In [this whistleblowing post](https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/c1mmq6/hong_kong_police_arrested_protesters_after/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app) that talks about arrests being made to hospitalized protesters in Hong Kong through a backdoor, someone in the comments [states that big brother is watching](https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/c1mmq6/hong_kong_police_arrested_protesters_after/erebzcb/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app). Can someone explain who or what this big brother figure is like I’m five?
In: Other
It is a reference to the George Orwell novel, _[1984](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four)_, where in an alternate future (at the time) Great Britian was part of a highly oppressive totalitarian state known as Oceania. Oceania was “ruled” by the Party, whos leader was a figure known as “Big Brother”, a Stalin-esque looking man who may or may not have actually existed, but was the “face” of the Party. One of the most notable aspects of this state was the constant surveillance the citizens were under (to the point of having surveillance devices in every home, business and public square) and the criminalization of even _thinking_ things that the Party disliked (known as thought-crime in the book).
_1984_ and the Big Brother mascot are symbols people invoke to talk about the dangers of oppressive regimes and the slippery slope of criminalizing dissenting options.
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