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https://twitter.com/RnaudBertrand/status/1732627752162095512

add a new one to the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.

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[-] NecroticEuphoria@lemmy.ml 104 points 11 months ago

“During the cold war, the anticommunist ideological framework could transform any data about existing communist societies into hostile evidence. If the Soviets refused to negotiate a point, they were intransigent and belligerent; if they appeared willing to make concessions, this was but a skillful ploy to put us off our guard. By opposing arms limitations, they would have demonstrated their aggressive intent; but when in fact they supported most armament treaties, it was because they were mendacious and manipulative. If the churches in the USSR were empty, this demonstrated that religion was suppressed; but if the churches were full, this meant the people were rejecting the regime's atheistic ideology. If the workers went on strike (as happened on infrequent occasions), this was evidence of their alienation from the collectivist system; if they didn't go on strike, this was because they were intimidated and lacked freedom. A scarcity of consumer goods demonstrated the failure of the economic system; an improvement in consumer supplies meant only that the leaders were attempting to placate a restive population and so maintain a firmer hold over them. If communists in the United States played an important role struggling for the rights of workers, the poor, African-Americans, women, and others, this was only their guileful way of gathering support among disfranchised groups and gaining power for themselves. How one gained power by fighting for the rights of powerless groups was never explained. What we are dealing with is a nonfalsifiable orthodoxy, so assiduously marketed by the ruling interests that it affected people across the entire political spectrum.”

-Michael Parenti Blackshirts and the reds

[-] Shinhoshi@lemmygrad.ml 34 points 11 months ago

We use this one enough around here that we have a bot that gets triggered by “Parenti quοte”. This comment shouldn’t trigger the bot though

[-] NecroticEuphoria@lemmy.ml 21 points 11 months ago

I forgot about the bot, but I remembered having this quote saved on my phone.

[-] redtea@lemmygrad.ml 23 points 11 months ago

Excellent quote but it's far too sophisticated for Zenz who doesn't seem to have the wit to properly turn the facts on their head. He's like the IKEA flat-pack version of good, handcrafted cold war propaganda.

[-] NecroticEuphoria@lemmy.ml 14 points 11 months ago

Instead of talking bullshit by either stupidity or intention, Zenz just does both.

[-] RedWizard@lemmygrad.ml 15 points 11 months ago

I really need to read this book.

this post was submitted on 07 Dec 2023
227 points (100.0% liked)

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