But Jesus fucking Christ the Genzedong/genhoxha discord is giving me huge reddit vibes. I understand that it has a more direct connection to the subreddit proper so it makes sense... but I don't even want to call some of these people comrades. Lemmygrad seems pretty good at formenting actual discussion even if I roll my eyes at the occasional back-handed comment. The discorders are seemingly ready to leap at each others' throats over the mildest criticisms, including going so far as to extrapolate the absolute worst conclusions they can imagine without allowing the other person a chance to elaborate. Also, for such a seemingly thorough vetting process, there definitely exists a clique of people with nothing but disdain for AES and definitely people with no idea what they're talking about making super inflammatory and frankly ridiculous statements/accusations.

It just feels so damn memey and I'm probably gonna leave. I see no worthwhile conversation happening on there, just 30-character twitter-style epic lib pwning with a refusal to engage in good faith with other communists. Like I said, not trying to shit on them or anything, just frustrated. If owning other communists online is your thing, more power to you I guess. Shit just makes me feel dirty sometimes and like I don't belong.

Idk if this kind of post isn't allowed as it's literally bad mouthing another community, I'm just pretty upset about the experience.

First, here’s the question that the author asked:

I was doing some research on the Spanish Civil War […] and I noticed in the timeline, that there was a nonaggression pact between the Soviet Union and fascist Italy, which it said strengthened economic relations. Can anyone tell me about this? I have severe doubts that the USSR would expand trade with a fascist power.

A pact between the Soviet Union and Fascist Italy. That does sound troubling, and we should very well be concerned learning about that for the first time; it is a serious accusation. Of course, chances are that anticommunists are either distorting the issue or making it up entirely, as usual, but it’s safest to withhold judgement until we have more evidence. Now, how do you think that communism101 responded to this?

The liberal democracies of Europe made similar agreements with Hitler and Mussolini before the USSR did, and shot down Stalin's suggestions of an anti-fascist alliance in the 30s.

That’s… not the issue here. The original poster’s question was asking about the Italo–Soviet Pact and what we could tell them about it.

You trade with fascists every time you go to a store or pay your bills. What's your justification and why doesn't it apply to the Soviet people?

We frequently trade with anticommunists every time we got to a store or pay our bills. That is correct. But this topic is about the Italo–Soviet Pact, and a pact between states is a little bit different and more complicated than mundane transactions between individuals or a bill that we have to pay to businesses.

the USSR rightly determined that it was necessary to have some degree of economic relations with the capitalist world, why is it OK for them to sign peace treaties with Churchill and Roosevelt, both extreme genocidal racists, but unacceptable for them to do the same with Hitler and Mussolini?

Yes, fine, but the question was not asking if it was OK or not for Moscow to sign a pact with a Fascist government. The question was asking if we could tell the original poster anything more about the Italo–Soviet Pact. Here, this is exactly what the poster asked:

So I was doing some research on the Spanish Civil War on Wikipedia (already liberal source, I’m aware), and I noticed in the timeline, that there was a nonaggression pact between the Soviet Union and fascist Italy, which it said strengthened economic relations. Can anyone tell me about this? I have severe doubts that the USSR would expand trade with a fascist power.

‘there was a nonaggression pact between the Soviet Union and fascist Italy, which it said strengthened economic relations. Can anyone tell me about this?’ That is the question. Unless maybe the asker is experiencing some sort of moral or existential crisis, telling us that liberals co‐operated with fascists is unlikely to be of much help. If we want to demonstrate that socialism in one country is preferable to a bourgeois régime (be it liberal or fascist), this certainly wouldn’t be of much help.

So, what can we tell the author about this pact? Well, you are in luck, because I have a very credible answer right here. Quoting Andrei Yu. Sidorov in History of International Relations and Russian Foreign Policy in the 20th Century, page 190:

‘The sanctions were initiated by Britain, though already in the run-up to the conflict, the cabinet of S. Baldwin had firmly decided that it would under no circumstances go to war with Italy over Ethiopia. France, for its part, informed Britain that it was against imposing oil sanctions. The League of Nations never dared ban the sale of oil to Italy, thus missing the chance to stop hostilities. "If the League had extended economic sanctions of oil, I would have had to withdraw from Abyssinia within a week", recognised Benito Mussolini later.

‘The Soviet Union took rather a cautious stance on the Ethiopian conflict. It did not have diplomatic relations with Ethiopia, while it had been quite closely co-operating with Italy. At the same time, Moscow could not ignore Mussolini's aggression. "However much we wish not to spoil relations with Italy, we cannot but go up against the imperialist war… it masterminds", wrote Maxim Litvinov to Stalin on October 5th, 1935.

‘The Soviet Union supported the sanctions against Italy but did not go any further, mindful of the position of France, its new ally. The USSR representative in the League of Nations was instructed not to be overzealous in the matter of sanctions and not initiate oil sanctions. In December 1935 the Politburo declined Ethiopia's request for assistance with arms and military specialists. All those moves were aimed at avoiding a serious deterioration in relations with Italy and preventing its rapprochement with Nazi Germany.’

