Communist tactic is a bit ... weird .. of an association. Getting neighbors to snitch on each other is a technique every country's law enforcement uses. Or is the "See something, say something" announcement in the airport also communist? Is Texas' bounty on snitching on women who have medical procedures also communist?
Your comment would have been stronger if you didn't wave out the 1950s red scare tactics. Overall, it sounds like you were personally frustrated by the limitations - is that about what you wanted to say?
Only if you define "neighbour" to mean literally anyone, which isn't what it means.
gjsman is using the word neighbour correctly to mean someone who physically lives next to you, which is dystopian because it effectively extends the power of law enforcement inside the walls of everyone's homes to criminalize normal pro-social behaviour, and does so by manipulating and exploiting the bonds that form robust communities. It's very different to seeing someone break into a shop on the street and reporting it.
Neighbors reporting each other for crimes is a good thing. Codes of silence between neighbors are what lead communities to cover up murders and refuse to talk to police.
I suppose the actual issue here is the “pro social” behavior piece. I haven’t actually heard of any U.S. state where significant fines or enforcement of private home gathering sizes was done after a few months in March, most states relied on the honor system even if governors ordered allegedly strict restrictions (e.g. one “blue” state I traveled to required me to submit a form for travel, however, each time I went there I was never approached by police or anyone else to check my form and I easily could have never done it).
> Neighbors reporting each other for crimes is a good thing. Codes of silence between neighbors are what lead communities to cover up murders and refuse to talk to police.
People voluntarily gathering in defiance of COVID restrictions is a classic "victimless crime". Comparing it to covering up a murder is an example of the type of hyperbolic language that makes it impossible to have a rational discussion about policy.
Your comment would have been stronger if you didn't wave out the 1950s red scare tactics. Overall, it sounds like you were personally frustrated by the limitations - is that about what you wanted to say?