So accepting

Of course, there is some hassle when it comes to using the Internet here in China – this includes services like dropbox, google and wordpress. Still, there is a but …, we are easily throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Searching for “a way around”, I found this:

Welcome to the wonderful restriction colloquiallly known as “the Great Firewall.” All of China’s Internet providers route through national proxies that block specific terms, redirect certain sites, and do various other kinds of nastiness.

As an example, if you’re outside China and perform an image search for “Tiananmen,” you’ll see photos of the confrontation in the square. If you’re inside China and do the same thing, you’ll see photos of trees and tourists, but no tanks.

I do not want to discuss tanks and trees but the underlying supposition of tremendous freedom in other parts of the world. I am using a “multilingual” computer, i.e. writing in different languages, the operating system running in one language, the software running in (a) different language(s) and traveling a bit around the world. The google-censorship, the youtube-censorship etc. is frequently stunning – we ac tally all know about it, though may be to different degrees and we easily accept it.

Also, reading different national newspapers, especially when traveling … – well, the critique should not worry so much about the single cases but about about principles of hegemonic structures that are defending what is the great achievements of enlightenment, namely sovereignty and freedom, stripped off their humanist stances and veiled in the spirit of nationality and capitalist market principles and religious fundamentalism and parochialism.

I came across a kind of perfection of the principle the other day, opening a website, obviously open for google advertisement. The that had been shown pointed to a VPN-service for China, promising

Be Free, Truly Anonymous & Secured

and opening the way to Facebook, youtube etc. – the imagined freedom of (not only, but also) exhibitionism.
For me the only reason for not getting too worried is somewhat frightening in itself: I grew up in Western Germany, what had been the FRG. I remember too well this times one could there a little and telling “click” when using the phone, seeing a tiny stripe on the envelope, telling us about the “special treatment” and the cameras behind the curtains when we rallied against and for .. a better world. (For detailed documentation, please contact the headquarters of the NSA, though I am not sure if the freedom of information act applies ….).

If it fails, you may apply for a job directly.

Still along way to go … – the real danger is that we slide down the way Uncle Sam uses.