My favorite thing about totalitarianism is the aesthetic. It looks great. Whether your fancy runs to Nazi SS uniforms, which were designed by Hugo Boss, or old Soviet Red Army gear, the statists really knew how to dress it up. They acted badly and looked sharp. I could relate to that.
But now China has gone and fucked it up.
They’ve introduced two ugly internet cops, who will appear on pages that are being monitored. Lurking behind their big eyes and noseless faces is the Shenzhen police. We can only hope that they’re a better looking bunch than their cartoon avatars. If the future is going to be “a boot stamping on a human face – forever” let’s at least try to make it a nice boot.
