From "Cheer Up, or Else: China Cracks Down on the Haters and Cynics/As China struggles with economic discontent, internet censors are silencing those who voice doubts about work, marriage, or simply sigh too loudly online" (NYT).
October 8, 2025
"The authorities have punished two bloggers who advocated for a life of less work and less pressure; an influencer who said..."
"... that it made financial sense not to marry and have children; and a commentator known for bluntly observing that China still lags behind Western countries in terms of quality of life. These supposed cynics and skeptics, two of whom had tens of millions of followers, have had their accounts suspended or banned in recent weeks as China’s internet regulator conducts a new cleanup of Chinese social media.... 'In reality, we all experience fatigue and anxiety as a result of work and life, but these real emotions deserve respect and should not be deliberately amplified for traffic. The internet is not a dumping ground for negativity,' China’s state broadcaster CCTV said in an editorial about the campaign...."
From "Cheer Up, or Else: China Cracks Down on the Haters and Cynics/As China struggles with economic discontent, internet censors are silencing those who voice doubts about work, marriage, or simply sigh too loudly online" (NYT).
"[China's crackdown] demonstrates the concern among its leadership about the spread of malaise.... In recent years, some young people have opted out of the rat race in favor of a minimal life of 'lying flat' or given up on goals altogether and 'letting it rot.' The accounts of two bloggers known for promoting a minimal 'lying flat' lifestyle were blocked from adding followers late last month...."
From "Cheer Up, or Else: China Cracks Down on the Haters and Cynics/As China struggles with economic discontent, internet censors are silencing those who voice doubts about work, marriage, or simply sigh too loudly online" (NYT).
Posts
56 comments:
Known to managers as a bad attitude.
this is GOOD!
this is Goodthink!
goodthink is GOOD!
LONG LIVE BIG BROTHER!!
(coming Soon, to a city near US)
"The internet is not a dumping ground for negativity"
Exactly. That's real life's job.
Waiting for word from Thomas Friedman of how forward-thinking the ChiComs are in their attempts to extinguish negativity.
Communism sucks the life out of the common man.
Mao news on the hour.
It's good to be at the top. Like the Kings and kingpins of the corrupt democratic party, USA.
The Schumer shutdown is about re-instating massive funding to illegal immigrants. (Cut in the BBB) Schumer and his corruptocrats are lying and using their lies as blackmail.
…I wouldn’t say I’ve been MISSING it, comrade…
Perhaps they are just rooting out the nattering nabobs of negativism. And it may not be spreading malaise but only a crisis of confidence.
I have a grandson who is “laying flat” excepting for playing frisbee golf. Brilliant kid. Graduated early in December with a STEM degree. Found a job? Nope? Looking for a job? Nope.
In China, I suppose the government sees itself as everybody's manager.
They should've signed off with "苛政猛於虎", but then they would've been shot instead of suspended.
“…two bloggers who advocated for a life of less work and less pressure…”
In Portlandia, they called Portland as they place young people go to retire.
Is it bad that I had to read the content to find out this was about China and not the UK?
Imagine if the government would just be unfazed by comments in which they disagree. Alas, Biden’s Administration led the way on internet censorship of comments they didn’t like.
The Progs tried to do this in America. They will do so again. Do not give them the chance.
That certainly is a way to encourage productivity. In case anyone forgot, China is run by a legitimate government- quite unlike the Biden regime- so they're unlikely to tolerate socially destructive influences like 4-B no matter how amusing or popular they are.
these real emotions deserve respect and should not be deliberately amplified for traffic. The internet is not a dumping ground for negativity,
Is it weird that I kind of long for Chinese internet?
Biden had to make sure his family grift was concealed and hidden from view.
There are a lot of people who can’t really take responsibility for themselves or what they feel. They need more state control to be productive. They belong in China.
I would rather live in a country where the average person is capable of freedom and living in a high trust manner.
Unfortunately, when you have people who belong in China in the United States, they cause problems Because they cannot handle being trusted or freedom. Because they can’t handle it, they try to take it from others.
The ability to control who is in your borders and who you want to participate in new social contract needs to take into the type of person in the type of society you want.
The internet is not a dumping ground for negativity.
You're not the boss of me.
tommyesq said, "Is it weird that I kind of long for Chinese internet?"
Your aspiration will not match reality, but your social credit score will be impeccable.
