a-real-ghost
Dont be a coward
Trans - Disabled - Poor - BLM - Pro-Choice - Anti-Capitalist - Anti-Colonialist - Didn't Ask
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That's fair, absolutely. Here is my question then, what did I do wrong?
From my perspective, I saw a person taking a comment and reading it in bad faith - which lead to a person being sent death threats and wishes for suicide. I approached that situation and attempted to explain why and what I thought was wrong with that as politely as I could. Then, part of what I said was taken out of its context and used to call me a racist.
If there is anything about what happened that I have presented inaccurately, please feel free to correct me. I would appreciate the chance to learn what it is that I have done incorrectly, so that I have the ability to grow and be better.
As I have previously said, you don't have to explain anything to me if you do not want to or are not able to and it is absolutely reasonable of you to deny me any explanation.
I am not trying to be rude or disingenuous, and I know that is hard to find online so you have no reason to trust me.
nobody cares about your racism sob story tbh. just leave black people alone we dont want or need you. if its SOOO hard for you to stop being racist then just leave. like are you expecting us to feel sorry for you or something? what possibly could you offer us thats any of use, really. If you're struggling to do the bare minimum why do you expect black ppl to pat you on the back? cracker.
Okay so -
I didn't say that people made me "go back to being racist" - what was meant by my words was:
When I was starting to work towards becoming better and just beginning to realize that being a racist is a shitty thing, people being hyper-literal with what I said and assuming malice instantly made that process harder. You can't learn if you can't make mistakes.
I am not going to "become a racist again" no more than I am going to become a baby again. It was a part of my life, I outgrew it. I'm not going to start shitting my pants again just because somebody was unkind on the internet.
(The metaphor is obviously imperfect, because I am actively still unlearning harmful behaviors and patterns in my life - not going to try and pretend otherwise)
Now, I could have phrased that better initially. And given that my post was in response to a person acting in bad faith, I should have. I don't particularly care if people like me or find me agreeable but I won't have people misrepresenting me or my beliefs. If you're going to hate me, hate me for who I am - don't take the easy way out and make shit up.
I appreciate your comment, and will do my best to be more clear about my stances in the future.
That being said, to be as blunt as possible about things:
Racism is bad. Racists are bad.
Cops are bad.
Cops uphold the white supremacist standard in this country and serve at the whims of the wealthy and powerful to silence dissension.
Nazis are bad. Fascists are bad.
Racism is Violence.
Destruction of property during protests is not violence.
Assaulting protestors is violence.
Nazis, Facists, and white supremacists committ violence by existing - any violence against them is self defense and justified.
All humans are capable of change and growth if they choose to do so.
If someone chooses to harm others, they deserve to be harmed in return.
Encouraging suicide is bad and cowardly - if you want to send a death threat just send a death threat
Assuming people's intentions is bad.
Reading in between the lines to make yourself a victim is bad.
Intentionally misinterpreting someone is bad.
Ignorance is not inherently malicious.
Just because somebody is mean, rude, stupid, or impolite does not inherently mean they are being racist.
If people have to be perfect and address every aspect of a topic completely and without flaw in order to be an ally to whichever cause/group/creed - nobody is ever going to fit that definition.
If you criticize people who try to answer things with nuance and precision for writing too much, and at the same time you criticize them for being occasionally imprecise or not mentioning things - you are a hypocrite.
If you define anybody who is not a perfect ally as an enemy, you are wasting your energy that could be spent helping people or going after the folks actually responsible.
Not all of the things I have listed are bad to the same extent - the world is not as simple as "this is all good" and "that is all bad". Nothing exists on a binary, it's more complicated than that.
Not all of the things I have listed are a response to anything you have said.
Do not assume anything about me that I have not explictly stated.
If I make a mistake, I am happy to do the work to learn, grow, and do better in the future - but I cannot learn from a mistake I am not aware of.
If I ask a question about a mistake that I made, I am not attempting to justify what I did. I am trying to learn what I did wrong, how it was wrong, and how to do better.
Nobody is obligated to tell anyone that what they did wrong, how it was wrong, or how to do better.
People of all races, nationalities, sexualities, political orientations, etc, are capable of being wrong, making mistakes, and hurting people.
