100 Years since October 1917 -- No Celebration.

[kandrathe]

I just realized today ... 100 years since the Russian Revolution.

Not much hoopla in the world either...

[FireIceTalon]

Red salute to one of the most transitional and important events in Russian, fuck it, in human history, period. Shout out to all comrades both from then, and today, who know a better world is possible and strive toward that goal. I still have hope that we will prevail. Anyone who doesn't like it, fuck off.

[Sir_Die_alot]

Most naked troll of FIT ever. Well done sir.

[FireIceTalon]

Neither of you could troll me if you tried.

[Alram]

Between 85 and 100 million of their own people were murdered by Communist governments.
~Stéphane Courtois; Kramer, Mark. The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression. Harvard University Press. pp. ix–xx.

Communist governments engage in the most censorship in the world, eg. North Korea, Albania until 1991.

Communism is opposed to personal freedoms and actively persecutes people for their beliefs, eg. religious persecution, persecution of homosexuals, persecution of those who wish to own private property, etc.

The reality of Communism is that rich people get richer and the poor stay poor.

Communism devastates the environment, eg. the Aral Sea, the air quality in China.

Communism is a flawed concept and a failure as a political system.

[Occhidiangela]

Alram:
Thanks for trying to make sense. I would remind you that when speaking with a zealot, it is best to remember that they only operate in broadcast mode. They aren't listening to you, since what you say does not FIT their world view.

[FireIceTalon]

Well, since you want to play this game, here we go.

Between 85 and 100 million of their own people were murdered by Communist governments.
~Stéphane Courtois; Kramer, Mark. The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression. Harvard University Press. pp. ix–xx.

Yep, because we all know the BBOC is a credible source that seeks to objectively understand material conditions and provide context to complex historical circumstances; and is not a propaganda tool predicated upon emotion and sparking emotions, right? I think not.

Numbers which are quite inflated even by most bourgeois standards. Bourgeois historians pull so many numbers out of their ass on "how many people communism has supposedly killed" that none of them are to be taken seriously. One day its 30 million, the next its 100 million. I suppose next it will be 200 million. Or do capitalist historians and think tanks have even more lofty numbers to make up as they go? Because hey, making up numbers for propaganda is not only easy, but it also seems fun. Historical accuracy be damned.

Even if we assumed the numbers in your little black bible of disinformation were accurate (which is problematic in itself), and even IF we assumed all of them could directly be attributed to communism (which is even more problematic, for obvious reasons), they still pale in comparison to the numbers killed by capitalism, which kills more people than that EVERY five (5!) years that pass, through starvation alone. This doesn't include wars. This doesn't include the murder of ethnic minorities. This doesn't include lack of access to decent medical care. Nor does it include all the other evils, besides death, that are intrinsic to a for-profit system, such as the objectification of working people, homelessness and under/unemployment, depression and anxiety (which are common contributors and causes of stress, heart attacks and strokes), and too much more to list here.

I mean goddamn, if we indicted capitalism for ALL of its crimes, both its larger historical atrocities and its daily crimes, the charges would be so extensive that we would all die of old age before the fucking trial could be completed!

As for the rest, I fixed it for you:

Capitalist governments engage in the most censorship and unprecedented brutality in the world, eg. America from its inception to the present day, Saudi Arabia, Israel's apartheid and oppression of Palestinians, Russia under centuries of czarist/Romanov rulership, Japanese colonization of Korea in first half 20th century, Spain under Franco, Chile under Pinochet, Cuba under Batista, Germany under Hitler, Italy under Mussolini, etc. The list is fucking endless.

Capitalism is opposed to personal freedoms, equality, human rights and rights for workers, providing every person in the world with a decent standard of living conditions, it actively persecutes, slanders, shuns, and silences people who dare stand up against the injustices it produces eg. religious and ethnic persecution, immigration bans and deportation (i.e. Muslims and Mexican immigrants in the US), discrimination, oppression, and persecution of homosexuals, disabled people, poor & homeless people, women, racial minorities, and leftists; persecution of those who are against the system of private property (which is theft, btw) and exploitation of labor. And last but not least, it creates false narratives, spreads disinformation, and wallows in mythology BECAUSE IT CANNOT, LEGITIMATELY, exist as a system on its OWN merit. This can be summed up by the Marx quote in my sig.