(Emphasis added.)

You don’t need to distract from the issue, appeal to liberal memes like ‘HORSESHOE THEORY’ or ‘RED FASCISM’ or even express perfect satisfaction with this turn of events. You exercise scrutiny, you try to get to the bottom of the issue (specifically through Google Books, as the case may be), and you think for yourself by determining which explanation is the most reasonable.

That is how you answer the question.

I see many different interpretations about this.

But what did Deng Xiaoping in fact mean with this quote?

Ok so what the hell is the American dream. To be able to struggle most of your life to live and then eventually be able to have a family without going into debt too much? My mom especially confuses me because she always talks about how she had like 3 jobs and worked her body to the bone waitressing, yet she believes in it because she has a house and family now? Like I feel that maybe people shouldn't have to do that? Like peoples standards are too low? That really must be it actually. Usually when I bring up something bad about America they respond with "well it's better than that one authoritarian country." People are so propagandized that they lower their standards for what's good in a country. Maybe Im just being chauvinistic but I think a country like America, with what it does produce, should be able to give the basic necessities of life. Or last least not make people work 3 jobs for them. I do have to look back up on myself and realize that the conditions of workers in America is better than a lot of underdeveloped countries, but it just bugs me when people think America is all that because of the "opportunity" to live. There are a lot of people in America who do have it pretty rough unfortunately.

An anti-communist interestingly made a claim, based on a wikipedia page

Stop caring and grow up. [+7]

…honestly, do I even need to explain why this advice is so terrible?

I have an idea, though: that should be /r/communism101’s official slogan. I mean, what’s stopping them? So many threads could be avoided if only they used this as their default response to everything. Imagine how much time it would save! No need to worry about the people or things that you love when all that you have is sheer, raw confidence! And if ya think about it, can you really say that you love something if you’re worrying about it? Why would you ever do that? Just assume that everything’s fine!

You know what, here’s an even better idea: why not lock up the subcommunity and set that as the entry page’s message? That would solve so many problems! Look, here’s a mock‐up:

This is a great idea! In fact, this idea is so great, that if /r/communism101 actually implemented it, I can guarantee that it would reduce their workload by a whooping 100%! Wow!

They're not a communist or even socialist. Simply a liberal who consumes communist memes, which is why they're spreading a Nazi's rhetoric here. This submission hasn't been removed yet so that others may witness what lies underneath subreddits such as /r/CommunismMemes, /r/ShitLiberalsSay, and /r/PoliticalCompassMemes, ie. they're not harmless.

For those wondering, here are all of the OP’s contributions to /r/PoliticalCompassMemes.

I know very little about this subject. I had someone I know tell me a few months ago that for socialism to be sustainable, and to solve the climate crisis, U.S.ians are going to need to give up almost all A/C. They pointed out the fact that Amerikans are crybabies and even most of Western Europe does not use A/C.

However, with Greece and Spain recently having caught on fire and with heat waves devouring the nations, as well as stories regarding people in hotter regions in the U.S. dying from heat stroke in their own homes because they couldn't afford their electricity bills, this read as sort of Maoist-lite, petty-bourgeois radicalism to me shifting blame on individuals when there are so many systemic industries contributing astronomically to the worsening climate. I was wondering, is A/C usage so detrimental as to necessitate its destruction? Should not the focus be on larger, more destructive industries and actually increasing the availability and affordability of A/C to hotter regions? Should scientific focus be moreso on creating a green A/C?

Like I said, almost no knowledge. Feel free to roast my ass (pun slightly intended).

Full disclosure: I'm training to be a psychologist (not psychiatrist)

I've been browsing here a lot since Genzedong got quarantined, as I had been expecting a full removal soon after. The general community here is so positive and funny, I found myself preferring it to the subreddit.

I decided to break from my lurking ways to comment on an unfortunate trend I've noticed: A few, maybe just one or two, users trying to bring legitimacy to anti-psychiatry rhetoric. These users are getting a great deal of attention for their posts, and they seem to me to be legit comrades, regularly posting in other subs as well. I think these users are genuine, and I don't intend to make this about them, nor am I about to speculate about their personal reasons for perpetuating these messages. I will say only this about them: There is a worrying tendency to fully dismiss the experiences and views of mental health professionals, saying that speaking to us is "like speaking to a wall," and encouraging other users to simply ignore our responses. I think I only need to describe this sort of behavior for the troublesome qualities of it to become self-evident. No more needs to be said on it.

Now, I want to speak first to the kernel of truth in the anti-psychiatry lie, because this is somewhat personal to me.

Following the death of my 24 year old brother in 2020, I had a very hard time maintaining my professional life for a little over a year. He was not only my closest friend, but also the only person with whom I could share my political thoughts openly, expecting that he might be feeling similar. Simply put, he was the only socialist I knew.

