re: #2 William Barnett-Lewis

I have listened to you talk about the Great Firewall of China.

I have listened to young christian people from northern Nigeria.

And then I listen to some fucking asshats daring to complain about “oppression” and “persecution” in America.

Fuck those childish shits.

In total agreement. When I hear the far right, far left and far-out-there libertarians cry wolf about the oppression and persecution of (fill in the blank) the USA, I just snort. They have no fucking idea what real oppression and persecution are. If the USA had the kind of media controls China does, these Twitter soldiers would all be locked up long ago in some dark hole, cut off from the Internet and most of society. Soldiers would come and bust up their home Bible sessions, close down religious homeschools, arrest the leaders of Liberty U, Regent U and Bob Jones U.

I know very clearly what I can and cannot do or say while I work here. I know the police keep tabs on my travels. Everyone buying a train ticket has to show ID to buy them. Everyone checking into a hotel has his name and ID reported to the local police.

On the other hand, I can keep my shoes and belt on at the airport. And no one at any bus terminal, train station or airport has ever asked to inspect my bags. We can even keep locks on our luggage here. There’s no TSA taking a Dremel tool to saw through the zipper pulls.

It’s a mixed bag. I’ve just learned to adapt.