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Comment on Before modern-day authoritarian regimes, did people living under abosolute monarchies talk criticize the monarchs? Or did they just stay silent in fear of persecution?

beerclue@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

I grew up in a rough communist regime. I was really young when I overheard my parents talking about how the “supreme leader” was bad and things were starting to boil the next town over. There was nothing on TV or radio. Innocent me just asked my dad like, if he’s that bad, why don’t they just arrest the guy? They didn’t realize I actually understood what they were talking about. I can still remember, to this day, 36 years later, how the soul left my parents’ body in an instant, and we had a looong conversation about how I should never say anything like that ever again. People disappear when they talk like that, and “you don’t want your mum and dad to go away, do you”?

A few months later there was a nation wide uprising, people died, the regime fell, and they actually arrested the guy.

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DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
Lol, when we immigrated to the US, my mother told me never to publically criticize the government because it brings trouble, because their parents (aka: my grandparents) lived through the “Cultural Revolution” of PRC and this fear was passed down even after emigration, and I was like “but this is America? freedom of speech?”

Looking at modern day developments of the US, turns out they were right lol.

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- TheLeadenSea@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  Maybe it wouldn’t be this bad if people like them had criticised the government.
  
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  - DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works ⁨23⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    I mean…
    
    They did
    
    Then the Government sent the tanks…
    
    🤷‍♂️
    
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    __siru__@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨23⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    I think they were referring to criticizing the US government, not PRC. In an effort to keep free speech around in the US.
    
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- BeMoreCareful@lemmy.world ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  You can have all the freedom you want, as long as your not dumb enough to actually try it
  
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SomeAmateur@sh.itjust.works ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
My great grandparents immigrated from Eastern Europe to the US. My Grandma told us about the time one of their relatives came to visit them. She remembers that he almost never took off his shoes, even when sleeping. They asked him about it and he said it was to run out the back door if the secret police came. He was amazed that nobody else in the family did the same, and then even more amazed to learn that nobody HAD to

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A_norny_mousse@feddit.org ⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

Innocent me just asked my dad

How old were you at that point?

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- beerclue@lemmy.world ⁨20⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  i was around 7yo.
  
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  - A_norny_mousse@feddit.org ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Thanks. That must have been tough on you - most kids at that age have a strong but simplified sense of moral - but more so on your parents. I hope they found a good way of explaining it to 7-year-old you.
    
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    beerclue@lemmy.world ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    They didn’t go into details, just made sure I fear talking about it again. Losing my parents was incentive enough. And I’ve never heard them talk about the regime ever again.
    
    A few months later, in December of ‘89, as more and more cities around the country were revolting, my parents suddenly took me to my grandparents’ in the countryside, and they went back to town. I didn’t know why. A few days later I saw on TV the “we’re free” news, with footage from around the country and the new “National Salvation Front” political party taking over. I didn’t understand much then, but I remember being proud that they finally “arrested the guy” (they executed him and his wife by firing squad, on Christmas day).
    
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