That's a good point, despite anticommunism being almost entirely all consuming, people still can recognise that the explanations given don't actually add up, even when they've had no formal education in critical thinking skills. I guess that's the root of my problem. I keep expecting to "fix" and "improve" my friends, I want to help them, but you don't help people by forcing them to change their views. They aren't properly changing because they need to be the ones recognising that their thought patterns and habits need to change. I wasn't "forced" into being a communist, it was a long slow path, and while people helped me, it was only because I was actively trying to understand more. I just need to be there for them and support them, rather than getting frustrated that we aren't making "progress" fast enough, because they aren't even aware that there is progress to be made.

This helps a lot actually, reframing it makes it look much better, at some point the contradictions of capital that I've been rambling about will effect them more noticeably, and they will connect the dots themselves with all the things I've tried to teach them. I shouldn't get frustrated when they don't bother to understand things properly, I should just accept that they aren't in a position to question the status quo that much yet. I should have faith in my friends and myself, that I can give them the tools needed to work this stuff out for themselves eventually, rather than getting upset that they aren't using those tools right now, when they personally don't see any use for them right now.

Though I still don't know how to reach people "further out" friends of friends and family of friends, who are just fundamentally incurious people who pressure my friends to think in a similar way, though probably not intentionally. I cannot fathom how people like that exist and I have 0 idea how to actually reach them, I don't have any friends like that for a reason, I can't stand that sort of outlook. But I guess if I can help my friends, maybe my friends can help their friends and so on, maybe this communism thing requires a group effort or something.

Thanks so much! You've really helped me organise and fix some very doomerish thoughts I've been having lately.