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The Gulag Archipelago Abridged: An Experiment in Literary Investigation (P.S.)?
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I'm certainly not trying to get into a pissing contest so to speak, just trying to relate his experience to what an uniformed person would understand. That being said, the horrors of the gulag are nothing to be trifled with. To put it mildly, the soviets reached new lows (lows that the Nazis set), and one of the saddest things about it was that it all occurred before and after WWII. It's a shame the west didn't act when it could, but I don't blame them either.
I'd recommend you read his book (link here) and you'll see what I mean. Both systems were absolutely atrocious crimes against humanity.
Not once in your life it has occurred to you that you are wrong and leftist propaganda is incorrect.
Based on your username involving code I strongly advise you to check this out.
I'm truly, honestly and without question curious about your findings there.
I’d highly recommend reading about the Gulags before you actually go and create such false equivalencies between them and the US responding to the worst pandemic in a century. If you need a recommendation on Soviet Gulag History please start with The Gulag Archipelago
Unfortunately it seems that you are the one "undereducated" on Socialism as you seem to fail to see its true nature and its ultimate goals.
The goal of socialism (as defined by Lenin) is Communism, and Communist regimes are responsible for more death and mass killings in the last 100 years than any other ideology. 100 million people dead is the estimate most often sighted.
Living in the "information age" does not make the ideology any less dangerous or destructive and you would be a fool to think otherwise. Human beings are too quick to forget the lessons of the past and it's clear to see that the thinking that lead to that staggering number of deaths is back in vogue.
>How much did the delivery of the baby cost in Australia? Close to zero. $3500 bucks on average for just the childbirth itself, just that one day, in the capitalist paradise of the United States.
In socialist systems someone always pays. I can tell you for a fact that the birth of my child, nor any healthcare I receive in Australia, is "free". I pay for it with an extremely high tax rate. It appears that you haven't thought very deeply about the realities of a socialist system if you think that things are "free".
I have thought deeply about these things and my conclusion is that the system is fundamentally immoral as the state is taking my property by force for redistribution. If I do not consent to the redistribution of my property the state will destroy my life with either prison or death (if I resist).
>dragging on American academics for pointing a finger at the oppressor culture that is the source of global strife and complaint.
It's interesting to me that I keep seeing this rhetoric about the "oppressor culture". You state that it is the source of global strife and complaint, but all I see is that your thinking is immersed in identity politics and this idea that everything should be seen through the lens of the 'oppressed and the oppressors'. I believe this is a kind of cult that has infected people's thinking and it has spread comprehensively in the Western world. Now I don't hold it against you because I too used to think like this. The elements of this post-modern, marxist thinking are highly pervasive and have infected almost every aspect of our society.
There is too much to unpack here and I need to get back to show research but I will say this; both Aaron and I do not subscribe to identity politics or the far left thinking that has become so prevalent in society. We will continue to talk (and joke) about whatever we find interesting on Mysterious Universe, and this might include things that cross over into political or cultural areas that some listeners do not agree with.
If you don't agree with our views and what we say then that's fine. You have the liberty to not listen to us whenever you please.
Recommended Reading:
If you're really interested, may I recommend you to read this book: https://www.amazon.com/Gulag-Archipelago-Abridged-Experiment-Investigation/dp/0061253804 It's thick, it's sad, but it's worth reading in order to fully understand what GULAG was and why it is really not comparable to any current prison system.
If it's too long, at least read this novel by the same author: https://www.amazon.com/One-Day-Life-Ivan-Denisovich/dp/0451531043
I understand your political standings, but you seem like someone who is ok to investigate logical counterarguments.
I'm about half way through Gulag Archipelago, and OP's comic is too true.
Add another one to the list!
-reiduh, parent
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An unrepentant communist is always the worst option. Always.
It's a cool theory, but it never works out that way in the end
Did they have pussyhats, in the past?
Cause I was told there'd be pussyhats...
/troll
But seriously: if the "exact counter logic" (as you say) of becoming better informed by reading about history is a bad thing, then... don't read, I guess. I read approximately 50 books per year, primarily on non-fiction topics ranging from failed attempts at socialism (e.g. Gulag Arch) to economic theory (e.g. Thomas Sowell — see recommendations elsewhere in this thread) to the occasional fiction trash (I won't list examples 'cause good fiction is embarrassing to mention).
I like to stay informed of my world happenings, and sensationalizing this hohum anti-Trump fad with the fantastical accomplishments of the civil rights early-60's Era... tarnishes the sacrifices those LEADERS made. You oughta be ashamed (or at least better-informed) before you make such tactless reference.
Should you want to borrow / have a free book from my library, I will open it up to you. I'd recommend you start off with something easy, perhaps re-reading Animal Farm again will help you (OR try Orwell's even better non-fiction book The Road to Wigan Pier ).
From Wigan (written in 1937 by George Orwell ["big brother" guy]!!!):
>The same streak of soggy half-baked insincerity runs through all "advanced" opinion. Take the question of Imperialism, for instance. Every left-wing "intellectual" is, as a matter of course, an anti-imperialist. He claims to be outside the empire-racket as automatically and self-righteously as he claims to be outside the class-racket. Even the right-wing "intellectual," who is not definitely in revolt against ... imperialism, pretends to regard it with a sort of amused detachment. It is so easy to be witty about the ... Empire. The White Man's Burden and "Rule Britannia," and Kipling's novels and Anglo-Indian bores — who could even mention such things without a snigger? And is there any cultured person who has not at least once in his life made a joke about that old Indian havildar who said that if the [imperialists] left India there would not be a rupee or a virgin left between Peshawar and Delhi (or wherever it was)? That is the attitude of the typical left-winger towards imperialism, and a thoroughly flabby, boneless attitude it is. For in the last resort, the only important question is, Do you want the Empire to hold together or do you want it to disintegrate? And at the bottom of his heart no [person], least of all the kind of person who is witty about [foreign relations], does want it to disintegrate? For, apart from any other consideration, the high standard of life we enjoy [here] depends upon our keeping a tight hold on the Empire ... the capitalist system, in order that [We] may live in comparative comfort, a hundred millions [others] must live on the verge of starvation — an evil state of affairs, but you acquiesce in it every time you step into a taxi or eat a plate of strawberries and cream. The alternative is to throw the Empire overboard and reduce [Us] to a cold and unimportant little island where we should all have to work very hard and live mainly on herrings and potatoes. That is the very last thing that any left-winger wants! Yet the left-winger continues to feel that he has no moral responsibility for Imperialism. He is perfectly ready to accept the products of Empire and to save his Soul by sneering at the people who hold the Empire together. (pg. 159+, all one paragraph).
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