iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

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.

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

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.

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

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

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

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.

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

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.

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

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..

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

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...

theguardian.com

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

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

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

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

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

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

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?

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

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...

thesecuritydistillery.org

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...

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

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

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

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

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

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,

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

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

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

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

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

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?

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 17/05/2025

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

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 17/05/2025

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?

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

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.

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

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.

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

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.

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

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.

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

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.

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

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.

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

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.

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

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

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

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..

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

1)Those quotes highlight MLK’s call to confront evil and systemic racism, which is vital. But MLK also preached love, nonviolence, and reconciliation,seeking to transform enemies into friends and gain allies. The non-violent protest actions of the time exposed the evil he was seeking to change.

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

2)often takes the rhetoric of each party’s extremists and acts like everyone in that party agrees, which only makes it look like we don’t share as many common values as we actually do in the real world.

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

1) Many on the right care about our public lands &don't want them sold off. When systems fail like health care, tourism, manufacturing, public lands, we all pay the price. That’s why I suggest return to MLK’s vision of not humiliating others, but recognizing we’re in this together. The internet...

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

Accountability shouldn't be conditional on who's more corrupt. We can and should condemn Trump’s grift but still be honest about corrupt political influence on our side. Ethical consistency matters, otherwise we just look like reactionary hotheads, not people fighting for integrity.

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

We need to get back to the moral foundation preached by Martin Luther King Jr. It's the easiest thing, but also the hardest thing for us to do because we have to swallow our pride and see the reality of our interdependence. In our communities, left & right work side by side for the benefit of ALL.

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

Hunter Biden was given a job that he admits he wasn't qualified for when his father was vice president. We need to see our blind spots in order not to make the same mistakes when we consider a candidate. Not brush them away with opportunistic reasoning. www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...

nbcnews.com

Hunter Biden's hard drive shows he, his firm earned about $11 million from 2013 to 2018

The hard drive and documents from Senate Republicans indicate few of Biden’s deals ever came to fruition and shed light on how fast he was spending his money.

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

4)MLK didn’t shy from moral clarity, but he also reminded us that , “We must never seek to defeat or humiliate the enemy but to win his friendship and understanding"

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

3)We can oppose MAGA racism & Gaza genocide without mirroring the hate we fight. Justice must always lead with empathy. My MAGA friends are not racist except for the systematic systemic racism which all whites have benefited from. I call out my tribe because many our blind to our own hypocrisy.

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

2) I mention that because I was raised as part of the counterculture where peaceful protest was emphasized & all you need is love. MLK espoused those same principles. MLK condemned racism, war, and hypocrisy, but never denied anyone's humanity. He called out injustice with moral clarity& compassion

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

1) My moral compass was shaped in the 60s by leaders like RFK & MLK & of course my parents,who participated in the 60s freedom march on Washington. My mom went to Brown U.where she obtained a teaching certificate. Later she put her teaching job at risk by publicly calling out Spiro Agnew as a liar

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

I'm not saying that at all. I'm saying call racism out but also recognize that the Biden/Harris admin supplied weapons support & political cover that allowed Genocide in Gaza. By voting for Harris, no one, including Trump voters, has a claim to the moral high ground.We had a lesser of 2 evils choice

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

2) As for the rest of your posts on what and who Trump is. Your "preaching to the choir".

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

1)I'd argue that my POV here is more aligned with what MLK was preaching. “Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny." “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

You're raised some good points. But because of the format, the conversation becomes fragmented. Let's take some time to really 'hear' each other and perhaps revisit the conversation. Peace out.

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

2) We can call out Trump, but we must also ask ourselves if we are complicit in similar injustices? By supporting policies that lead to violence or suffering, we share responsibility. If we’re to call out others’ hypocrisy, let’s first face our own and strive for change, not just outrage.

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

1) You’re right about hypocrisy, but we should also reflect on our own. We’ve supported administrations that enabled the killing of innocent people, whether in Gaza or elsewhere.We can’t ignore that while criticizing others for supporting harmful leaders. Where does that leave our moral high ground?

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

2) I buy honey bees from a strong MAGA supporter (farmer) who treats migrant workers like family, and I can see the grace in his heart. If we only focus on condemning those we disagree with, we lose sight of the humanity that might still change. Empathy is our on tool. Shouting hate never works.

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Chris Funch @chrisfunch.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

1)I hear the pain in your words & I don’t question the truth your elders lived. But not everyone MAGA is doing so for the reasons you name. Some are misled, some fearful, some changeable. If we write off & apply the same racist label to 70 million people as irredeemable, what path forward is left?

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