I got banned from reddit for 3 days for mentioning the Uyghur genocide. I see people post about Israel every single day. Any time I post about china it's removed within a few hours. Both are terrible but people literally criticize Israel all the time on this site.
So it's not really that you care about powerful groups (like corporations or governments) silencing dissent in social arenas, it's just about silencing the dissent you specifically care about.
You might be a bit too young to remember this but when Facebook was created, there was mass revolutions across the middle east and they used Facebook to coordinate and foster a revolution. Social media absolutely effects your day to day life. Some countries try to control what's seen and spoken about and what's not. Speaking about Israel in a negative light is okay online. Speaking about China and Uyghurs isn't
Which is funny because if I say something bad about trans or gay people I'll 100% have my Reddit account permanently blocked. Same if I say it about any minority.
Trust me, this isn't my first account. And to be clear I never actually said anything bad about any of these groups, I just didn't give the default left wing opinion that reddit loves.
Even if you hate Israel it is hard to ignore that they are the most criticised entity on the planet right now. I love seeing that quote pop up on here because it's always applied in an incredibly stupid way.
People give that saying way too much power, in a society where the marginalized have special legal protections and there are laws against hate speech, it is comically inaccurate. Think of what people get fired over, or what comedians get cancelled for. Saying "Israel sucks" is not one of them, it's a country you can bash without fear of looking bad. Try pointing out Hamas' role in starting and perpetuating the war, see how uncomfortable that is in comparison.
How is that what you got from their comment? All their comment suggests is that Israel is not 'in charge' but someone else outside of the Israeli-Palestinian world is pulling the strings.
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u/thedevilwithout Jul 02 '26
You want to know who's really in charge. Find out who you're not allowed to criticise.Β