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Is 4chan the perfect Pirate Bay poster child to justify wider UK site-blocking?

(torrentfreak.com)
361 points gloxkiqcza | 9 comments | 24 Aug 25 16:30 UTC | HN request time: 1.637s | source | bottom
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torginus ◴[25 Aug 25 08:26 UTC] No.45011561[source]▶
I genuinely do not understand where how the idea of building a total surveillance police state, where all speech is monitored, can even as much as seriously be considered by an allegedly pro-democracy, pro-human rights government, much less make it into law.

Also:

Step 1: Build mass surveillance to prevent the 'bad guys' from coming into political power (its ok, we're the good guys).

Step 2: Your political opponents capitalize on your genuinely horrific overreach, and legitimize themselves in the eyes of the public as fighting against tyranny (unfortunately for you they do have a point). They promise to dismantle the system if coming to power.

Step 3: They get elected.

Step 4: They don't dismantle the system, now the people you planned to use the system against are using it against you.

Sounds brilliant, lets do this.

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iLoveOncall ◴[25 Aug 25 10:05 UTC] No.45012205[source]▶
> allegedly pro-democracy, pro-human rights government

The UK isn't any of that, it's always be an authoritarian country. The fact that British are amongst the most apathetic people on Earth fuels that, they just accept everything.

replies(1): >>45012541 #
1. dismalpedigree ◴[25 Aug 25 11:05 UTC] No.45012541[source]▶
Except conquest by the Germans. Much to Hitler’s dismay, the Brits very much refused to accept that.
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2. okasaki ◴[25 Aug 25 11:32 UTC] No.45012711[source]▶
They accepted what their government told them, which supports the point.
replies(1): >>45012806 #
3. monkey_monkey ◴[25 Aug 25 11:45 UTC] No.45012806[source]▶
You're right - it's disgusting that their government told them that Nazism is bad and that they should fight to defend their own country. Fucking appalling, really.
replies(1): >>45013145 #
4. okasaki ◴[25 Aug 25 12:32 UTC] No.45013145{3}[source]▶
The British were also very evil, but they got to write the history books.
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5. voidUpdate ◴[25 Aug 25 13:38 UTC] No.45013723{4}[source]▶
Just to clarify, what you're saying is that the nazis weren't actually all that bad, the British history books have just deliberately written them as bad people?
replies(1): >>45013956 #
6. shazbotter ◴[25 Aug 25 14:02 UTC] No.45013956{5}[source]▶
I don't think that's what the parent was saying. They are saying the Nazis are truly evil, but the Brits are also truly evil. A different truly evil, of course, I'm not going to weigh tragedies against one another.

And they're not wrong. The British empire killed millions through policy -- read up on the Bengali famine to understand one example where Britain killed millions. Britain was one of the earliest users of concentration camps, deploying them during the Boer War.

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7. monkey_monkey ◴[25 Aug 25 15:00 UTC] No.45014616{6}[source]▶
They're not saying the Nazis are truly evil at all, they're just saying that the British people shouldn't have fought the Nazis or were hoodwinked by the govt.

The British were evil, the Chinese were evil, the Japanese were evil, the Belgians were evil, the Spanish were evil, the Incas were evil, the Mongols were evil, the French were evil, the Iroquois were evil, the ancient Egyptians were evil, etc etc etc.

8. jajuuka ◴[25 Aug 25 16:14 UTC] No.45015455{6}[source]▶
This feels very broad strokes. It's like saying Germany is bad because of Nazi Germany. That's not to excuse terrible actions but that these histories are long with a variety of leaders and popular beliefs. So viewing a country as a monolith in line with all its past crimes seems very nationalistic.

Using more current context, leadership and events seems like a more realistic view of things. Which doesn't mean the UK is a shining beacon of freedom or democracy, but just to better explain why things happen instead of blaming events of leaders who are not in office or even alive.

9. ◴[26 Aug 25 13:58 UTC] No.45026684{6}[source]▶