At my field placement at the time, I was often working with people who were hospitalized. The fact that capitalism contributes to mental illness was not a new concept to me, but seeing how many of our patients were homeless, and knowing that, sometimes, they were sent back to the streets after we had gotten them "back to baseline," was devastating for me. It was the sort of disruption that makes a person question the field they are in.

Cut-to October, 2021, I'm the only student in a classroom, explaining to 6 professors why my performance is slipping lately, and I find myself explaining that I feel impotent as a therapist, eventually yelling something rash to the effect of "If we actually wanted a psychologically-minded approach to helping these people, we'd be giving them houses!" Further, I was boiling in anger so slowly I almost didn't notice it, because I had no one - zero people - in this liberal-as-hell program to discuss my beliefs with. No one outside of it. Just no one. I was surrounded by people who loved to talk about "systems," but couldn't form a coherent thought about the economic system that undergirds all of the ills of these other systems.

It is true that therapy and psychiatry are often bandaids for people living in a sick society. It is true that many of the problems we seek to address are exacerbated or outright caused by living in a capitalist system. It is true that therapy addresses the suffering of individuals, when that suffering is often the result of communal discord.

It's deeply unhealthy to get stuck there though. I was for a time, and my outpatient clients likely suffered lower quality treatment from me during this time. I know everyone around me suffered a lower quality me.

We are historical materialists. Because of the suffering caused by capitalism, it can be easy to lose sight of the materialist understanding of capitalism as an inevitable and necessary next step beyond feudalism, leading to socialism. Capitalism is not an entity you can diagnose as evil and then determine that everything birthed from within it is therefore also evil. That's idealism. The fact that psychiatry and therapy inherited flaws from operating within a capitalist system says absolutely nothing about their inherent nature, the intent of them, nor their impact.

Now let's get more specific. This entire dance of tying capitalism and psychiatry together utterly ignores basic realities - like the fact that some mental illnesses seem to be primarily organic, that is, relating to the person's biological make-up, their "wiring." Primary examples of this include ADHD, Bipolar and Schizophrenia. If you suppose a person with schizophrenia or bipolar would suddenly be highly functional, absent medication, in a world where we've reached international communism, you are simply making a massive, uneducated guess. We don't know that, and anyone who has spent considerable time among the severely mentally ill population will tell you that it seems extremely unlikely. Further, we haven't reached communism, so it seems reasonable to suggest we do what we can for people who are suffering currently.

A lot of anti-psychiatry rhetoric seems to come from the neurodivergent crowd, specifically people with ADHD and/or autism, who have felt mistreated by the field of psychiatry because they aren't disordered, just different from the type of person who succeeds under capitalism. There is a lot of truth to this, and I wish I had better answers for these individuals. Perhaps under communism, people with ADHD and Autism will feel no need for therapy. Then again, perhaps they'll still suffer from higher rates of depression than other people, simply because they find it harder to fit in socially. A lot of unhelpful speculation is required to even have that conversation. I'm more interested in helping people with the problems they say they want help with in their lives, at this point in time.

Now to get on to what most people think of when they think of psychiatry and therapy. When I'm helping someone with OCD learn to work past their compulsions effectively enough that they can finally do something enjoyable with their time, no one gives a flying fuck if capitalism has to do with why they can't stop checking, and re-checking that everything in their home is "just right." When I'm helping a socially anxious person find human connection, or a depressed person find something rewarding to engage in, again, the discussion of how their mental illness is a result of capitalism feels trivial in the face of their suffering. Yes, every single one of my clients deserves revolution. No, I'm not capable of bringing about that revolution on my own, but I can help my clients make friends and find meaning in the lives they do have under this capitalist system.

The last problem with anti-psychiatry being tied to Marxism is more pragmatic: People who are curious about communism come to this site. Most people's (with very unfortunate but real exceptions) experience of psychiatry and therapy will not map onto the exploitative machine described by the anti-psychiatry folks any more than their experience of the medical field does. This means that any curious liberal who comes into this space looking for answers is going to be immediately turned off.

Anyway, I'm really thankful for this place and hope this post doesn't make me a pariah around here in the future. Thanks for reading, comrades.

Edit: A previous version of this post contained language that was unfair to the anti-psychiatry crowd. This was a mistake pointed out to me in the comments, and I see what they mean. I'll do better with that in the future.

Hello. Hopefully I won’t get banned for mentioning some stuff happening in China. From a western perspective, China seems perfect. There is a Communist Party in charge and the constitution says people have labor rights. But I want to examine some topics which make me very uncomfortable. For reference: Grew up in China 2002 to 2012, Moved to America, currently going through University in Americar, planning to go back to China immediately when I finish and restore People’s Republic citizenship. After living in the west for 10 years I am a hardcore communist. After I read the Little Red Book it was one of the most awesome things I ever read. I am grateful that the most populous country with such a huge territory and long history has a Communist government. Forgive me if I’m a bit on edge, the whole Nancy Pelosi Bullshit is making me very very stressed. If Americar and China are going to fight, at least do so after I escape Americar and go back to my family.

