Wave of online scepticism about two stories of survival and success in China point to deeper public dissatisfaction.
The lengths that some are willing to go to stifle bad news in China drew ridicule online last year when a student at a college in Nanchang discovered a rat’s head in his cafeteria rice meal, which canteen staff, the school and a local food supervision bureau all claimed was duck meat.
The catering company then threatened legal actions against anyone “spreading rumours” about their food, while students were told by school staff not to discuss the rodent’s head in the rice.
“When those in power even try to cover up a rat head, it is difficult to trust anything you hear or see in the media,” Li from Suzhou said.
Peng from Shenzhen concurred.
“There are so many problems in China right now with the economy, with corruption, and with many other things,” she said.
“You can’t hide it all behind some positive stories,” she added.
See, the trick we’ve found is to raise the water temperature slowly, so the frog doesn’t notice. Then, when agitators start to become a noticable problem, you can back off a little. You can get pretty far with scare tactics (“terrorism” is a good one which can be applied to almost any enemy of The State!), although the absolute best thing is to foment class warefare: the traditional, tried-and-true way is to convince the middle class that their problems are caused by the poor, but a better way is to get the middle class to fight with themselves! Keep most of the poor almost starving – we don’t want another French Revolution! - and they’ll be too busy just getting enough to really revolt. Media helps a lot here, too; bread and circuses, indeed!
With some minor hiccups (pwew, the 60s and early 70s had us sweating, I can tell you) it’s been mostly smooth sailing. Social media has been a godsend, I can tell you - it really put some gas in the old “circuses” dial - but the real breakthrough has been convincing everyone that they have some sort of mental health issue that requires pharmaceuticals. The entire country is taking something, and that’s been a huge help in keeping people docile.
No, we’re pretty sure we’ve figured out how to prevent open rebellion; we have all the tools and methodology, so you won’t see any rock-bashing anymore.
the real breakthrough has been convincing everyone that they have some sort of mental health issue that requires pharmaceuticals. The entire country is taking something, and that’s been a huge help in keeping people docile.
I was with you up until that point. You point out that the poor are made to fight each other and then you engage in a fight against the disadvantaged who need medical assistance? Fuck this science denying, ableist bullshit.
Foolish me for thinking no-one could possibly need an /s on that comment.
“Fight” can mean a lot of things. Even in my fanciful, conspiracy-laden story, there aren’t middle-class hoards battling in the streets with the poor
If you don’t think the pharmaceutical industry isn’t driving up use of their products then you’ve been living under a rock and have missed the entire opioid crisis, where pharma is being sued for doing exactly that. Or do you thinv chronic pain sufferers don’t have valid medical conditions?
Drugs are absolutely beneficial for a lot of people. There are also absolutely a lot of kids on prozac, or on amphetamines, wh don’t need to be. Or did you not know that highly addictive amphetamines is a commonly prescribed for ADHD?
Foolish me for thinking no-one could possibly need an /s on that comment.
I got the sarcasm, but this particular point is – as you’ve demonstrated very clearly in your response – the actual message you’re trying to push.
Or did you not know that highly addictive amphetamines is a commonly prescribed for ADHD?
You’re using “highly addictive” to insinuate that this is just a ludicrous and fundamentally flawed practice. No concern towards all of those who do have ADHD who report that medication has helped them live a life otherwise inaccessible to them. It’s highly stigmatizing framing and just because you have a valid point about opioids does not mean you get to dismiss genuine mental health struggles as having fallen prey to a marketing scheme.
Amphetamines are highly addicti|e. Just like opioids. Chronic pain sufferers are as stigmatized. They’re treated like potential criminals by the very doctors who treat them. Are you as willing to defend the pharma industry for that? Or imply that it’s some sort of right-wing hoax?
And, yeah, I’m straight up saying that there’s an equivalency there. That pharma pushes doctors to over-prescribe for profit. And that there’s also an epidemic of amphetamine use and abuse, specifically of ADHD medications. It’s simply not the hip thing for Americans to be outraged about; amphetamines are so last century. Fentanyl is the new drug king. But they all start with prescription drugs, and over-prescribing.
The mental health crisis is because people with problems do not get the support or help they need; it’s not because we’re not prescribing enough drugs. Not everyone who has a headache needs Vicodin; not everyone with childhood trauma needs Prozac.
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See, the trick we’ve found is to raise the water temperature slowly, so the frog doesn’t notice. Then, when agitators start to become a noticable problem, you can back off a little. You can get pretty far with scare tactics (“terrorism” is a good one which can be applied to almost any enemy of The State!), although the absolute best thing is to foment class warefare: the traditional, tried-and-true way is to convince the middle class that their problems are caused by the poor, but a better way is to get the middle class to fight with themselves! Keep most of the poor almost starving – we don’t want another French Revolution! - and they’ll be too busy just getting enough to really revolt. Media helps a lot here, too; bread and circuses, indeed!
With some minor hiccups (pwew, the 60s and early 70s had us sweating, I can tell you) it’s been mostly smooth sailing. Social media has been a godsend, I can tell you - it really put some gas in the old “circuses” dial - but the real breakthrough has been convincing everyone that they have some sort of mental health issue that requires pharmaceuticals. The entire country is taking something, and that’s been a huge help in keeping people docile.
No, we’re pretty sure we’ve figured out how to prevent open rebellion; we have all the tools and methodology, so you won’t see any rock-bashing anymore.
Its funny but every authoritarian regime kind of thinks the same thing not long before rough music starts.
I was with you up until that point. You point out that the poor are made to fight each other and then you engage in a fight against the disadvantaged who need medical assistance? Fuck this science denying, ableist bullshit.
So:
Drugs are absolutely beneficial for a lot of people. There are also absolutely a lot of kids on prozac, or on amphetamines, wh don’t need to be. Or did you not know that highly addictive amphetamines is a commonly prescribed for ADHD?
I got the sarcasm, but this particular point is – as you’ve demonstrated very clearly in your response – the actual message you’re trying to push.
You’re using “highly addictive” to insinuate that this is just a ludicrous and fundamentally flawed practice. No concern towards all of those who do have ADHD who report that medication has helped them live a life otherwise inaccessible to them. It’s highly stigmatizing framing and just because you have a valid point about opioids does not mean you get to dismiss genuine mental health struggles as having fallen prey to a marketing scheme.
Amphetamines are highly addicti|e. Just like opioids. Chronic pain sufferers are as stigmatized. They’re treated like potential criminals by the very doctors who treat them. Are you as willing to defend the pharma industry for that? Or imply that it’s some sort of right-wing hoax?
And, yeah, I’m straight up saying that there’s an equivalency there. That pharma pushes doctors to over-prescribe for profit. And that there’s also an epidemic of amphetamine use and abuse, specifically of ADHD medications. It’s simply not the hip thing for Americans to be outraged about; amphetamines are so last century. Fentanyl is the new drug king. But they all start with prescription drugs, and over-prescribing.
The mental health crisis is because people with problems do not get the support or help they need; it’s not because we’re not prescribing enough drugs. Not everyone who has a headache needs Vicodin; not everyone with childhood trauma needs Prozac.