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nobody cares about your racism sob story tbh. just leave black people alone we dont want or need you. if its SOOO hard for you to stop being racist then just leave. like are you expecting us to feel sorry for you or something? what possibly could you offer us thats any of use, really. If you're struggling to do the bare minimum why do you expect black ppl to pat you on the back? cracker.
Okay so -
I didn't say that people made me "go back to being racist" - what was meant by my words was:
When I was starting to work towards becoming better and just beginning to realize that being a racist is a shitty thing, people being hyper-literal with what I said and assuming malice instantly made that process harder. You can't learn if you can't make mistakes.
I am not going to "become a racist again" no more than I am going to become a baby again. It was a part of my life, I outgrew it. I'm not going to start shitting my pants again just because somebody was unkind on the internet.
(The metaphor is obviously imperfect, because I am actively still unlearning harmful behaviors and patterns in my life - not going to try and pretend otherwise)
Now, I could have phrased that better initially. And given that my post was in response to a person acting in bad faith, I should have. I don't particularly care if people like me or find me agreeable but I won't have people misrepresenting me or my beliefs. If you're going to hate me, hate me for who I am - don't take the easy way out and make shit up.
I appreciate your comment, and will do my best to be more clear about my stances in the future.
That being said, to be as blunt as possible about things:
Racism is bad. Racists are bad.
Cops are bad.
Cops uphold the white supremacist standard in this country and serve at the whims of the wealthy and powerful to silence dissension.
Nazis are bad. Fascists are bad.
Racism is Violence.
Destruction of property during protests is not violence.
Assaulting protestors is violence.
Nazis, Facists, and white supremacists committ violence by existing - any violence against them is self defense and justified.
All humans are capable of change and growth if they choose to do so.
If someone chooses to harm others, they deserve to be harmed in return.
Encouraging suicide is bad and cowardly - if you want to send a death threat just send a death threat
Assuming people's intentions is bad.
Reading in between the lines to make yourself a victim is bad.
Intentionally misinterpreting someone is bad.
Ignorance is not inherently malicious.
Just because somebody is mean, rude, stupid, or impolite does not inherently mean they are being racist.
If people have to be perfect and address every aspect of a topic completely and without flaw in order to be an ally to whichever cause/group/creed - nobody is ever going to fit that definition.
If you criticize people who try to answer things with nuance and precision for writing too much, and at the same time you criticize them for being occasionally imprecise or not mentioning things - you are a hypocrite.
If you define anybody who is not a perfect ally as an enemy, you are wasting your energy that could be spent helping people or going after the folks actually responsible.
Not all of the things I have listed are bad to the same extent - the world is not as simple as "this is all good" and "that is all bad". Nothing exists on a binary, it's more complicated than that.
Not all of the things I have listed are a response to anything you have said.
Do not assume anything about me that I have not explictly stated.
If I make a mistake, I am happy to do the work to learn, grow, and do better in the future - but I cannot learn from a mistake I am not aware of.
If I ask a question about a mistake that I made, I am not attempting to justify what I did. I am trying to learn what I did wrong, how it was wrong, and how to do better.
Nobody is obligated to tell anyone that what they did wrong, how it was wrong, or how to do better.
People of all races, nationalities, sexualities, political orientations, etc, are capable of being wrong, making mistakes, and hurting people.
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Hey, genuine question here - are we not allowed to find people pathetic, sad, ridiculous, and /also/ dangerous and symptomatic of a failing system? Like - yes these people are fucking Nazis. Also, they look fucking stupid and it's funny to laugh at them.
These people want me dead. These people want us dead. Can I personally do anything about that right now? No. I really can't. Nothing that I as an individual will do can change anything that they have already done. I can spread awareness, I can highlight these atrocities, and I can support people in need - but that's it.
For my life, as an individual, I can choose from of a couple approaches.
1: I can get furious and angry.
2: I can get depressed and hopeless.
3: I can laugh at them.
Now, for me, this is how that math breaks down.
Giving into anger right now doesn't help me or anyone else around me - because I have no way of directly affecting the situation. All it would do is take away from the things that I do on a daily basis to try and help. It takes my focus away from helping people in need and turns it towards harming those who have done wrong. Except that the people in need are right in front of me, while the people who have done wrong (and continue to do so) are out my reach. Personally, I want to spend my energy where it has the most impact.