For those of you who doubt me: 如果你真的怀疑我是中国人，你觉得一个假中国人能写出这样的话吗？当然， 现代有谷歌翻译，但是毕竟谷歌翻译是机器，有时候还会不能完美地模仿人类的自然语言。全世界无产阶级人民团结！！！

Please please please don’t just see the epic People’s Liberation Army videos or the official news reportings, there is so much on bilibili and zhihu that a westerner wouldn’t know unless you are fluent in the language.

Tsinghua University Rainbow flags incident. Recently there has been an incident with Tsinghua University, one of the most prestigious higher education places in the coutnry. (the fact that this place is prestigious is problematic to me. Aren’t we communists supposed to, you know, ensure equality? I don’t think Westerners truly understand just how unequal education is in China. The quality of school facilities in rich and poor areas are just absolutely incomparable, and graduates of prestigious universities get much better jobs and much better income, which just isn’t fair. An engineering graduate is an engineering graduate, there shouldn’t be any differences in educational standards in different schools) A student left 10 little LBGT rainbow flags on a table, then was punished for it because the school says it is “宣传品“ which can be translated as propaganda OR informational materials. Not everything has to do with LGBT is about western infiltration you know. How can a student be punished for simply leaving 10 (TEN) rainbow flags? It’s a general symbol of Sexual and Gender Minorities. If there is proof of western infiltration, then yes, that is a problem. Right now I see very little Native Chinese activity in terms of LGBT. I agree the Chinese need our own LGBT awareness programs but it just isn’t happening. I don’t know why the central people’s government isn’t just coming out and saying people shouldn’t discriminate against LGBT. Even the word LGBT is western in origin, the Chinese need their own word for it. I think we should use 奻𤲶双跨. Each zi corresponds to each letter in LGBT. On Weibo微博 there were people arguing over this, in typical Chinese shitshow fashion. I heard enough of this in my childhood, my grandparents and my mother are all practitioners of the well-respected art of yelling. (Me too, although I tend to do more targeted insults, against homophobia, transphobia, corporate bootlicking, western bootlicking, religious persecution of others etc). There are very many extremely homophobic people on there saying that this is “western infiltration“ and that the students deserve even more punishment. Some say that Homosexuals should keep to themselves. The problem is, Homosexuals just aren’t seen in society, and if LGBT keep to themselves, how can they ensure that they are not discriminated against in terms of employment, education, and other opportunities? What about school bullying, domestic violence, suicides? How can Gay people even find love if they can’t even say “hey, we are gay?” There were nice people who argued FOR LBGT and insulted the homophobes, by saying that homophobes have no culture (没文化is a very common insult in China) and that although homopbobes say that homosexuals are diseased, the true disease are the homophobes themlseves. When I became a Communist in America, it’s precisely because they are simply the better side, the left supports LGBT, the right does not. I can’t deal with the fact that my home country, which should embrace Marxist Materialism according to its own ruling party, has so much homophobia. Western report: https://supchina.com/2022/07/27/the-rise-and-fall-of-lgbtq-student-groups-in-china/ Report in Chinese language (but not from China), it contains what looks to be official school documents for the students’ consequences. https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/684454.html
I couldn’t find any official reportage of this Tsinhua University event, but I do see it being talked about on social media. https://weibo.com/3349258552/KnEhha2e7?refer_flag=1001030103_ Weibo post reporting the government shutting down multiple university LGBT organizations. The user is happy and calls LGBT dirty and disgusting. Some people cite Marx and Engels who were homophobic. I understand that Marx and Engels were from a very different era and I love them despite their homophobia. I know that if they were born in a different time they definitely wouldn’t be homophobes.

