won't hear me claiming that USA and Western democracies are "beacons of goodness", but it's silly to say "Nay! Nay! They're worse!"

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor

[2] https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/...

We are in 2019. Important things have changed since 1933.

Although unrelated but in reply to your message: China is a totalitarian dictatorship but I wonder if more Chinese people support it than US people support Trump or Clinton or any other of the war criminal mass murder US presidents that US democracy had elected in the last century.

I hope that the Green Party or another reasonable party will be elected in the USA in 2020.

Besides: AFAIK it is possible for many to use VPN in China to access the internet privately without censorship and without punishment.

https://www.travelchinacheaper.com/is-it-legal-to-use-a-vpn-...

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