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Comment by nickysielicki | Hacker News Reader

Same sort of response I'd expect an American Government Diplomat to give if asked about what happened to the 82 men/women/children of the Branch Davidians in Waco, TX.

Governments defend their actions, usually.

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Isn’t the suppression of the event in media the key difference, though? The Waco massacre was widely discussed and publicized, and you can find plenty of information on it if you’d like - including people that defend the Waco standoff.

It seems to me like Orwell vs. Huxley difference. In the end thing is mostly forgotten in both cases.

Here is the difference: in one case it is forgotten because the government is actively imprisoning people who mention it; in the other, because people are apathetic and easily distracted and perhaps disagree that this is an event of similar import. It seems a rather important difference to me.

It is a difference but when I read what you wrote I have trouble deciding which is worse.

None of those events are hidden from view, are taboo for the press or public to talk about, and have even been studied in depth with research available to the public.

Not the same at all. If the Chinese government were smart, they could have had the debate, shrugged off any conclusions they didn’t like, and let general apathy run its course. But they didn’t do that.

Janet Reno admitted the storming of the compound was a mistake and regretted the loss of life. She also took full responsibility for the actions. You can also find Waco testimony all over the internet, including hours and hours of footage.

That's a far cry from what we see here.

Yet, neither she nor any participants were imprisoned, indicted, or even sacked for their role in it.

You might expect this, but this says more about you than it does about the American government and its diplomats, at least the ones in charge when the Branch Davidians were in armed rebellion against the US government. Here is a reference describing her apology at the time: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Janet-Reno . The relevant quote: "Reno’s acceptance of full responsibility and her candour and obvious regret over the incident helped her earn the respect of many Americans."

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