Not everybody wants or deserves freedom. This idea that you’re born with things like rights that don’t come with con commitment responsibilities is what always destroys free societies in the end.
The beatings will continue until morale improves.
The internet is not a dumping ground for negativity.
Well that sucks, but it's typical of everything these days. You know what? Fuck it. I don't even care.
Aww, cheer up Bob! THAT'S AN ORDER.
13 years ago, my nephew was accepted to NYU..
12 years ago, my nephew WENT to NYU..
(his mom 2nd mortgaged her house along with MASSIVE student loans)
8 years ago, my nephew graduated from NYU (poli sci & econ)..
for the next year he laid on the couch..
Then spent the Next 2 years bemoaning the fact that great jobs weren't lining up at his (mom's) front door..
He (finally) started working as a financial analyst or such..
and next month starts his "dream job" of working for the Brookfield Zoo as PF&A (or something that we were supposed to know)
He'll now (at age 32?) be making nearly as much as a welder with 5 years experience.
There's a moral there, somewhere..
Something about life is what you make of it?
or maybe how you shouldn't impoverish your mom so you can go to a fancy school, and then sit out on life
This is why tyrannical governments fail.
Morale will improve or you will be shot. (There, that solves the problem!)
MCIADGFNA!
(pronounced muh-see'ya-de-guf'na)
Make China's Internet A Dumping Ground For Negativity Again!
I just don't see how such people don't just get unbearably bored! I've been "lying flat" since the knee replacement two weeks ago, my life focused on taking handfuls of pills and going to physical therapy and periodically dragging myself off the couch to walk laps around the house, and I'm SO DONE WITH IT. Two weeks.
(Please note that I do not support China's suppression of those who are advocating for "lying flat." I just don't see why anyone would want to do it!)
Christopher B said...
Is it bad that I had to read the content to find out this was about China and not the UK?
10/8/25, 8:45 AM
Hah! That was precisely my first thought. It would not surprise me if this happened - is happening - in the UK.
If you can't take a negativity dump on the internet, where can you take a negativity dump?
Humperdink: What a great opportunity for you to invite him to come and stay with you , play disc golf together everyday, ask him to teach you everything he loves about his STEM studies, be the best darn grandparent one can be. I truly envy you.
“…two bloggers who advocated for a life of less work and less pressure…” Makes me wonder how the idea of part-time jobs in the country would go over in China? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U0C9HKW
Some day perhaps.
@Boyd - just like banning short-selling - the entire point is to destroy price discovery and objective reality in favor of a new and fearsome matrix. Stocks only go up. GDP only goes up. Gross Domestic Happiness only goes up. You are not allowed to notice things getting worse, and if we can't stop you from noticing, we can stop you from sharing that information.
Your eyes and your ears and your intuition are lying to you, Bob. You mustn't believe them, especially not since they increased the chocolate ration from 20g to 10...两囍同志! ("Doubleplus Good Comrade!")
I think part of the problem of young people lying flat is a perception that there is significant disconnect between their individual effort and positive outcomes. I don't think this perception is wholly inaccurate. Especially in China one can not become successful unless the CCP signs off on it. While in the West there is less constraints on individual success there are still real constraints. DEI and its other rhetorical incarnations such as affirmative action, racial/gender equity, racial/gender justice etc. all necessarily communicate to the non-favored that you will be treated unfairly. So unfortunately many come to the conclusion, "Why even bother?" This is pernicious because even if there is unfair treatment the only way to achieve personal success is through consistent individual effort. Oddly enough, "the beatings shall continue until morale improves," could actually be a helpful strategy provided the beatings were applied to those who advocate for DEI and other unfair policies until they shut up and the perception of fair chances increased in the disaffected.
This is why China will not attack Taiwan, or go to war with the United States for any reason. Unless it is a quick, smashing victory, which it won't be, the economic consequences of war - the end of Chinese exports, except to Russia, the end of oil imports, except from Russia, the destruction of infrastructure on the mainland by plane, drone, and cruise missile strikes, would quickly threaten the Chinese public's acceptance of CCP rule.
Boy...they'd have their work cut out here.
I always trade my chocolate ration for a gin ration.
YouTube Respect your emotions
Why "haters"? It sounds like "slackers" is more accurate, but when censorship comes back here it will be directed at "haters," whether they hate or not.