The other problem I want to discuss is 996. So…. How are we going to fight against it? Is the government making any progress? They condemned it in 2021. Are companies actually being forced to give their employees human hours? Are companies giving them a 40 hour workweek with 2 days off each week? It is an incredible shame that in a Leftst Red country this sort of exploitation exists. Keep in mind that I ain’t saying Americar is good. University prices are sky high and Americans will NEVER be able to retire OR get a house. The American government is controlled by money. But that doesn’t matter because China shouldn’t be comparing itself against America. China should be comparing itself against the metrics of Communism. I see some western tovarishi (comerades) say that 996 is only in Shanghai and Macau and HongKong. Not true. It is a phenomenon all over. Some western comrades say that this is only the tech industry. Not true. I look on the Chinese internet and it seems to me 996 is a very widespread phenomenon across multiple sectors in multiple places. It is an unmentionable shame that a thousands years old culture which values FAMILY above all gives people 0 (ZERO) time to be with their family. This is not even mentioning the nongmingong (workers who have rural hukou/registration but who go to work in cities) who cannot buy houses in cities for some reason, they live in shitty accomodations and can only see their families for 15 days in Chinese New Near. Paid time off and vacations don’t exist in Chinese culture. Your boss and coworkers WILL call you and expect you to answer, IF you somehow manage to convince your superiors that you deserve a break. And the Hierarchical culture… Is absolutely disgusting. Higher ups will lord it over you like some feudal official. We are 共产主义者for fucks sake we should be equal. Now I admit I spent half of my life in America so I haven’t experienced things personally but I follow Chinese social media quite closely. It really is that bad. And before you accuse me of being a western spy or a Eff Bee Eye, first see if you can read this. If you can’t, then you should probably consider the fact that this is MY culture not yours.. 中华文化是我的文化。我有资格去评价当前的中国人的网上谈论。 The Law has been against 996 exploitation for a VERY long time. But why has the government taken so long to act? Are their policies effective? You can’t just say you’re against something and not use all available force to punish these bad things. Americar makes laws and doesn’t enforce them, I don’t want China to become like America.

Another worrying phenomenon is a new way of looking at history. Confucious, a misogynistic monarchist who puts book-men(who do ceremonies or something) over farm laborers (who provide food) is rehabilitated by the Party. In Official documentaries about history, I see Emperors being praised. This is very dangerous because I can’t see myself loving these dudes who lived in palaces and had 100s of women to play with while their subjects labored in the fields. I see so much traditionalism in Chinese media and not enough revolutionary culture. Why? Please just why? The Great Helmsman (Mao) spent so much time fighting against feudal society. And in recent years, xenophobia is on the rise in Chinese online discours. Everything Chinese is good and Foreign things are bad. If China needs something, it has to be Chinese. LGBT is from the west therefore it is bad. Why would one listen to music from the West if one has good Chinese music to listen to? Westerners don’t beat their children, so we Chinese do. It’s only natural. Everything has to be Chinese nowadays. Where does cultural confidence end and chauvinism begin? I agree every single damn country needs cultural confidence. Look at the rise of the Right in Germany. If you’re not gonna teach to the young Deutschen good Deutsche Kultur, they will fall to Right Wing German culture, the bad part of Deutscher Kultur. And before you accuse me of being a western spy or a Eff Bee Eye, first see if you can read this. If you can’t, then you should probably consider the fact that this is MY culture not yours.. 中华文化是我的文化。我有资格去评价当前的中国人的网上谈论。

Please please please don’t just see the epic People’s Liberation Army videos or the official news reportings, there is so much on bilibili and zhihu that a westerner wouldn’t know unless you are fluent in the language.

As you have all noticed, this seems to be a point of contention here. This is a good thing, since it means someone will learn something.

Now we seem to be all over the place, with this general area of thought, provoking many questions. Whether or not PatSocs are socially conservative, what is position on social conservatism? Many of us are very young, both in age and ML experience, so an online discussion would be a great learning tool.

1. Are socially conservative individuals allowed to be apart of the leftist movement?

• A. Are socially conservative individuals victims of bourgeois propaganda?

-B. If socially conservative people are turned away by the left, where do they go?

-C. How high of a position would a social conservative be allowed in a ML party?

-D. How has or will MLs educate socially conservative folk?

-E. &tc, &tc.

2. What exactly is Patriotism?

-A. Does patriotism depend on culture?

-B Is possible for a distinction between patriotism for a country and wanting to abolish the state?

-C. Is patriotism corrupted in the Core?

-D How have post imperialist countries with Communist experiments built patriotism?

-E. &Tc &TC

3. Who even are the PatSocs?

-A. If the label is too convuluted, should we make a distinction between Maupin and American exceptionalists?

-B. Who of the leaders do we consider MLs?

-C. Should patriotic socialist be distinct from socialism or is inherent in socialism?

-D. How much do WE even know if PatSocs?

-E. &Tc, &tc

We can look at the USSR and GDR for these questions. Remember the Hammer and Sickel came from somewhere.

Things to look out for about the US:

-It is the imperialist power, AND a settler state.

-Low levels of cultural development

-The culture that is there is taken from marginalized groups.

-Americas are the most propagandized people in the World.

-It is huge and incredibly diverse

More questions about the US could follow:

-Should the US be balkanized? If so how does patriotism be built in balkanized regions?

-How does land back go about? Will indigenous countries emerge, and if so should we reconsider American MLs as different MLs for the Regions in North America.

-If we see different nations and regions in North America how does that affect culture? Is the question of how we view the land a prerequisite to discussing patriotism, is it contradictory to call yourself an American Patriot if you decide to divide up the land until regions?

There is so much potential for deep political for North American based Comrades, this is a rabbit hole I do want to delve into. I'll cross post this to GZD but I want it mainly on Leftist Infighting.