The reality of Capitalism is that rich people get richer and more than nine times out of ten, the poor stay poor, and in some cases, get even poorer...i.e. the last 30+ years in America, its been the same old story - rent and cost of living in general keeps going up, meanwhile wages have, at best, stayed the same as they were under Reagan and the crack era. Myths like the American dream are just that: a complete abstract narrative made out of thin air to keep people from understanding the reality of their circumstances. Productivity is higher than ever but wages are the same, so much for that whole "if you work hard you'll get ahead" narrative. Admittedly, it has worked brilliantly, since most Americans view themselves as 'temporarily embarassed millionaires' rather than as working class, even though they are, and overwhelmingly so, the latter. But I think people are starting to see through the sham that it is, and I say its about fucking time.

Capitalism devastates the environment, i.e every capitalist state in existence, regardless of which form of government they choose - be it liberalism in the USA, a theocracy in Iran, military dictatorship in Somolia, social democracy in western Europe countries, or social democracy with bayonets in China - the result is the same. More than 200k acres of rain forest are destroyed EVERY DAY for purposes of profit - and that is but one example. We are in the middle of a dangerous, and likely irreversible, course of global warming thanks to capitalism. Yes, capitalism IS the cause of global warming - without question.

Capitalism is a flawed concept and a failure not only as a political-economic system, but also a failure to the human race - it is a morally and economically bankrupt system that puts profit above human need, is super wasteful (overproduction) and destructive towards the environment, misallocates resources, funnels people and their talents as cogs in a profit-producing machine into mostly boring, meaningless, unnecessary and repetitive jobs that are often dehumanizing and soul crushing, and economically it relies on planned obsolescence - since after all, exchange value, rather than use value, is conducive to the profit system. Products and technology under communism will be far superior to those produced under capitalism.

Ill just leave you with this, Alram: to be a communist, is to be someone who has faced the music. In all probability, you will not face the music ever, on your own accord; then again, it isn't my duty to get you to do so, nor should it be. Communists should be more productive by focusing on discussing, advocating and fighting for social change with those who use reason and rationality to guide their way through the world, rather than those who use emotion, buzzwords and propaganda. Be as it may, as the saying goes, the piper must be paid (no pun intended), and a day of reckoning WILL come, and then we will all be FORCED to face the music one way or the other. Exactly when, and what comes of that, remains to be seen, but that day, nevertheless, is inevitable at some point. Or in more explicit terms: If you think the present social order can continue, as is, totally unabated without radical social change occurring at some point - all I can say to you is, you are absolutely living in a dream world.

As I've said before, when it all goes down, I know what side of the barracks you'll be on, and which side I will be on. Whatever happens, fellow proletarians make for much better company than capitalist scum and cops :-)

[FireIceTalon]

The education system, under capitalism, in a nutshell:


I dare anyone to say there is even ONE inaccuracy stated here. You can't. It describes the world we live in, to an absolute tee.

[LavCat]

I have a Chilean Marxist friend who is well acquainted with prison and torture.

[FireIceTalon]

I have a Chilean Marxist friend who is well acquainted with prison and torture.

I'm sorry for what he/she has had to endure and hope he/she is ok

But as I stated above...oppression, imprisonment, censorship, slandering, deportation, and ostracizing, or all of the above (and sometimes worse) of those with leftist politics, is not too historically uncommon under capitalist and fascist dictatorships. It is in fact, very conducive with it and is often necessary as a part of capitalism's internal logic as a system. But, if your friend is even relatively new to Marxist thought, this is basic knowledge, to which im sure he/she has told you as well.

