augustuscato on Nostr: The problem is that in Europe very few people in the richest countries have ...

The problem is that in Europe very few people in the richest countries have experienced the raw and brutal oppression that those in Iran, Russia, Afghanistan etc have. For them they see what their governments are doing in the same way in the frog in a pan sees the situation- they're still comfortable for now. It's usually immigrants who came from outside of western europe who see the problem for what it will become and are the first ones to freak out (peaceful protests, lobbying the gov't). The vast majority of the people in western europe are more willing to go along with what their government tells them to do because they don't like the tension of being in 'conflict', with their government actions, just by opposing what the define as 'censorship'. The legacy of the two great wars have left Western Europe with the rotten appetite of 'the government knows best', and forgetting that governments in their own countries are made up of people in positions of authority who grew up idealizing the Soviet system. How can a population be expected to hold their leaders accountable when all they want is to be comfortable?