[arczyx]

> But China ultimately having that power scares me more than an American company having it.

Well for people not from US, China having that power is absolutely better. After all, unlike the US, China hadn't invaded another country or instigated coup for the past 40+ years.

[gaogao]

40+ is a bit weird of a timeline to give considering they invaded Vietnam 45 years ago, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Vietnamese_War

[arnavpraneet]

yes, checks out? that seems to be why it is worded that way. They can't write 45 because of that invasion, so 40 seems to be the ballpark?

[infecto]

Oh get real. China is equally a bad actor in more modern times. They have massive human rights issues, suppress free speech, took over HK before the agreed upon time. It’s not like they are some angel in this scenario.

[moviet]

The U.S. makes mistakes. Everyone is free talk about them and try to correct them.

Sometimes, we overcorrect or under-correct - or are slow to address things.

But we admit them. I think that counts for a lot.

I think it is unfair to point to military mistakes as undermining all of U.S. credibility.

[kmbfjr]

It took forty years for the country to begin atonement for the hardships inflicted on its own citizens during WWII, and forty years after that discussion began, we’re again talking about interment camps.

We make mistakes and learn nothing from them.

[arczyx]

> I think it is unfair to point to military mistakes as undermining all of U.S. credibility.

US didn't invade Iraq and other countries "by mistake". Same with all the coups and regime change operations. If you think these many instances are mistake, well then I have a bridge to sell to you.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_involvement_in_r...

[theossuary]

We're actually not allowed to talk about them, see the Palestine genocide content being suppressed in US public spaces and social media platforms, but not on Tiktok.

[filoleg]

Oh yeah?

Because in the first half of last year, pro-Palestine discourse has been occupying heavy majority of my social media feeds (twitter, reddit, ig, etc.) without me even engaging with any of that content. Not even mentioning all the pro-Palestine protests outside that I got to witness myself. And I had a chance to witness plenty of anti-Trump protests (both irl and in the media of all kinds) during his first presidency as well. Open any social media, and you will see tons and tons of people talking plenty of very strong anti-Trump and anti-Biden rhetoric.

How well would any of that fly in China?

P.S. If pro-Palestine content was “suppressed in US public spaces and social media platforms,” they were doing a really poor job of it. My IG and twitter feeds were just filled with it, despite me hitting “not interested” on most of it. Meanwhile, TikTok algorithm was actually respecting my preferences, and my feed there was filled with stuff I actually cared to see (like 3d printing projects).

[snozolli]

unlike the US, China hadn't invaded another country or instigated coup for the past 40+ years.

No need to invade when you can do neo-colonialism to take over Africa, social media to influence the vote of your primary rival, and forcing a puppet government in Hong Kong (i.e. a coup). Not to mention destroying coral reefs to build artificial islands for military outposts in other nations' waters and blatant sabre rattling against Taiwan and even maritime attacks on peaceful neighbors.

China is regularly swinging their fist within range to tweak noses and crying foul when they're called out on their aggressive behavior. The only reason a war hasn't started is because their victims haven't stood up to their nonsense yet.

[bezier-curve]

[removing because I don't like HN's comment system and drunkenly engaged in a pointless posturing contest with a tanker.]

[arczyx]

> but saying China's power is "better" feels tone-deaf, especially considering places like Hong Kong

I'm no expert on Hongkong, but I'm pretty sure it's nowhere as bad as a genocide where 50% of the victims are children funded and supplied by the US. So yes, China is better.

> Specifically, every one of us who worked in an emergency, intensive care, or surgical setting treated pre-teen children who were shot in the head or chest on a regular or even a daily basis. It is impossible that such widespread shooting of young children throughout Gaza, sustained over the course of an entire year is accidental or unknown to the highest Israeli civilian and military authorities.

https://www.gazahealthcareletters.org/usa-letter-oct-2-2024

[bezier-curve]

[removing because I don't like HN's comment system and drunkenly engaged in a pointless posturing contest with a tanker.]

[arczyx]

Yes you need to get sober first, maybe then you'll realize how absurd it is calling someone who are against Israeli tanks killing children as a 'tanker'.

[infecto]

Your taking your emotions for the Gaza conflict and applying it to the issue at hand TikTok.

[bezier-curve]

Yeah, I like how HN keeps increasing the karma threshold for just being able to downvote. I don't often get downvotes, but when I do it's definitely for wrong think and attempting to disarm people with humor. I'm sorry but this platform needs to treat people like humans, and I refuse to be a part of it from this point on because of that. If I could downvote and move on, I'd comment less. This platform is toxic.

[bezier-curve]

I deleted that comment because it got downvotes. Downvote this one too, tech startup incubator trolls.

Edit: Also reaffirming my position the parent commenter is a combative CCP apologizer using irrelevant comparisons, as all the sibling conversation clearly points out.

[bezier-curve]

Edit: I'm done interacting with this platform that ironically doesn't respect people's boundaries and is more of a club house of narrow perspectives centered around increasing wealth for select technical communities.