Like the kind that made you stop and think for a second about how stupid the person advocating it is. For me, it’s the classic “The biggest mistake in recent history was the Allies not pushing into Russia after the fall of Berlin.”

There’s just a level of imperialist arrogance and blood thirst in there that makes my skin crawl. The worst thing in human history was that the US didn’t immediately betray the Soviets and wipe them out until they were sure communism was done for.

  • PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmygrad.ml
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    1 year ago

    Equating communism and fascism.

    I mean we seen that a billion times in various versions in mainstream and got used to this but still it’s the stupidest fucking thing ever.

  • Eat_Yo_Vegetables69@lemmygrad.ml
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    1 year ago

    “Yeah the consequences of the USSR collapse led to 200 million people not doing too well, but at least we saved all those people from the gulags!”

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    I’m sure I’ve heard a lot but one that stuck with me is “gunboat diplomacy and imperialism is good actually.” From the same mouth a minute later: “the only reason the KMT lost [the fucking Chinese civil war] was because the US stopped giving them weapons. Communists are fundamentally incapable of accomplishing anything on their own.”

    • SovereignState@lemmygrad.ml
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      Rather sure a large part of the problem was that KMT leadership enjoyed engaging in prostitution and booze. Not even Nazi support could save the incompetent fools. Any KMT cadre worth their salt wound up joining the CPC.

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          Fair point. Wang Jingwei became their guy and the KMT learned one of the most important political lessons too late, don’t buddy up with fascists. They will betray you whenever it becomes profitable.

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            1 year ago

            I think this had more to do with military power. Germany kept very good relations with both China and Japan until eventually deciding to go with Japan for good. My guess would be that the decission was because the greater japanese military capacities which would be of use against the USSR.

            Of course, then the Soviets and Mongols kicked the Kwantung Armies teeth in at Kalin Gol, which lead to Japan and the USSR signing a non-agression treaty. Lul.

    • Mzuark@lemmygrad.mlOP
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      It’s like his mind had to course correct mid-sentence because he was close to fucking up his own world view.

    • REEEEvolution@lemmygrad.ml
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      1 year ago

      Sitenote: The PRC considers attacks on it by another nation equal to a nuclear first strike. Thus second strike would be triggered.

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    hmmm, the nuclear genocidal bloodthirst by Europeans and Americans? There’s so many average people that think the only way of dealing with Russians, Chinese, Koreans is by nuking them to extinction. Ironically they don’t see themselves as the problem.

    • Mzuark@lemmygrad.mlOP
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      What’s really funny is that those same people would lose their shit if the shoe was on the other foot.

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      I remember being maybe a teenager and hearing kids casually talk about blowing up the Middle East. They start em young

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    1 year ago

    Some frat bro looked me dead the eye and was like “We should nuke the Middle East. All of it. How many of them are good people, really?”

    This was within 5 minutes of meeting him

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    I was discussing with a hardcore neo-liberal, almost to the degree of ancap about government and he pointed out, that when centralizing power thr rights of minorities are often overlooked, he said: “Suddenly 3% of the popultation just becomes a meaningless number that can just be sent to their death”. The next day, we were discussing about covid restrictions, where my point was simply, that individual freedoms don’t count anymore, when there is harm to other. He simply responded with. “oh the 3% that are actually in danger when getting covid, can just stay inside, as if it was worth it restricting myself for them.”

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      This is a subtle point throughout Hayek’s writings. He’s always expressing concern for minorities and at first it’s like, I thought this guy was supposed to be a neoliberal? Then it slowly dawns on you: the only minority he cares about is the rich.

  • Munrock ☭@lemmygrad.ml
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    A combination of

    1. Don’t tell people to read theory, you have to explain things in simple terms.

    2. Marxist-Leninist ideas of revolution won’t work with today’s technology and economy.

    How to tell someone you haven’t even tried to read theory, and then criticise theory based on what you think the theory is, and encourage everyone around you to adopt the same choice of ignorance.