Edit: spacing issues

Zizek is either a psyop or incapable of critical thought.

Photos taken from "Slavoj Zizek Presents On Practice and Contradiction". Note him disparaging anti-imperialism and accusing the CPC of basically the worst crimes against humanity, and arguing that in the future they will practice eugenics.

Oliver Stone pretty much sealed the deal in my mind that the CIA assassinated JFK, that's one major so-called "conspiracy theory" cemented as probably true.

The U.S. state has poisoned its own citizens before, dropped bombs on people in its commonwealths. Is it poisoning the water supply? What reason would they have? Weakening agents, toothpaste lobbyists putting shit in the water to rot our teeth in order to spike demand for their product? Testing bioweapons that cause esophageal cancer? Water that causes acid reflux at the behest of Big TUMS? Their justification for using bioweapons in San Fransisco and New York were to "test against a possible hostile bioweapon attack", so we know the Amerikkkan state doesn't need justification to do anything, it's completely arbitrary and irrational at times -- as fascism is wont to be.

What about our news media? We know mainstream news outlets are bought and paid for by RFA and the NED and other NGOs the alphabet boys and the pentagon use to maintain hegemony. What about the news outlets we trust? We know the U.S. state will brazenly ban and shut down entire websites and newspapers if they're deemed a security risk (as they did with that Iranian website), but usually it's a soft-ban where social media and streaming corpos deplatform news outlets like the Grayzone, RT, Lee Camp, etc. Who's to say that the state department isn't carefully cultivating a drip-feed of true info to keep us content as a portion of the population "in the know", but just little enough to ensure that we aren't keen on the absolute, total, nightmarish barbarity of it all -- just little enough that the masses will consider us conspiracists forever. Does there exist a sort of "information bubble" that will never be popped until the state is destroyed?

I've heard some people claim that we give the modern state too much credit, that it's much weaker than it was in the Cold War days because they refuse to adapt and change strategy, and it's led by a bunch of senile fools who promote shit like "cisgender woman of color CIA agent" propaganda. On the other hand, communists seem to be split on exactly how strong the state is -- are we all on a list, or is the bureaucracy so disorganized and overwrought that a true "list" is improbable?

I don't know. Materially, if all of this is true, or if none of it is, it won't impact the fact that we need to organize, nor that Marxism is a science and framework for responding to the material reality as far as we are capable of witnessing it. It just bothers me. The neoliberal hegemon, in all of its cruelty, is capable of trying anything and for any reason, most usually profit.

"Anarchists are communists" now? I've never once recognized this, and I'm still kinda questioning why r/sls is so intent on playing protectionist over people the FBI made specifically to be wreckers. Idgi, but it frankly sickens me.

His follow‐up post.

I have no comment.

Vent, of course.

For the past decade, the impacts of climate change have made itself so incredibly clear on the coast of North Carolina. I grew up by the beach, as my father did, my grandfather did, and my great grandfather did. Eastern North Carolina and the coast of the Carolinas itself is very important to me and it is for a lot of people who have long family history there, whether it be the Lumbee or Tuscarora or any of the many different tribes that have grown their roots there in the sands of the islands. I’m not Native American myself but their stories of love and passion for the sand and the soil and the rivers that run through NC have made me feel that same love and passion for the state. Climate change’s effects on the coast are terrifying. The sea gets closer each year and the beaches become more like small cliff edges than the long walk to where the waves would once crash against the many small shells.

Towns like Rodanthe are mainly tourist towns, where those houses were initially built far from the ocean and on solid ground. Nobody usually lives there in those houses year round. They’re bought by large real estate companies and rented out for the summers to people who can pay thousands a week for them. The people who do live year round do not live in the big houses, but the smaller houses closer to the sound. They are a lot less well built than the houses on stilts. The islands are skinny on a map, but in person they can fit rows of houses. Many houses are built on stilts per NC house building codes. The laws to build homes on the barrier islands have always been strict and have to follow specific guidelines or it will not be built. The houses in Rodanthe met those guidelines. Built on stilts, far from the ocean, and it still collapsed. It’s so easy to blame us North Carolinians as individuals than accept the harrowing, scarier reason for why this is happening. The barrier islands have always been fragile, and because of their fragility they are one of the first to feel the effects of climate change. I live a few hours south of Rodanthe, but each year the winds get worse. We get 30 mph winds constantly, often up to hurricane force winds a couple times a month due to the smallest rainstorm or low pressure system. We used to fear hurricane season but now we fear each week of the year.

“It’s just houses collapsing!”

But the houses are signs of a bigger problem. With the sands shifting and the barrier islands eroding, the mainland of NC is threatened. The coast of NC is like a giant marsh. Beautiful grasses and full of life living In brackish or freshwater, each time a storm brews they are at risk of having their environments destroyed by ocean salt water. This leads to a phenomenon called “ghost forests,” where forests become flooded with salt water and the trees all die. It leaves massive tree stalks standing without the greenery of the leaves. The wood is bleached. Ghost forests are scary to look at in person. It’s unsettling.