I can't afford to fall into hopelessness right now. That leads to inaction and further harm. There are things that need doing, and there are people who need help. Allowing despair to take over because there is nothing I can do sabotages the things that I can do.
Laughing at the shitty dumbfucks who do shit like this, mocking them, and showing that they do not scare me helps me survive to tomorrow. It lets me keep moving. People like this care about their image, they care about looking strong and scary and frightening - and I'm not going to give them what they want.
Are they a threat? Absolutely yes. Are they dangerous? Yes. Are they being aided and empowered by facist "law enforcement" that let these jackasses operate? Yes. Do they look fucking stupid? Yes. These things can all be true - and just because someone points out one of these things doesn't inherently mean that they disagree with any of the others. I'm still 100% willing, able, and eager to send these fuckers to their god the moment I get the chance to - making fun of them doesn't change that.
(this isn't to even mention the fact that I am physically disabled, so my ability to go out and wage war on the front lines against these fascists is pretty reduced anyways - we can't all be soldiers)
Shit like this is highlights how fucking hard it will be to successfully beat these fascists - because while they're out there killing people we're over here implying things that nobody said, acting in bad faith, and taking our communities apart. People aren't perfect, they aren't always going to say the right thing. If we keep assuming the worst in people, we're going to show everyone who is watching that we don't actually care about doing the right thing. We show people that the actions they take, the beliefs they hold, the work that they do, that it is all /meaningless/ if they do a single thing wrong.
Look, I'll even be fully up front with you. I used to be a horrible person. I was a racist, I was sexist, homophobic, transphobic, the whole fucking bag. I grew up in a shithole town in the middle of fucking nowhere and didn't know any better. And when I started doing the work to learn, people who acted like you shoved me right the fuck back down into it. People who act like this made it worse. Do you know what pulled me out of it? What showed me the error of my ways and made me realize the monster I had been? People who reached out and told me why things were wrong - people who didn't assume that I was evil, but knew that I didn't know any alternatives.
- Sidenote -
because I know that you're going to assume shit that I didn't say: people obviously have absolutely no obligation to go out of their way to educate people about the struggles that they face I'm a trans woman and I don't have to explain to anybody why calling me a tranny is not okay, or why misgendering is cruel, or all the intricacies of the bullshit that I face - I also have no fucking obligation to attack people who are even remotely on my side. I have no obligation to take the people who don't know any better and compare them to the facist pigs that we're up against. I don't have to make things worse. I'd take 100 well intentioned idiots on my side over 1 intentional murderer on the other.
- End sidenote -
Fascists win because we keep fighting with ourselves. We're going to have to work with people who we don't agree with 100% to win this shit. This purity testing bullshit just keeps us angry at each other. I mean fuck - that's what the fuck racism in America is all about at its core: you keep poor white people blaming poor black people for their problems, and then the poor white people make the poor black people fucking pissed at them (rightfully so) and nobody ever notices that it's the rich fuckers on top who win every time. It's playing right into their fucking game, and it's stupid.
- sidenote 2 -
Yes I absolutely fucking know that racism is more complicated and in depth than this, and I know that racism has been a problem long before the American capitalist system intentionally turned white indentured servants (slaves) against black enslaved people (slaves who had it vastly vastly vastly worse) so that neither group was able to rise up against the people who owned them. I know that there is more to it, and I know that what I have said is a massive oversimplification of the reality of racism across the world. I also understand that racism in America is not exclusively a black vs white situation, and I was simpling using one example to highlight the point that I was making:
The people in power want us to keep fighting each other, because if we put aside our differences and went against the people actually responsible we would fucking win.
- end sidenote 2 -
Yes it fucking sucks to deal with ignorant people. Fuck I'm still a complete dumbass about a lot of things - but I'm taking the time to learn. Quit shooting the people on your fucking team, learn what the enemy looks like, and learn to pick your fucking battles. We're on the same fucking side here, we can worry about the specifics once the fucking fascists are gone.
- final note -
I understand that shit like this is scary and isolating, and I know you aren't a bad person. I know that you're trying your best to survive in a world that is actively trying to kill us. There are things that you know and experience that I do not, and the perspective you have on the world is important and valuable. There are many things that I am certain you would be able to share with me that would expand my perspective and highlight cruelties and atrocities that I had not imagined before - and once I knew what those were I would do my utmost to try and help. Everyone is doing the best they can, with the resources they have available. I hope that there is light and happiness in your life, and I hope that we all get to see a dawn when we are truly free from this facist hellscape. You are not alone in this fight, we outnumber them. We will win.
and then ppl are like “why don’t you like the police” this is why, they are protecting their own, and their own are nazis
#we do the best we can with what we have#we take care of our own#and we keep fighting the good fight#one day at a time#we'll worry about making things perfect after we've made things better
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You count that as a joke?
