this post was submitted on 25 Feb 2024
1289 points (92.6% liked)

libertarianism

396 readers
1 users here now

About us

An open, user owned community for the general disscussion of the libertarian philosophy.

Most people live their own lives by that code of ethics. Libertarians believe that that code should be applied consistently, even to the actions of governments, which should be restricted to protecting people from violations of their rights. Governments should not use their powers to censor speech, conscript the young, prohibit voluntary exchanges, steal or “redistribute” property, or interfere in the lives of individuals who are otherwise minding their own business.

Source: https://www.libertarianism.org/essays/what-is-libertarianism

Rules

1. Stay on topicWe are a libertarian community. There are no restrictions regarding different stances on the political spectrum, but all posts should be related to the philosophy of libertarianism.

2. Be polite to others and respects each others opinions.Be polite to others and respects each others opinions. We don't want any form of gatekeeping or circlejerk culture here.

3. Stay constructive and informationalIn general, all types of contributions are allowed, but the relevance to this community must always be evident and presented openly by the contributor. Posts that do not meet these requirements will be removed after a public warning. Also remember to cite you sources!

4. Use self-moderation measures first before reporting.This community is fundamentally built upon freedom of speech. Since everyone understands libertarianism differently and we do not want to exclude any kind of content a priori, we appeal to the individual users to block/mute posts or users who do not meet their requirements. Please bear this in mind when filing a report

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] the_post_of_tom_joad@sh.itjust.works 6 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Listen. How the fuck it it possible that people understand:

  • propaganda exists, and

  • that it is in a government's interest to keep an unpopular project secret from its citizens

and not even think to question the narrative that comes out of the media?

Do you mean to tell me you uncritically believe the notion that there is some way Snowden could have exposed government secrets and the government would be like: "whoa kay, ya got me, its true, and go ahead and listen to what he has to say?"

or do you suppose that maybe the government would still put a bit of FUD out to minimize the damage, keep its citizenry from wanting to look too deeply? I mean, wouldn't that just be a smart decision? We aren't talking about bastions of transparency right? we're talking about the same govt that just got caught wiretapping its citizens.

Rant over, lemme boil down what i'm looking for here:

Which of the many negative things that came out about Snowden do you believe was the truth vs FUD?

What are your feelings on how the media focused on Snowden himself rather than the content of the leaks?

Who do you suppose benefitted from that choice in focus?

[–] Maggoty@lemmy.world -4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

That's funny from the crowd that routinely says he'd have been renditioned and tortured when there are multiple cases of actual whistle blowers getting a 3-5 year prison term and being treated completely normally in the system.

Why is he special?

He was in Hong Kong for a month. Why couldn't he fly to a non extradition country in the month before they stopped his passport?

You're right that the story doesn't add up but it's not the governments story.

[–] the_post_of_tom_joad@sh.itjust.works 0 points 8 months ago (1 children)