In America you're allowed to hate anyone. But you ought to consult the media first to make sure you're hating the right people.
I think part of the problem of young people lying flat is a perception that there is significant disconnect between their individual effort and positive outcomes
Yes. That is another way of saying that kids have no agency. IMO, that is a result of our poor education system and poor parenting.
Covid really destroyed kids' sense of agency by taking all control away and giving them passing grades for doing nothing.
China contends with young people 'lying flat'.
We contend with the left 'flat lying.'
Is it bad that I had to read the content to find out this was about China and not the UK?
Same. From the headline, my immediate thought was it was the UK.
Instead of banning negativity, China needs to get the TV people to make more rom-coms that end in "happily ever after, with kids" and fewer historical/fantasy shows. Or fun life with family shows. Make raising a family cool and desirable.
To be fair, the fantasy shows may end up with a happily ever after, I usually can't last 30 episodes to find out. I like how K-dramas average out around 14 to 16 shows.
Not only China.
In Canada: Debanking Is Real, And It’s Coming For You
"Marco Navarro-Genie warns that debanking is turning into Ottawa’s weapon of choice to silence dissent, and only the provinces can step in to protect Canadians."
...
"Across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., people are being cut off from basic financial services not because they’ve broken any laws, but because they hold views or support causes the establishment disfavors. When I contacted Eva Chipiuk after RBC quietly shut down her account, she confirmed what others had only whispered: this is happening to a lot of people.
This abusive form of financial blacklisting is deep, deliberate and dangerous. In the U.K., Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK and no stranger to controversy, was debanked under the fig leaf of financial justification. Internal memos later revealed the real reason: he was deemed a reputational risk. Cue the backlash, and by 2025, the bank was forced into a settlement complete with an apology and compensation. But the message had already been sent.
That message didn’t stay confined to Britain. And let’s not pretend it’s just private institutions playing favourites. Even in Alberta—where one might hope for a little more institutional backbone—Tamara Lich was denied an appointment to open an account at ATB Financial. That’s Alberta’s own Crown bank. If you think provincial ownership protects citizens from political interference, think again.
Fortunately, not every institution has lost its nerve. Bow Valley Credit Union, a smaller but principled operation, has taken a clear stance: it won’t debank Albertans over their political views or affiliations. In an era of bureaucratic cowardice, Bow Valley is acting like a credit union should: protective of its members and refreshingly unapologetic about it."
Jamie said...
"(Please note that I do not support China's suppression of those who are advocating for "lying flat." I just don't see why anyone would want to do it!)"
Communism, like Socialism, discourages individual success and initiative. Lying flat is the end game.
It will be a cakewalk, right deepdemblues?
“ This is why tyrannical governments fail.”
Look at Europe. Experts say that to balance the books, young people in Germany will have to work until 73, but they have tens of billions for foreign wars none of them care about
They told Germans they must have immigrants to support the pensioners. Now the pensioners must work until they're 73 to support the immigrants.
We laugh at China, but America was built on Horatio Alger. Nobody writes those anymore.
Nobody reads those anymore either.
China is asshoe!
The First Amendment is a BIG DEAL.
I am pretty convinced now that China is next on the list, before the dollar collapses. Now the Europeans are claiming that China is providing Russia with targeting data in Ukraine. Getting a country in the mood to fight a war takes time, it's like turning an aircraft carrier.
"...before the dollar collapses."
...Because the dollar's collapsing. I didn't expect GLD4K until at least the end of the year. Wait'll the retail paperhanging ETF/COMEX retards realizes the derivatives/phys ratio is tens of thousands to one...DC and the Pentagon will start Tokyo-drifting with the USS Gerald Ford.
Howard said...
This is why tyrannical governments fail.
People all demand tyranny from government. Some more than others.
Tyrannical governments have about the same life span as non -tyrannical governments.
The real question is how many people feel left out of the social contract and what they are willing to do to address it.
The social contract is a negotiation between parties and treating all governments and people the same way will not work out well.
Post a Comment
Please use the comments forum to respond to the post. Don't fight with each other. Be substantive... or interesting... or funny. Comments should go up immediately... unless you're commenting on a post older than 2 days. Then you have to wait for us to moderate you through. It's also possible to get shunted into spam by the machine. We try to keep an eye on that and release the miscaught good stuff. We do delete some comments, but not for viewpoint... for bad faith.