Michael Malice

I'm reading a book right now about the Chinese Cultural Revolution.

And there was an academic, I forget his name, Hu Shi, I think.

And he points out that in these countries,

Not only do you not have freedom of speech, you don't have freedom of silence.

You can't just sit there quietly.

You have to say how great things are and how much you're enjoying and how wonderful they are instead of just keeping quiet.

Because if you keep quiet, that's suspicious.

They're always singing those songs about how happy they are and how great everything is.

And if everyone else is singing, who are you to not sing?

Stalin had to have a button, is my understanding, at a certain point to tell people to stop applauding, because like you said, if you're the first one to stop clapping, people are going to notice.

And why'd you stop clapping?

You don't like Stalin?

But that's the thing.

They always had a sword over their head, but they all had a lot of blood on their hands too.

It's a very, very precarious life.

You're also losing yourself in the crowd.

Because you're like, it's not just I'm angry.

Everyone I know, we're all angry together.

So you really are becoming a part of something bigger than yourself and having this kind of communal, very primal emotional experience.

It's like the opposite of Christmas, right?