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Protester shot in chest by live police round during Hong Kong protests

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628 points nodea2345 | 5 comments | 01 Oct 19 11:19 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source
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loquor ◴[01 Oct 19 16:03 UTC] No.21126953[source]▶
This might sound alarmist, but do you think China is the biggest upcoming global problem after climate change? For two reasons:

1. China has a totalitarian ruling system. They intend to realize George Orwell's 1984.

2. Present-day China essentially has no ethics. Take the US in comparison. No matter how perverse the people in power become and even if they do messed up things, the US has some founding morals and principles they do not forget. China, in comparison, systematically rooted out these values since the Great Leap Forward. The happenings at Hong Kong and Xinjiang epitomize that.

I do think China's expansionist policy bodes poorly for all of humanity.

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new2628 ◴[01 Oct 19 16:51 UTC] No.21127627[source]▶
> biggest upcoming global problem after climate change?

maybe, but climate change is around number 20 in that list for me.

replies(2): >>21127748 #>>21127756 #
NilsIRL ◴[01 Oct 19 17:02 UTC] No.21127756[source]▶
What are the 19 first?
replies(1): >>21127850 #
1. new2628 ◴[01 Oct 19 17:10 UTC] No.21127850[source]▶
- what I have for dinner (ok, sorry, it said global problems), so maybe:

- collapse of bird, insect, reptile populations over all the developed world due to pesticide use, habitat loss, etc.

- decline of natural environment, waters, forests, etc.

- loss of linguistic/cultural diversity around the world

- decline of institutions and social cohesion in my immediate neighborhood

- society-wide addictive tendencies

- the commercialization of more and more aspects of human life

- ...

replies(1): >>21128256 #
2. jaynetics ◴[01 Oct 19 17:40 UTC] No.21128256[source]▶
Among the many effects of climate change, 700 million people live in areas that will become almost uninhabitable due to rising sea level and flooding at current emission rates. Do you seriously think that people adapting by speaking a different language is as bad as that?
replies(1): >>21128337 #
3. new2628 ◴[01 Oct 19 17:45 UTC] No.21128337[source]▶
Yes, on my list the latter is a more serious problem than the first, it is more certain to be happening, and its effects are more permanent.
replies(1): >>21128554 #
4. jaynetics ◴[01 Oct 19 17:59 UTC] No.21128554{3}[source]▶
> more certain

Do you doubt that climate change will displace 100s of millions and destroy many large and distinct cultures (e.g. island states) at current emission rates?

replies(1): >>21128635 #
5. new2628 ◴[01 Oct 19 18:04 UTC] No.21128635{4}[source]▶
That could certainly happen (although the island states I have heard mentioned in this context have populations more in the 10s of thousands), but in terms of culture/language loss this would be a small event compared to the loss in the past/current decades/century, already happening without climate change.