You read @ratcrux to absolute fucking filth LMAOOOO! You are fucking hilarious and by default hot because you’re a radfem 🤍
fjfndjjf thank you sweetheart im sure youre a baddie too… rip to that person tho…
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You only have one joke
You read @ratcrux to absolute fucking filth LMAOOOO! You are fucking hilarious and by default hot because you’re a radfem 🤍
fjfndjjf thank you sweetheart im sure youre a baddie too… rip to that person tho…
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my number one woman behavior is saying i’m fine with any pronouns and silently ranking people in my regard based on what they do with that information
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Did you send this to yourself?
You read @ratcrux to absolute fucking filth LMAOOOO! You are fucking hilarious and by default hot because you’re a radfem 🤍
fjfndjjf thank you sweetheart im sure youre a baddie too… rip to that person tho…
#i cant imagine someone actually typing this out#this bitch pathetic lmao#fuck radfems#yall are setting us back so fucking far#you dont speak for women#you just push your scared fragile white supremacist views#lmao
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Thanks for piping up so I know to block you. Have a good night and piss off.
how do i start to read marxist leninist/leftist stuff ? i searched on the internet but it’s super confusing lol
the most important value for me as an ML is anti-imperialism, so i guess i'll always recommend that people start with works centred on that
some suggestions below (all books should be available either on marxist.org or as pdf/epub files on libgen)
American Holocaust by David E. Stannard
about the colonization of america. not explicitly marxist, but it's probably done more to radicalize me than any other piece of writing. this is the pile of corpses capitalism is built on:
Within no more than a handful of generations following their first en counters with Europeans, the vast majority of the Western Hemisphere's native peoples had been exterminated. The pace and magnitude of their obliteration varied from place to place and from time to time, but for years now historical demographers have been uncovering, in region upon region, post-Columbian depopulation rates of between 90 and 98 percent with such regularity that an overall decline of 95 percent has become a working rule of thumb. What this means is that, on average, for every twenty natives alive at the moment of European contact-when the lands of the Americas teemed with numerous tens of millions of people-only one stood in their place when the bloodbath was over.
To put this in a contemporary context, the ratio of native survivorship in the Americas following European contact was less than half of what the human survivorship ratio would be in the United States today if every single white person and every single black person died. The destruction of the Indians of the Americas was, far and away, the most massive act of genocide in the history of the world. That is why, as one historian aptly has said, far from the heroic and romantic heraldry that customarily is used to symbolize the European settlement of the Americas, the emblem most congruent with reality would be a pyramid of skulls.
- David E. Stannard
2. Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism by Vladimir Lenin
Imperialism is capitalism at that stage of development at which the dominance of monopolies and finance capital is established; in which the export of capital has acquired pronounced importance; in which the division of the world among the international trusts has begun, in which the division of all territories of the globe among the biggest capitalist powers has been completed.
- Vladimir Lenin
3. The Wretched of The Earth by Franz Fanon
Let us look at ourselves, if we can bear to, and see what is becoming of us. First, we must face that unexpected revelation, the strip-tease of our humanism. There you can see it, quite naked, and it’s not a pretty sight. It was nothing but an ideology of lies, a perfect justification for pillage; its honeyed words, its affectation of sensibility were only alibis for our aggressions. A fine sight they are too, the believers in non-violence, saying that they are neither executioners nor victims. Very well then; if you’re not victims when the government which you’ve voted for, when the army in which your younger brothers are serving without hesitation or remorse have undertaken race murder, you are, without a shadow of doubt, executioners. And if you chose to be victims and to risk being put in prison for a day or two, you are simply choosing to pull your irons out of the fire. But you will not be able to pull them out; they’ll have to stay there till the end. Try to understand this at any rate: if violence began this very evening and if exploitation and oppression had never existed on the earth, perhaps the slogans of non-violence might end the quarrel. But if the whole regime, even your non-violent ideas, are conditioned by a thousand-year-old oppression, your passivity serves only to place you in the ranks of the oppressors.