And not only that, these eastern towns within NC were primarily founded by freed black slaves. With sea water rising, worsening storms, the loss of the barrier islands, we are losing Black communities. These communities are often very poor, as most eastern North Carolina towns are no matter the demographics of people who live there. They are the ones who are most effected by this issue, and yet people blame the white people who were able to afford buying their homes on top of hills for these problems. We talk a lot about Hurricane Katerina and how black neighborhoods were the ones who flooded the worst, as they had to live in flood plains due to bigotry and poverty. It’s the same thing here. But you know, since they’re southern, why should anyone care?

When NC was hit by the Category 5 hurricane Matthew, the last recovery package we got was 2 million dollars. We needed almost a billion dollars. Towns like Princeville, founded by freed black slaves, sat underwater until the waters eventually receded. Now they lie abandoned and rotting. Many other towns close to the coast suffer this same fate. You can see houses and buildings rotting from floodwater.

They all vote red, certainly. Voting matters when it comes to a life or death situation like this, certainly (sarcasm).

Each time the South is hit by a hurricane I hear people saying we deserve it. That we deserve it for “voting red,” and yet we don’t say they deserve earthquakes or wildfires for voting blue. I don’t think the rest of the US really understands this social code that is found in many southerners. If you don’t give us respect, we won’t respect you. If you shit on everything that is about us, our home, we won’t follow you. How do you expect southerners to follow tail to tail to you when all you do is spit on our shoes while expecting us to shine yours?

Southerners like politicians who speak to the people and promise to help. That’s why Trump was so powerful, because he spoke to the southerner and promised to help us and bring us back industry. To help let the southerner see the day where abandoned buildings weren’t everywhere and everyone wasn’t turning to drugs to cope with their situations. Yet, like all politicians, he lied. And the southerner keeps itching for a new politician to help them while propaganda is being shoved down their throat and while they’re blamed for the worlds problems.

Fact of the matter is, most of these politicians and businesses responsible for this climate crisis live and grow in blue states. A lot of politicians who lead in the south aren’t even from the south. And yet it’s us who’s responsible for everything.

Our states are so deeply corrupt and no one cares. People each year lose their homes and no one cares. Southerners have been suffering with poverty for decades and no one cares, refusing to acknowledge that the people hit the hardest aren’t white. Because they don’t care.

But I hope communists do.

Do they know the language? I don't want to make assumptions because it would be pretty pathetic and shameful considering they've been living there for years (since 2013 iirc)

So it seems to me that across many spaces there is a tendency to water down queer and gender issues into the cynical commercialism that finance capitalists have pushed for. Among communists I see this with what people in Donbas have said, what a person from the DPRK has said to a Chinese interviewer, and it is also found in the west. Also in sections of the Indigenous community oftentimes elders will claim that (ironically) white people made up Two-Spirit people, all despite evidence to the contrary.

We also see characters like Putin rallying around this idea that the west is obsessed with "gender freedoms" despite the very obvious coordinated crackdowns against these supposed "freedoms" in the west.

When I hear people make these claims I am baffled because I am certain that colonialism has damaged and (attempted to) erase Indigenous gender expressions around the world. To say that queer issues can be boiled down to liberalism is clearly false and likley has its root in colonialism. Yet communists and other forces that are otherwise opposed to the financial imperialist system are not unified on this issue.

It does seem clear that the west tries to weaponize human rights to justify war and to justify investments. It also demonizes and makes sure to show when its enemies show these sentiments. But this reactionary strain of communism has failed to explain how the bourgeoisie apparently invented trans people without simply criticising their least favorite liberal feminist or gender theorist (perhaps Judith Butler). But gender is dynamic and if it has been molded by capital in this way then it should be demonstrable beyond criticisms of a single theorist or a single field.

I myself am absolutely no expert on gender or queer theory. Im straight and grew up in a reactionary home. Im hoping people here can give insight on how to address these issues that exist among communists. I think we can tallow the west to use human rights to further colonize the world and gender issues accross the world probably manifest differently and that should be understood and respectes. Simultaneously, we cant allow this erroneous view that the western bourgeoisie is not only the protector of gender rights, but its progenitor.

Anyways, I am hoping for some discussion on this.

How can I possibly mentally deal with the Soviet deportations? It is NEVER OK to punish an entire ethnic group for the crimes of some of the people.

Transcript, starting with me:

https://m.reddit.com/comments/byl4kn/_/eqjr7w3/?context=3

Is it true that they caused a huge CO2 spike and that most of the iron was useless? I know that anticommies are claiming this but I don't know how to refute them.

Thon:

Why are you asking me? I'm also pretty sure you banned me from ShitLiberalsSay, So why should i help you?

Me:

Never mind.

Thon:

Yeah, fuck off liberal.

