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way too far (lemmy.ml)
submitted 3 months ago by sharkfucker420@lemmy.ml to c/memes@lemmy.ml
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[-] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 15 points 3 months ago

The 1930s famine in the USSR was not intentionally inflicted nor directed, and therefore was not a genocide. What happened was a combination of adverse weather conditions with kulaks, bourgeois farmers, burning their crops and killing their livestock to resist collectivization. Collectivization increased agricultural output and ended famine in regions where it was historically common.

As for the Falun Gong, they are a cult, not an ethnicity, and the PRC isn't killing them en masse, just repressing it as an anti-communist and western-funded cult. Same as the idea of Uyghur genocide, atrocity propaganda akin to claiming that there's "white genocide" in South Africa, Christian genocide in Nigeria, or that Hamas sexually assaulted babies in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.

In the case of Xinjiang, the area is crucial in the Belt and Road Initiative, so the west backed sepratist groups in order to destabilize the region. China responded with vocational programs and de-radicalization efforts, which the west then twisted into claims of "genocide." Nevermind that the west responds to seperatism with mass violence, and thus re-education programs focused on rehabilitation are far more humane, the tool was used both for outright violence by the west into a useful narrative to feed its own citizens.

The best and most comprehensive resource I have seen so far is Qiao Collective's Xinjiang: A Resource and Report Compilation. Qiao Collective is explicitly pro-PRC, but this is an extremely comprehensive write-up of the entire background of the events, the timeline of reports, and real and fake claims.

I also recommend reading the UN report and China's response to it. These are the most relevant accusations and responses without delving into straight up fantasy like Adrian Zenz, professional propagandist for the Victims of Communism Foundation, does.

Tourists do go to Xinjiang all the time as well. You can watch videos like this one on YouTube, though it obviously isn't going to be a comprehensive view of a complex situation like this.

[-] orc_princess@lemmy.ml 9 points 3 months ago

You have the patience of a saint, comrade. Thank you for always bringing evidence and asserting it politely.

[-] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 9 points 3 months ago

Thank you so much, comrade! I try to foster an environment where this kind of discussion is the norm for communists, so we can advance the general level of education and help each other learn more! 🫡

[-] TempermentalAnomaly@lemmy.world 4 points 3 months ago

I really enjoy your comments. You're even handed, considerate, and informative so I think you'll take this push back well.

The word cult is a slippery term that is generally a perjorative morphing to the intentions of both writer and reader. A more neutral term would be the preferred academic term of "new religious movement" while highlight specific harmful behaviors that might make it either immoral, illegal, or culturally distasteful.

I hope that you see the value in being more specific with the term.

[-] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 7 points 3 months ago

I hear your critique, but I do mean it in a negative way, due to beliefs such as the Falun Gong claiming "race-mixing severs connection to the gods," or believing modern science was created by aliens to take over human bodies. They have been persecuted not for being a new religious movement, but for their dangerous, far-right views and subversion. Does that justify using the word "cult?"

[-] TempermentalAnomaly@lemmy.world 5 points 3 months ago

For me, it's more than just the dangers of their ideas. Its mechanisms of control. Can members come and go freely? Do the members have a livelihood separate from the religious community? Do they have access to other perspective or is their information limited and curated? Do they use their doctrines to create obedience to the leadership? Is their financial obligation to the movement more onerous than other religious groups? Can a member leave tomorrow without being stalked or harassed?

As far as I’ve seen, Falun Gong practitioners generally live normal, secular lives and aren't financially 'captured' by the organization. They might have strange or even 'subversive' views, but if the mechanism of total control isn't there, 'NRM' remains the more precise academic fit.

This is not a defense of their views. If our net is just fringe ideas, the net would be cast too wide and catch otherwise socially accepted groups.

[-] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 6 points 3 months ago

I see your point, I'll try to be more clear next time, but in doing so will need to point out their far-right extremism as well.

[-] TempermentalAnomaly@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago

I think that's fair.

this post was submitted on 02 Feb 2026
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