- prefrace by Jean-Paul Sartre
4. Discourse on Colonialism by Aimé Césaire
Yes, it would be worthwhile to study clinically, in detail, the steps taken by Hitler and Hitlerism and to reveal to the very distinguished, very humanistic, very Christian bourgeois of the twentieth century that without his being aware of it, he has a Hitler inside him, that Hitler inhabits him, that Hitler is his demon, that if he rails against him, he is being inconsistent and that, at bottom, what he cannot forgive Hitler for is not crime in itself, the crime against man, it is not the humiliation of man as such, it is the crime against the white man, the humiliation of the white man, and the fact that he applied to Europe colonialist procedures which until then had been reserved exclusively for the Arabs of Algeria, the coolies of India, and the blacks of Africa
I have talked a good deal about Hitler. Because he deserves it: he makes it possible to see things on a large scale and to grasp the fact that capitalist society, at its present stage, is incapable of establishing a concept of the rights of all men, just as it has proved incapable of establishing a system of individual ethics. Whether one likes it or not, at the end of the blind alley that is Europe, I mean the Europe of Adenauer, Schuman, Bidault, and a few others, there is Hitler. At the end of capitalism, which is eager to outlive its day, there is Hitler. At the end of formal humanism and philosophicrenunciation, there is Hitler
- Aimé Césaire
5. Blackshirts and Reds: Rational Fascism and the Overthrow of Communism by Michael Parenti
probably the most accessible introduction to communism that doesn't demonize countries that have undergone—or attempted to undergo—a transitation into socalism (like the ussr, cuba, etc.)
The very concept of "revolutionary violence" is somewhat falsely cast, since most of the violence comes from those who attempt to prevent reform, not from those struggling for reform. By focusing on the violent rebellions of the downtrodden, we overlook the much greater repressive force and violence utilized by the ruling oligarchs to maintain the status quo, including armed attacks against peaceful demonstrations, mass arrests, torture, destruction of opposition organizations, suppression of dissident publications, death squad assassinations, the extermination of whole villages, and the like.
- Michael Parenti
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So this is absolutely going to not be a popular response, don't fuckin care so don't act like I should.
Marxist-Leninism is literally defined by facism. Is it opposed to capitalism? Yes. But it is not opposed to facism and in fact relies upon it. Anyone who thinks differently is incorrect. Let's do a brief little history lesson:
"(Joseph Stalin) consolidated power to become a dictator by the 1930s. Ideologically adhering to the Leninist interpretation of Marxism, he formalised these ideas as Marxism–Leninism, while his own policies are called Stalinism"
"Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a /one-party totalitarian police state/, rapid industrialization, the theory of socialism in one country, collectivization of agriculture, intensification of class conflict, a cult of personality, and subordination of the interests of foreign communist parties to those of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union"
"Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement, characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation and race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy."
What do we call governmental systems that rely upon a police state, dictatorial power, suppression of oppositional ideas, and a militaristic worldview? Facist.
If you've read this far and are still pissed at me; a reminder that I don't care. I'm a leftist anticapitalist who despises totalitarianism. You're not gonna find me with some "gotcha" moment bc this isn't that. I've experienced poverty, oppression, and suffered under the American capitalist system my entire life. I've lost friends and family to the military-industrial complex that is destroying the world. And I've lost more to totalitarian echo chambers that have turned them against the people they used to love.
I'm an advocate for socialism. I'm an advocate for collectivism. I'm not, and will never be, an advocate for a dictator. If you want to argue with me, you're wasting your time bc I'm just going to block you. Goodnight and goodbye.
how do i start to read marxist leninist/leftist stuff ? i searched on the internet but it’s super confusing lol
the most important value for me as an ML is anti-imperialism, so i guess i'll always recommend that people start with works centred on that
some suggestions below (all books should be available either on marxist.org or as pdf/epub files on libgen)
American Holocaust by David E. Stannard
about the colonization of america. not explicitly marxist, but it's probably done more to radicalize me than any other piece of writing. this is the pile of corpses capitalism is built on:
Within no more than a handful of generations following their first en counters with Europeans, the vast majority of the Western Hemisphere's native peoples had been exterminated. The pace and magnitude of their obliteration varied from place to place and from time to time, but for years now historical demographers have been uncovering, in region upon region, post-Columbian depopulation rates of between 90 and 98 percent with such regularity that an overall decline of 95 percent has become a working rule of thumb. What this means is that, on average, for every twenty natives alive at the moment of European contact-when the lands of the Americas teemed with numerous tens of millions of people-only one stood in their place when the bloodbath was over.
