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Tuesday, May 24, 2005

In Need of a Good Beating With the Reality Stick

Some North Koreans have bravely filmed acts of defiance to a regime that will place whole families in prison to face death for the acts of one family member:

The footage of the anti-government banners was smuggled out of North Korea across the Chinese border by activists working with the Seoul-based Citizens Coalition for Human Rights of Abductees and North Korean Refugees.
And what do some "North Korea watchers" wonder about?

Among North Korea watchers, there is some debate about whether the filmmakers were motivated mainly by their opposition to the government or by greed. Many of the videos have been sold to Japanese television stations, which have paid as much as $200,000 for choice footage, according to some accounts.

Are these people completely insane! Greed? I don't recall anybody asking if Michael Moore was motivated mainly by opposition to the government or by greed. And Michael Moore's family was not about to be killed should he be caught. I dare say, the North Korean filmmakers won't be up for any Oscars for their short film. My God, some people are idiots. Any sign of even mild dissent is punishable by death in North Korea. What fate would the filmmakers face if caught? To say they are just trying to hit the big time is ignorant. Why not ask why fear of the regime is loosening enough for people to think they can survive acts of defiance? Why not ask how regime control can slip enough for people to get away with this act of defiance?

Why not question the groupthink of majority consensus that the North Korean regime is still secure despite the signs of rot in the North?

I think the North Korea watchers need to be beaten with the reality stick. Repeatedly.