(For context, I only suspended this individual for a few days.)

Transcript:

As the war in Ukraine grinds on, I feel like I should take the time to talk about tankies within the Left. Whoo boy.

First, what is a tankie?
The term originates from the 2nd half of the 20th century. There was a large schism within the Left at that time, after the Soviet union rolled tanks into Hungary and Czechoslovakia when the two tried to break out of the Soviet sphere of influence.
While most leftists opposed this, there were some weirdos who supported the Soviets in their brutal crackdowns. These were the OG tankies back then.

Second, the Soviet Union back in that time period. It wasn't socialist or communist. It was a fascistic oligarchy, that later transitioned into far-right kleptocracies, with the exception of those countries that ended up with the West.
Here's the name of the game: build a totalitarian dictatorship with a ruling class of strongmen and cleptocrats, and then put "The People's" in front of the name.
As such, the People's Republic of Hungary wasn't the people's and wasn't a republic, just like every other country under Soviet military occupation.

Enter modern day tankies, carrying the torch of authoritarianism onward. If you've seen leftists in support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, chances are they were tankies.

The alpha and omega of tankie political thought is "US bad" (here "US" includes the West as a whole). From this, they extrapolated that anything opposing the US must be good by definition.

Who opposed or currently opposes the US? The Soviet Union. China. Russia. Syria. North Korea. Cuba. The list goes on.

You might notice that these countries all happen to be horrible dictatorships with the aforementioned ruling classes of strongmen and cleptocrats. They disappear people with dissenting political opinions, forming opposition parties or opposing news outlets is either banned or severely restricted, heavy state propaganda is broadcast to the population 24/7, and so on.

Every person with an IQ above room temperature (in Celsius) agrees that these governments are the opposite of good.

Tankies disagree.

Why? Because US bad.

In their minds the US is such a comically overexaggerated evil that even the most horrible actions taken by opposing governments are justified.

China bans forming independent workers' unions? Well, they have to, because those unions would be controlled by the CIA.

Cuba throws political dissidents in jail? Well, they have to, because those people are surely US-puppets.

Russia invades Ukraine after the latter drifts away from its sphere of influence? Well, they had to, they were afraid of US-led "NATO expansion".

You might have guessed it already, but tankies aren't leftists. They only adopted the aesthetics of what many consider "leftist", i.e. symbols associated with the Soviet Union for the most part. Otherwise they're just fascists painted red.

Leftists don't stan for dictatorships and oligarchies. Tankies do.

Leftists don't condone jailing political opponents. Tankies do.

Leftists don't deny genocides like the Holodomor, or what China does to Uygurs. Tankies do.

Leftists don't support Russian blood and soil imperialistic action against Ukraine. Tankies do.

The list goes on.

Especially now, every effort must be taken to excise these lunatics from the left, and send them off to the far-right where they belong. Otherwise they'll keep festering on leftism like a tumor, making it much harder to bring people over.

Next time you see a tankie, feel free to hurl a creative insult of your choice in their direction. In fact, you should.

Thank you, rant over.

[insert tiresome and unfunny ableist image here]

Instant feelings of elation, instant feelings of being trapped in a crowd of brainwashed 14-year old lemmings are finally leaving my body. my stress levels have gone down, my productivity has gone up.

I have learned a few things: f.e. all non-federated non user driven non matrix client based social media sites can tonguebathe my hairy mocca salient.

I m not saying this plattform will not one day suffer the same fate, as all platforms and companys at some point join the lemming festival and jump over the cliff. Usually due to the ever same economical problems that cause all platform of a certain size to have to deal with a whole bunch of lawyers affiliates, interest groups, notices and paperwork hardly a developer (or a handful for that matter) can handle alone, and this is where things start to get out of hand. and i ve seen it all over the place. at some point public money infusion or moderation drive is needed and that doesn't come without a catch.

And now let me mention the fact that for years, major lefitst subs had been taken over by shitlibs and infiltrated by rightwing brigading and psychic-nudging astroturf and then fall for every political campaign that pretends to have a red stripe hidden somewhere, maybe, potentially.... which is probably why we are alll here...

So, we have:

1. Brushing off criticism by changing the subject,
2. Ignorantly equating privileged Ukrainian neofascists with their less privileged Russian equivalents and
3. Creating another ‘big tent’ or class collaborationist movement. (Because that worked out so well for the Makhnovshchina, am I right?)

There’s also a strong implication that they’re fighting for one bourgeois state over another, but you can be generous and assume that they’re merely interested in protecting ordinary Ukrainians, if you want.

You know, I never thought that I’d be clamouring for all those dull and cowardly ‘both sides are bad’ comments and sentiments, but Judas Priest, at least those would be a little more circumspect. I’m almost surprised that, so far, nobody has said ‘red fash’ or rereminded us about the Molotov Cocktease Pact again.

(On the plus side, at least some other anarchists know better.)