this post was submitted on 16 Jan 2026
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I think about what I write quite a lot, actually. People don't become indoctrinated, they license themselves to believe that that which they think is beneficial to them is good. The essay Masses, Elites, and Rebels: The Theory of "Brainwashing" explains this phenomenon quite well. I'm aware of suicide bombers, cults, etc, but these aren't a result of "reprogramming" or whatever you think China is doing, but instead due to people willingly believing that it's correct.
The rest of the world doesn't criticize China for this though, only westerners who've licensed themselves into thinking China is some dystopia. I haven't regurgitated random info, I've directly answered your claims and built up my own defenses for mine.
I'm aware of how bias works in media, but it doesn't mean that everything they say is wrong. If they said the sky is blue, it would be correct even if they were being paid to say so. What you believe about China comes from people paid to discredit it, after all, so your argument is more that we can't believe what anyone has to say if they are paid to say it.
This doesn't even matter here, though, as I don't get paid to do so.