To put this in a contemporary context, the ratio of native survivorship in the Americas following European contact was less than half of what the human survivorship ratio would be in the United States today if every single white person and every single black person died. The destruction of the Indians of the Americas was, far and away, the most massive act of genocide in the history of the world. That is why, as one historian aptly has said, far from the heroic and romantic heraldry that customarily is used to symbolize the European settlement of the Americas, the emblem most congruent with reality would be a pyramid of skulls.
- David E. Stannard
2. Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism by Vladimir Lenin
Imperialism is capitalism at that stage of development at which the dominance of monopolies and finance capital is established; in which the export of capital has acquired pronounced importance; in which the division of the world among the international trusts has begun, in which the division of all territories of the globe among the biggest capitalist powers has been completed.
- Vladimir Lenin
3. The Wretched of The Earth by Franz Fanon
Let us look at ourselves, if we can bear to, and see what is becoming of us. First, we must face that unexpected revelation, the strip-tease of our humanism. There you can see it, quite naked, and it’s not a pretty sight. It was nothing but an ideology of lies, a perfect justification for pillage; its honeyed words, its affectation of sensibility were only alibis for our aggressions. A fine sight they are too, the believers in non-violence, saying that they are neither executioners nor victims. Very well then; if you’re not victims when the government which you’ve voted for, when the army in which your younger brothers are serving without hesitation or remorse have undertaken race murder, you are, without a shadow of doubt, executioners. And if you chose to be victims and to risk being put in prison for a day or two, you are simply choosing to pull your irons out of the fire. But you will not be able to pull them out; they’ll have to stay there till the end. Try to understand this at any rate: if violence began this very evening and if exploitation and oppression had never existed on the earth, perhaps the slogans of non-violence might end the quarrel. But if the whole regime, even your non-violent ideas, are conditioned by a thousand-year-old oppression, your passivity serves only to place you in the ranks of the oppressors.
- prefrace by Jean-Paul Sartre
4. Discourse on Colonialism by Aimé Césaire
Yes, it would be worthwhile to study clinically, in detail, the steps taken by Hitler and Hitlerism and to reveal to the very distinguished, very humanistic, very Christian bourgeois of the twentieth century that without his being aware of it, he has a Hitler inside him, that Hitler inhabits him, that Hitler is his demon, that if he rails against him, he is being inconsistent and that, at bottom, what he cannot forgive Hitler for is not crime in itself, the crime against man, it is not the humiliation of man as such, it is the crime against the white man, the humiliation of the white man, and the fact that he applied to Europe colonialist procedures which until then had been reserved exclusively for the Arabs of Algeria, the coolies of India, and the blacks of Africa
I have talked a good deal about Hitler. Because he deserves it: he makes it possible to see things on a large scale and to grasp the fact that capitalist society, at its present stage, is incapable of establishing a concept of the rights of all men, just as it has proved incapable of establishing a system of individual ethics. Whether one likes it or not, at the end of the blind alley that is Europe, I mean the Europe of Adenauer, Schuman, Bidault, and a few others, there is Hitler. At the end of capitalism, which is eager to outlive its day, there is Hitler. At the end of formal humanism and philosophicrenunciation, there is Hitler
- Aimé Césaire
5. Blackshirts and Reds: Rational Fascism and the Overthrow of Communism by Michael Parenti
probably the most accessible introduction to communism that doesn't demonize countries that have undergone—or attempted to undergo—a transitation into socalism (like the ussr, cuba, etc.)
The very concept of "revolutionary violence" is somewhat falsely cast, since most of the violence comes from those who attempt to prevent reform, not from those struggling for reform. By focusing on the violent rebellions of the downtrodden, we overlook the much greater repressive force and violence utilized by the ruling oligarchs to maintain the status quo, including armed attacks against peaceful demonstrations, mass arrests, torture, destruction of opposition organizations, suppression of dissident publications, death squad assassinations, the extermination of whole villages, and the like.
- Michael Parenti
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