In capitalist society, critical thinking is acceptable, AS LONG as you navigate WITHIN the system. What, you dare question the legitimacy of the present system?? How dare you, you little peasant you will learn your place!! Under best circumstances, being openly communist (or even just being sympathetic towards some of communisms core ideas) makes people look at you and treat you as if you were a 3 headed leper from outer space instead of as another human being - thanks to the psychosis of McCarthyism and its witch hunts, as well as decades of 'Cold War' rhetoric and propaganda. Fortunately for me, this is about the worst I have had to endure so far for being an open Marxist - I've been called everything under the sun, from being accused as a treasonist all the way up to being called a murderer (even on this very board!). Under worse/worst circumstances, people with radical left-wing politics will experience what your friend has, unfortunately.

Out of curiosity, does your friend post on any leftist sites that you know of? Is this person free or still in prison? I would like to engage with him/her and learn more about their specific politics and experiences as a leftist who has been directly oppressed by a capitalist state. I have spoken with several comrades who have been harassed, assaulted or even jailed for being left-wing, or for defending someone who was being attacked or bullied by cops or skinheads.

[Alram]

Could this building in Communist Georgia which housed the Ministry of Highways

have been the inspiration for the architecture in this picture?

[FireIceTalon]

Could this building in Communist Georgia which housed the Ministry of Highways

have been the inspiration for the architecture in this picture?

No clue, but I would certainly take it over these South Bronx housing projects in capitalist America, any day of the week:



^^There it is folks. Capitalisms idea of freedom, fairness, equality and justice at work. Epic fail.

[Alram]

More Diablo 2 architecture from the Soviets

Russian State Scientific Center for Robotics and Technical Cybernetics, St. Petersburg

[FireIceTalon]

Seems like the Diablo series has had some architectural influence from the Yankees as well:




American Sky Wizard Center of Indoctrination And False Conciousness, were people worship and pray everyday to an entity they cannot see and are somehow still considered to be rational beings. Can be found on nearly every corner in nearly every state.

[Alram]

A few interesting quotes

"We have to use any ruse, dodge, trick, cunning unlawful method, concealment and veiling of the truth."
Lenin

"Tyrael was a fool to have trusted me!"
Izual

"Thousands of natural catastrophes and epidemics are preferable to the slightest notion of God."
Lenin

"See this sword?
the prince of darkness
Sold it to me."
Marx

"Not even death can save you from me."
Diablo

"We will bury you!"
Khrushchev

"I shall crush you!"
The Smith

"Let the ruling classes tremble at a communist revolution."
Marx

"You and all your kind… are doomed."
Mephisto

“You can't be a revolutionary if you don't eat chilies.”
Mao

[kandrathe]

Most naked troll of FIT ever. Well done sir.

I just imagine him working through this flow chart daily.

[FireIceTalon]

Except, my life is nothing like that. You are way off, I'm afraid.

[kandrathe]

Except, my life is nothing like that. You are way off, I'm afraid.

Sorry, there is a limited space for polisci Marxist zealot scenarios.... like living in mother’s basement, or mooching off working girl friend.

The latter, of course, is more ironically Marxist as this is what he did to his friend Engels. Yet, as Engels dad was the mill owner capitalist supporting them both, it might also be ironically Engels to live in your dad’s basement.

Either way, you work very little and end up a drunkard, or work hard and win a Nobel prize or get recognition someday after you’re dead.

Enlightenment is just out of the picture for either of us, as we both curse the darkness.

[Occhidiangela]

My house doesn't have a basement, so I have to get drunk in either the kitchen or in the back yard. In the back yard, the benefit is that if I am drinking beer, I can "return the beer" in the great outdoors, due to having a privacy fence. Why should only my dogs get that opportunity?

[GhastMaster]

Could this building in Communist Georgia which housed the Ministry of Highways

have been the inspiration for the architecture in this picture?

No clue, but I would certainly take it over these South Bronx housing projects in capitalist America, any day of the week:



^^There it is folks. Capitalisms idea of freedom, fairness, equality and justice at work. Epic fail.

I am struggling to understand how housing projects are an aspect of capitalism, fair, or equal. Let us set aside the fact that you supplant a straw man argument by using the term "justice".

Regarding your education meme/image:
I think just about every political group believes the education system is being used that way. The difference between us being what we think the "prescribed consensus" is.

I replied here in the hopes that it will satiate any desire you have to politically respond to my Wheel of Time post.