In Los Angeles, in summer of 2020, we were tear gassed, people around me caught beanbags to the chest and head (some people lost eyes due to this), they used the emergency alert system to impose a curfew on the whole city for like a week. Local reporters got the shit beat out of them. We, along with like 3000 other people, got arrested. I’m so glad I got out of that country.
The second any actual resistance movement picks up, the real United States comes out.
It was quite an awful time, most of the protests I attended were very peaceful, but there was one that I attended with tear gas, and my friend is asthmatic and it was just such a terrifying moment. Thankfully he was alright after a bit. Tbh the resistance movement is met poorly everywhere. I do not think I would have the balls to protest in Russia.
There was a highly popular video on reddit just a couple of days ago that had two people being taken away by police during impromptu interviews. One was apparently opposed to Putin (though I have no idea if that’s true I’m just going off context) and the other seemed to support the war (against based on context) yet they were both taken away. It was kind of funny, like the perfect comedic timing that made it seem like a skit.
The staggering number of people condemning Russia as a police-state, stifling free speech, etc., etc., was so considerable that you’d think one of them would have the presence of mind to bring up the very recent experience with the exact same thing in the USA. Actually, it could be said that it was worse given that many of the police officers were not in uniform and driving unmarked vehicles just grabbing people off the street.
It’s like they all forgot.
This is what you are talking about: https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/03/14/video-shows-back-to-back-arrests-of-anti-and-pro-war-activists-in-moscow-a76917
I don’t think your comparison is equivalent. Russian citizens are being fines as high as 30,000 roubles for any anti-war sentiment & the more high-profile protesters are being imprisoned for it with no fair trial. The USA protests were riddled with police brutality, but no one’s phones were searched, no one went to jail for 15 years for protesting, & no one was fined such egregious amounts no matter what the property damage was.
nono, Biden ended authoritarianism in the US. silly russian bots.
