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Notes -
I wonder about this.
Isn't it possible that the American powers-that-be is just so firmly rooted and secure that it doesn't actually perceive the January 6th rioters as a real threat?
I've wondered about this in the context of the United States having some of the most robust free speech protections in the world. Maybe, they're okay with us saying all of these things not because of some high ideal from the 1700's, but because the current batch of ruling elites feels like they've locked down control so well that the speech of the little guy poses no serious threat to them?
China, Turkey and Russia cracking down on free speech is a sign of weakness, not strength or "seriousness."
It's notable that in times the American powers-that-be are afraid of ideologies, you get things like COINTELPRO happening. Maybe we'll find out about the contemporary version of that program in a few decades when the documents become declassified, or maybe there's no need for COINTELPRO 2.0 because no ideology yet poses a serious risk to the regime.
I'm inclined to agree with this. Enough of a disturbance to Teach A Lesson, but not enough of a threat to whip out the death squads.
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