BRAZIL SHOULD TERRIFY YOU Just a day and a half ago, it seemed like things were calming in Brazil. The Folha de São Paulo, the New York Times of Brazil, editorialized against censorship. The head of the Brazilian Bar Association gave a strong statement in support of freedom of expression. And the President of Brazil’s Supreme Court said the conflict between Brazil and X, formerly known as Twitter, was over. “People talk a big game but don’t act on their words,” he said All of that has once again changed. Yesterday, Brazil’s President Lula called for criminalizing lying. Given that everybody lies, Lula is proposing to give the government the power to arrest anyone he wants. Thousands of Workers Party activists took to X yesterday to demand that I be arrested for things I said during my testimony before the Brazilian Senate. And today, the head of X in Brazil announced they have quit out fear for their safety. I am not afraid for myself. As I said on X a few days ago, I fear neither the devil nor de Moraes, the Supreme Court justice rapidly turning himself into Brazil’s dictator. I am taking all necessary precautions to ensure that I can leave Brazil safely and without being arrested. You can help by sharing this video and spreading the word about what is happening here. And yet, what is happening in Brazil terrifies me nonetheless. I love this country and its people and fear that it is on the cusp of totalitarianism. A significant share of the Left wants to incarcerate their political enemies. Respected Brazilian journalists say with a straight face that the government must engage in mass censorship in order to protect democracy. Brazil is everything that George Orwell feared and worse. The Brazilian government appears to view “1984” not as a dystopia to avoid but rather as a guide to a better future. I would be less worried if Brazil were small and irrelevant, but it’s not. Brazil is the largest and most important nation in Latin America. Just this week, top Brazilian government representatives were in China talking about how China, one of the most totalitarian nations in the world, is a model for Brazil. Brazil is an inspiration for European totalitarians who have weaponized government intelligence agencies to spread disinformation about their political enemies and are implementing a censorship system to control the entire Internet. The most terrifying part of all of this is the marriage of psychopathic government leaders like Lula and de Moraes with totalitarian activists and voters. Governments have successfully brainwashed a significant percentage of the population into supporting mass censorship. Young adults raised on social media are today more intolerant than the students in China’s Cultural Revolution in China who denounced their teachers and sent them off to work camps to be tortured. At the same time, people with a mentality no different from the people who ran the Stasi and the Gestapo are in charge of intelligence agencies in Europe and the United States. Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives renewed legislation that gives the US government the right to spy on Americans suspected of collaborating with foreign governments. The result will be McCarthyism on steroids. The FBI will be able to spy on any American citizen who dares to criticize the war in Ukraine. The US government will label people who oppose endless wars in Eurasia as “political extremists,” ruining their careers, or worse. During the rise of Communism and fascism in Europe, many Jews and other persecuted people could flee to the United States. Where will we flee if the United States continues down the road to totalitarianism? Not Europe. Not Brazil. Is any country safe in a world where every movement, transaction, and thought is being monitored? I keep waiting for the downward spiral to hit bottom, and it never does. I am naturally optimistic, but sometimes, that means I have tended toward wishful thinking. Such wishful thinking is dangerous and irresponsible in moments like this one. So, too, is passivity. We must act. That starts with standing up to the bullies, all of whom are cowards on the inside. Elon Musk stood up to the bully de Moraes last week and appears to be holding strong. Tonight, he will hold a Spaces with the controversial former president of Brazil, whom the Supreme Court has prevented from running for office again for another eight years. My colleagues and I are building a new free-speech movement. All of the organizations we used to rely upon to defend human rights, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and ACLU, have been taken over by totalitarians demanding censorship. We are gathering in London in June. We are starting our own free-speech NGOs around the world. We can’t do this alone. Please share this post, consider subscribing to my publication, Public, and make a donation. People are risking their lives to defend free speech for all human beings. You don’t need to risk yours, but we desperately need your help. Things won’t calm down until we stand up to the tyrants and remove every one of them from power.
Please consider donating to support the struggle for free speech in Brazil and other nations around the world: censorshipindustrialcomplex.org/donate-1
I agree @shellenberger. I believe many people fear risking it all (life, freedom, family, financial stability, etc.) and failing in an attempt to make a final stand against their oppressors. It has been a week or so since I became aware of this tragedy in Brazil and started following it. After listening to you here, I realized I posted similar talking points as yours on another thread earlier today on X, which is awesome. Here is what is on my mind after reading comments on X from the people of Brazil and listening to you: 1) The decent amount of people in Brazil seem to want to organize an effective stand, but experiencing challenges doing so due to mainstream media brainwashing, etc., to pacify the percentage of people on the fence. 2) I’m hearing that many of the leaders who decided to step in front to resist the opposition have been either arrested or killed. This, I imagine, sparks fear and signals to the rest of the people to stand down or else. 3) I think another fear for the majority is putting everything on the line to make a stand against the full might of a dictatorship, only to look back and not see the rest of the cavalry behind them (see numbers 1 and 2 above). 4) I feel this would be the same challenges in any other country if the people had to make an effective stand for whatever reason. While harnessing one’s fear can produce strength, the psychological warfare against fear that results in inaction to action is a battle on its own that would need to be addressed and countered if the people want to protect/regain their sovereignty.
"The world is surprised, because it never saw the dictatorship of a supreme court like that of Brazil. What explains is the pilot test in which the Brazilian supreme court is a "pioneer" in the world in implementing the 2030 globalist agenda. Global (globalist) dominators want to give the checkmate and finally install a world government once and for all."
@shellenberger "What's sinister is the ease with which some people go from saying they don't like something to saying the government should ban it. When you go down this path, don't expect freedom to survive for long" Thomas Sowell
@shellenberger Brazil is a matter of INTERNATIONAL importance! 🇧🇷🗽🇩🇪
@shellenberger Brazil is a matter of INTERNATIONAL importance! 🇧🇷🗽🇩🇪
Yet another irrational international crakkker standing in solidarity with fascism under the guise of "free speech." A dramatic crakkker I might add.
@shellenberger It does terrify me. As does Canada. And Australia. Authoritarianism is spreading, and it's spreading fast. We need to stop it. now.
A situation similar to Brazil will happen here in America if we allow our politicians to keep demanding ‘Disinformation’ legislation and allowing their love-affair with China to grow. The United States Government, under Democrat control is allowing China to have its will in South America.
Our MAGA response to this HORIFIC threat, is to re-enact the 'Communist Control Act of 1954' ,that was signed into Law by none other than President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Five Star General, WW2 Hero, and President of the United States of America! LARGER THAN LIFE!🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡
@shellenberger @MorganF19348035 Brazil was already one of the murder capitals of the world. Us white men were not concerned, or try to help them. My cousins in Ireland and UK face censorship, along with many European countries.