    • Drewfro66@lemmygrad.ml
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      I have to say I agree with point 1.

      “Read Theory” is “Google It” for Communists. It’s annoying and a little arrogant. Of course reading theory is good. But they’re here for the social aspect. If you were sitting down with a friend for lunch, or talking to a coworker at work, and they asked a question about socialism, you wouldn’t tell them to go to the library and rent a book, would you?

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        If I’m an asshole for telling people to educate themselves on a subject before making wildly inaccurate pronouncements about it, I’m an asshole.

      • SovereignState@lemmygrad.ml
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        It is far better, I think, to be specific on the work of history or theory you’re advocating for than to tell others to read a book/learn history/etc. Many such works are integral to destroying the braincage of, for instance, Amerikan exceptionalism.

        In a hypothetical conversation wherein I am trying to dissuade someone from engaging in Amerika apologia, I would recommend Rogue State and Killing Hope by William Blum before anything else, while giving them my own thoughts and opinions regarding Amerika’s crimes.

        Were the issue, say, unconditionally defending the traditional family structure, I would cite Engels’ The Origin of the Family. The necessity of the state and the banality of most “anarchism”? On Authority and Anarchism or Socialism? by comrade Ioseb. I would also direct that someone to read these works.

        And other works, depending on specificity of issue and political learnedness of the individual being engaged with. If there is a point to my rambling, it’s that literally saying “read theory”, while potentially a funny (and fair) meme to throw at trolls and bad faith actors, doesn’t do much for educating anyone. What theory? I think that’s important.

        We should be able to understand that theory and history well enough to put it into digestible reality for the working class, of course. But directing others to that theory only strengthens communism’s presence in political thought. Those who become educated in said theory will tell others who will tell others. This is good.

        And I guess, for honesty’s sake and for anyone reading who potentially does the same, I have told others, in the past, to “read theory” without diving into specifics because I did not heed my own advice and thusly could not actually give them specifics. I was being hypocritcal in my posturing, at the time.

        It’s definitely important to read and understand. It’s also incredibly important to treat others with empathy and as fully cognizant beings capable of rational thought, who when guided towards genuine education and not hit with directionless platitudes may actually change their understandings of the world. For the most part, anyway.

        It’s worth noting that no one expects you, the reader of this, to know everything, nor do you have to. We strive to learn as much as we can, and that is a worthwhile endeavor. Just as worthwhile is putting that knowledge into action.

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    So my state, Washington, is expected to grow by 2 million people by the 2030s and our airport (SeaTac) is expected to grow too crowded to have as many one way destinations as it has right now.

    A major Republican just put out an op ed saying that we need to build another airport, but nobody wants to live next to it. So to solve this, we need to plan a new 250k+ city and give it an airport. The level of NIMBYism we are entertaining is a planned economy to keep the landed folks rich.

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    “Every civilization that has allowed gay.marriage has collapsed”

    Apropos of nothing, in the middle of a hangout

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      Every civilization that has drank water has collapsed or will very likely collapse at some point eventually probably maybe.

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    Idk if this counts as a hot take but one of my coworkers got drunk as shit at the airbnb our group was staying at and he started ranting about how Jews and Spaniards mixed with Central Africans to create “high yellows” or some shit then complained about his elementary school having too many black people even though it was still majority white in a ritzy part of Atlanta. He also talked about how women are only good for fucking while being married and crying about his cheating wife. Dude clearly drove his first wife away right into the arms of a black guy

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        Oh yeah in a better society he would’ve been shot long ago. Unfortunately the Iraqis that blew a 50 cal barreta that split him open and his war buddy’s head that he couldn’t stop crying about didn’t do it.

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    Off the top of my head, the craziest thing I ever heard was a liberal on Twitter saying the US should call Russia’s bluff on the nukes and join in militarily with Ukraine. They were saying it’s better to not have an Eastern Europe or possibly world if it means Putin and Xi will be controlling it. It got a lot of attention and not as much hate as it deserved (obv people were calling them idiots but far fewer than any sane person would hope for)