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    • Barbarian
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      4 months ago

      It’s actually a bit deeper than that, at least from my Romanian perspective. Our old ladies were literally hired by our security services to monitor and report on everything going on in their neighbourhoods. They were essentially human CCTVs, facial recognition and behavioural pattern matchers all rolled into one while being paid pennies.

        • Barbarian
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          4 months ago

          Deadly serious. By the end of communism, they had over a million informants. You had to make the assumption that everyone you talked to and every old lady on a park bench was an informant.

          Funny story, I know someone who was recruited to inform on her colleagues at work, but after the third time in a row she told them everything is wonderful, everyone is happy and productive, she was promptly fired (as an informant, not from the factory).

    • halvar@lemm.ee
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      4 months ago

      Doesn’t mean it’s all turning into a surveillance state like western countries, which this meme is about. Totalitarian shithole yeah, CCTVs no, the romanians crossed the borders and stole all of them.

      • Barbarian
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        4 months ago

        Modern Romania isn’t totalitarian. Thankfully, these days the old ladies just snoop on everyone to gossip and complain passively aggressively, not to report to the state. I’d argue that’s an improvement.