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ThePatientAnarchist · 61-69
This is a slippery saying, because "not allowed to" can have different senses depending on context.
I'm "not allowed" to criticize, say, Black people, because in the circles I move in, and my country (Canada) at large, that would be taken as racist and people would disapprove of me -- and rightly so.
On the other hand, word is that Canadians travelling to the United States are "not allowed" to criticize the current president, because border security people will turn them back, or incarcerate them, if they do.
In one case we are talking about social pressure; in the other, actual political power. The saying is untrue in the first kind of case. In my example, Canada is certainly not ruled by the minority of Black people in this country. It is a democracy in which most people, of all backgrounds, disapprove of racism.
The saying is true in the second kind of case. You are not allowed to criticize Kim Jong Un in North Korea, or Trump at the US border, because those are the rulers. Would that it were otherwise.
I'm "not allowed" to criticize, say, Black people, because in the circles I move in, and my country (Canada) at large, that would be taken as racist and people would disapprove of me -- and rightly so.
On the other hand, word is that Canadians travelling to the United States are "not allowed" to criticize the current president, because border security people will turn them back, or incarcerate them, if they do.
In one case we are talking about social pressure; in the other, actual political power. The saying is untrue in the first kind of case. In my example, Canada is certainly not ruled by the minority of Black people in this country. It is a democracy in which most people, of all backgrounds, disapprove of racism.
The saying is true in the second kind of case. You are not allowed to criticize Kim Jong Un in North Korea, or Trump at the US border, because those are the rulers. Would that it were otherwise.