How could you achieve communism or socialism without authoritarianism?

Same way the Neozapatistas have done? By actually showing your system is better, and letting people join your movement. And allow them to leave, if they desire.

Are they better, though?

I mean, last I checked, Wikipedia is far more accurate than most encyclopedias professionally assembled. And, to add to it: Wikipedia is certainly well sourced, and admits its biases quite openly, and in fact are working to correct those biases.

So, what Chinese-based wikipedia alternatives are out there? And I mean, communally owned, maintained, and edited encyclopedia, which, quite frankly, is one of the best examples of a communist endeavors one can find on the internet at this time…

I prefer hearing about it from Marxists far closer to the source, and using China’s own information they publish:

https://www.cpiml.net/liberation/2020/08/chinas-concentration-camps-for-uyghurs-in-chinas-own-words

we have child labor in the US too. It’s not legal

A lot of child labor in the US, is in fact, very legal.

From the age of 10-15, working papers can be issued allowing children to deliver newspaper, hawk products on corners, and do limited farm work.

From 15-17, working papers can be issues allowing children to pretty much do any job, with some limitations on hours, and tooling they can use (ie, no automatic sharp tools, like slicers).

Now, these are for my state. Some states are far more exploitative, such as Georgia, where kids as young as 13 can work a fast food joint.

“And our tests have concluded, that this is, in fact, a lie.”

You mean how both China, and the US propagandize their citizens? Yeah, I’m fully aware of that already. All states will do it, as a system of control over the working class, in order to continue to exploit them.

I mean, if controlling the people wasn’t the goal, whats the purpose of the oppression of a state?

China…

https://www.cpiml.net/liberation/2020/08/chinas-concentration-camps-for-uyghurs-in-chinas-own-words

If I have bad credit in the US, I don’t get locked out of riding the bus

You might!

I know a lot of areas are switching to digital-only bus fares, and those, of course, require a bank card or credit card…

Guess what can lock you out of getting those, and thereby, riding on the bus?

There’s also no credit-score check in the US for job applications, so no, it doesn’t “lock people out of finding work.”

Do you live in the US? Lots of employers run credit checks as a part of their normal background checking. I’ve see people fired for bad credit scores.

It’s too bad the people of China aren’t allowed to edit Wikipedia, and correct the facts, because of their oppressive state.

People of the US and China are both unsure of what to believe about the other, because both are so propagandized lol

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau?

will we shun anyone who cares about furthering our rights to privacy, because they have other stances on other issues?

The Reich Wing doesn’t want to further your rights to privacy. Their “other stances” are that some humans are sub-human, and deserve to be extinct.

So, yes, you shun the people who think some humans are sub-human.

We should accept to support a bill strengthening privacy even if it may come from a political party we generally do not support.

Nobody on the left, afaik, rejects bills out of hand, purely because of which party promulgates it… The problem is, while the American Reich talks a lot about worker’s issues, the bills they propose are just oligarch hand outs, cloaked in socialist or populist ideas. ie, The PATRIOT Act was the least patriotic bill ever put forth, but NOBODY was allowed to be unPATRIOTic and vote against it. The left, opposed it. Same with the 1993 Crime Bill, put forth by Dems… Can’t be “anti-crime” now can we?

A PhD is a mutli-year committment, usually right about 4 years before you’re ready to argue your dissertation.

Like, a PhD program is basically 1/3 doing your research, 1/3 being a TA, and 1/3 being an RA.

Literal thought policing (“what you privately think”)

Your private thoughts, nobody cares about. He didn’t have a “private thought” exposed, he literally posted his thought publicly.

THATs the issue, and people can choose to disassociate with you, if you publicly ruminate how you’re going to work hand-in-hand with a fascist state.

judge Proton by its actions rather than the (utterly commonplace) opinions of one of its directors.

And, this is what we are doing. A CEO speaks for the organization, and telegraphs it’s actions. And his actions are gross.

If the org wants to fix this, they need to fire him. Because otherwise, his opinion is the opinion of the organization.

There are no single policies of the GOP that are “good” for anyone but oligarchs. Reich Wingers aren’t your friends. And, if you believe them to be, you’ll be one of the firsts in the Night of the Long Knives.

Jezus fucking christ, do people not read history anymore?

There are no specific policies of the GOP, Trump, or the American Reich that are positive for anyone but oligarchs.

If you say anything positive about an American politician it means you will stan them for life and support all their actions unconventionally.

There is nothing positive about the GOP, Trump, or the American Reich Wing.

Impartial to evil is… Well, just evil.

If I walk past a person beheading 3 people who have done nothing wrong, and am able to in fact stop it, and don’t… I’m just as fucking evil as the guy doing the beheading.

So, we just believe that Proton, being buddy-buddy with Trump, isn’t going to turn around, and stab us in the backs?

Call me “skeptical”.