Chris Funch

History shows that backing authoritarian regimes for short term strategic gain often leads to long term instability and blowback. Why do we (lead by Dems or Reps) repeat the same pattern and expect a different result?

Power to the people, left, right & middle to serve our needs, not the puppets.

result of trusting corrupt regimes with a veneer of democracy (South Vietnam) (Iran's Shah) or thinking a dictator would successfully do our bidding (Iraq's Hussain). Usually the result is a lot of dead American heroes & wasted tax payer dollars serving the military industrial complex.

King David & Solomon weren’t corporate partners in global tech & arms deals. We’re not talking about ancient monarchs, we’re talking about modern regimes with poor human rights records that are now being trusted with sensitive investments & military power.

In my lifetime I've seen the

How about we put America and the needs if it's people FIRST. American companies should invest in America and control it's output. Supplying weapons to authoritarian regimes never seems to work out for us no matter how good it is for the military industrial complex & the politicians in their pocket.

if we ignore that they operate within repressive systems. Ignoring that context is wishful thinking.This isn’t about demonizing anyone it’s about truth. Pretending these regimes are somehow “Western-style” or fully aligned with democratic values doesn’t make it true.

In Saudi Arabia, a tweet can land you in prison. The UAE uses mass surveillance. Qatar bans political parties. Friendly to the U.S. does not equal democracy.Calling this out isn’t “paranoia” or “pipe-dreaming”,it’s reality. We can’t honestly assess megaprojects like NEOM..

The American PR firm helping Saudi Arabia clean up its image Edelman signed $9.6m in deals with the Saudi government over the past four years to sanitize the Islamic kingdom’s image

Let’s not confuse friendly diplomatic ties with shared values or democratic governance. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, & Qatar are all authoritarian regimes. That’s not a fringe opinion.
These are monarchies where dissent is punished, & civil liberties are limited.

www.theguardian.com/world/2022/d...

over their people, and place restrictions on what we consider "our rights".

Remember China’s economic opening? Remember NSA’s mass surveillance? Promises of progress often mask deeper control.Tech without transparency is a recipe for abuse,no matter how shiny the PR. Being an ally doesn’t make a regime democratic, they are still authoritarian regimes maintaining control

I wouldn’t say I believe every word,caution isn’t the same as paranoia.History shows us that utopian visions often have authoritarian undercurrents,especially when massive surveillance tech is involved. I’m simply asking should we trust any regime, ally or not, with unchecked power over these tools?

Digital Authoritarianism in the Middle East — The Security Distillery Over the past 10 years, governments of the Middle East have employed digital information and communication technologies as a tool to reinforce control over their citizens. Middle Eastern governments h...

On the surface all that investment looks good and I'm sure the wealthy will once again benefit from our labor, our energy infrastructure, and land resources. But do we really want to get in bed with more authoritarian regimes while sharing advanced tech?

thesecuritydistillery.org/all-articles...

No need for preemptive insults. I'm more interested in constructive dialogue.

I appreciate the effort you put into sharing that essay. It reads as optimistic speculation to me, but time will tell. So far it feels like, Military-Industrial Complex 2, Humanity 0

I am curious what your answer to my simple question would be?

Neither. I don’t think the U.S. should be aligning itself too closely with authoritarian regimes like Iran or Saudi Arabia. Both have horrific human rights records. I’d rather see US grounded in principle,supporting peace, & democracy. Not just transactional alliances, especially weapons sales. So,

2) principled stance may have helped empower someone even more indifferent to Palestinian suffering.

1) Goodwill toward others doesn’t come from governments, it comes from people. Many Americans do oppose the military-industrial complex & stand in solidarity with humanity everywhere. Sadly, some who were rightly outraged by Biden's Gaza policy rejected Harris entirely without realizing that their

Thanks for the reply.

Yes it mattered to me that Joe Biden used his influence to get Hunter a job that even he admitted he wasn't qualified for. Did the Biden admin supplying weapons support and political cover for the atrocities committed in Gaza play into your decision to vote for Trump?

Even if true, does that justify a man assaulting a woman?

Just seeking understanding. You must know Trump is a 34 count convicted felon and had pay a multi-million dollar civil penalty for sexual assault. Did that matter to you at all when you, I assume, voted for Trump?

Good news! Prices are falling. But it might be for bad reasons | CNN Business The lowest inflation rate in four-years was made possible by a trend that will surely bring smiles to the faces of Americans: Falling prices.

www.cnn.com/2025/05/14/b...

Brother, if I could go back in time, I'd recommend to the indigenous population, in what Europeans called the Americas, to stop the European white men from landing on their shores.

I’m not asking you to be a straw man or sacrifice yourself. I’m saying, protect yourself fiercely, but don’t let hate shape you.That’s not about MAGA racism, it’s about your soul. You don’t owe racists kindness. But you deserve to remain whole, not twisted by what they are. Trump needs us to hate.

I hear your pain and respect your fight for justice. My point isn’t to be “friendly” to hate, but to refuse becoming it. We share the goal of ending racism and injustice, let’s focus on that. I’m not the straw man you’re building.

Please don’t put words in my mouth. I haven’t told Black people how to feel toward racists. I’ve only spoken from my own values. And I share MLK’s words to guide myself, not to excuse racism. Also, I try not to make assumptions about any group, I’d appreciate the same in return.

I never said to overlook hate or accept injustice
My point isn’t that victims of hate should be nice.

My point is MLK's moral clarity & nonviolent resistance exposed the cruelty of racism to the world & that was revolutionary. I'm saying we can resist without becoming the monster we fight.

2)That’s why he was dangerous to the status quo & why he’s still so powerful today and why I'm trying to advocate along similar grounds. He exposed evil without becoming evil.

1)You keep trying to reframe my words something I'm definitely not saying.

MLK wasn’t asking Black folks to be “nice” to racists, he was showing the world the moral contrast. His nonviolence wasn’t passivity, it was strategic and soul deep resistance. It exposed brutality without replicating it.

3) yelling hate at each other works? Do you think becoming the monster we oppose works, to bring about lasting change?

2) You're right, MLK never stopped confronting racism head on. But his genius was doing so with a moral clarity that challenged racists and preserved his own humanity. He held oppressors accountable while refusing to mirror their hate. That’s the legacy I’m trying to walk in.

Do you think..