Wednesday May 17, 2023; 12:13 PM EDT
- Artist and free speech activist Ai Weiwei’s little book of passages from his blog posts, Weiwei-isms, includes an anecdote about being harassed by the Chinese government in yet another way: in scrutiny over paying additional taxes. He writes:#
- On the contributions sent by Chinese citizens toward paying the tax bill levied by the government:#
- There were thousands of moving messages. People sent money from their first month’s salary. Others said: This is my retirement payment—take it. This is the money for my next pair of shoes—take it. It was very important for me to see and hear those things. Normally you do not see the warmth, humor, care and generosity of the people while writing a blog. You just feel like you are walking in a dark tunnel and you feel alone. #
- The freedom to write in a space like this often comes with that tunnel feeling. I suspect that the isolation is a structural element, a part of the current design of the substrate. I have a hunch this doesn’t need to be the case, but it’s hard to pin down what might be done. (Short of asking for changes in human nature.)#