Infuriating Anticommunist textbooks

[Red Future]

Does anyone else feel the same irritance about these with their biased narrative and occasional sly attacks on revolutionary theory.Studying the Russian Revolution and i personally find it greatly annoying.

[ZeroNowhere]

Heh, I remember learning about the Russian Revolution in high school. Your experience is, I think, quite common.

[Zanthorus]

I remember reading about the Russian revolution. I don't remember the textbook being all that biased, as a matter of fact, although I don't really remember much from GCSE History anyway. I do remember our teacher saying once that "lots of people say that if Lenin had stayed alive things might have been better, but really he was just as ruthless as Stalin." That's about it.

[Conscript]

The russian revolution got a whole paragraph in my history textbook, under the world war one section. The great purges and the molotov-ribbentrop pact got more :rolleyes:

[Amphictyonis]

"History is over" the capitalists proclaim. What overconfidence they have. Capitalism is doomed one way or another- just as the game monopoly plays out, soon too many people will have NOTHING.

[fa2991]

I don't mind, because it's so easy to spot.

"Regime" = socialist, "Administration" = capitalist.

[Apoi_Viitor]

Does anyone else feel the same irritance about these with their biased narrative and occasional sly attacks on revolutionary theory.Studying the Russian Revolution and i personally find it greatly annoying.

I remember my US History textbook referred to allied bombing of Japanese and German civilians as "strategic bombing of the Axis' means of production", while deploring German bombings as "unwarranted attacks on the civilian population". Similarly, the Bombing of Dresden had apparently dissapeared from History...

I also remember the plot against FDR being absent from my readings, and one section entitled New World Order, referred to Anti-Zionism activists as "anti-Semites". And apparently Marx was a noble man, however he failed to understand 'human nature'. Oh and, in the words of my American Government teacher, "some say America is moving towards a communist police state". Of course, I had another High School Teacher who was pretty chill, and one day I asked him, "why don't we ever read from the textbook (in your class)?" To which he responded, "because its a bunch of nonsense".

To be honest though, none of the stuff ever aggravated me, it just humored me.

[Invincible Summer]

I think what's worse than having a political identity being covered in mud (I'm commie, and they're making fun of me!) is the erasure of wrongdoings against a plethora of ethnic groups and marginalized peoples from history.

[Marxach-Léinínach]

Yup anticommunist propaganda is indeed annoying. What's most annoying is how ridiculous they are with their "death estimates". It's just like "Really? Stalin killed more people than Hitler? Even with Hitler's death camps and genocides and everything? And Mao managed to kill more people than the whole of World War 2? I mean, damn, I thought the Japanese would have killed more Chinese than Mao did." :rolleyes:

[ContrarianLemming]

Anarchism is never mentioned, not once, the spanish civil war is talked about but never the CNT.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Anarchism is never mentioned, not once, the spanish civil war is talked about but never the CNT.

In upper-level courses (a.k.a. college) it sometimes is. We discussed Japanese anarchism in my history of Japan course at one point, for example.

[Red Future]

Seriously? That is blatant editing ,the CNT was hugely important in the war

[Apoi_Viitor]

Yup anticommunist propaganda is indeed annoying. What's most annoying is how ridiculous they are with their "death estimates". It's just like "Really? Stalin killed more people than Hitler? Even with Hitler's death camps and genocides and everything? And Mao managed to kill more people than the whole of World War 2? I mean, damn, I thought the Japanese would have killed more Chinese than Mao did." :rolleyes:

If you attribute the famine during Maoist China as part of the death toll, then yes, Mao 'killed more people then World War 2'. Of course, you'd be hard pressed to find evidence Mao intentionally starved his populace (meaning he had the intent after gaining power to starve to death millions of Chinese citizens), and that it wasn't due to the incompetence of him and other Communist officials. And while, his policies indirectly led to the starvation and deaths of millions, the policies of Western Nations and Global Capitalism have indirectly led to an extraordinarily larger amount of deaths.... That's not to say we should defend Maoist China against the capitalist criticisms regarding its death toll numbers (because make no mistake, the deaths of 30 million plus workers should not occur in a genuine 'Worker's State'), but we should point out the blatant one-sidedness in the Propaganda that inhabits Historical Textbooks - by pointing out the refusal to classify the starvations resulting from capitalism as being 'genocide' or attributing them in some sort of Capitalist death toll, while classifying every starvation in a given Communist Regime as part of some grand communist death toll, and also, the refusal to mention the genocidal violence inflicted by Capitalist Nations (Belgian Congo), while clearly enunciating all of the violence which occurs under Communist Rule.

[fa2991]

Anarchism is never mentioned, not once, the spanish civil war is talked about but never the CNT.

My history book mentioned anarchism, the IWW, Sacco & Vanzetti, and Emma Goldman.

[Marxach-Léinínach]

If you attribute the famine during Maoist China as part of the death toll, then yes, Mao 'killed more people then World War 2'. Of course, you'd be hard pressed to find evidence Mao intentionally starved his populace (meaning he had the intent after gaining power to starve to death millions of Chinese citizens), and that it wasn't due to the incompetence of him and other Communist officials.

No, there was a famine after the Great Leap Forward that killed something like 3-5 million people, that was caused by many different factors, one of which was incompetence by party officials at a local level (Mao was the one who constantly urged for caution and for people to not get carried away), but also because of flooding and drought that China experienced at that time, Khrushchev withdrawing all of the USSR's industrial aid to China, etc. It's not like famines were a completely new phenomenon to China either back then. China was having large famines all the time back then. Since the Great Leap Forward though, whaddyaknow, not a single famine has taken place. Bourgoeis propagandists have just pulled the whole "The Great Leap Forward directly caused a famine that killed 38 million people" out of their asses.

[28350]

I write the correct history in mine.

[ContrarianLemming]

My history book mentioned anarchism, the IWW, Sacco & Vanzetti, and Emma Goldman.

well your history book is a mythical creature from the labyrinths of Narnia.

[Joe Payne]

There are certainly textbooks for the high school level that are essentially the same as A People's History by Zinn, however these are hard to find and you'd be hard pressed to get your local school department to order them.

So fa2991 you certainly are a rarity, but not off in mythological fairy land. Quite frankly I don't remember anything from my high school history classes, I only remember, ya know, what I myself read outside of school.

And Zanthorus, that quote about Lenin is interesting, as I was taught in my early political science classes that U.S. policymakers were thanking their lucky stars Lenin was dead and Trotsky didn't take over, or else they may actually have to deal with an actual threat, as top policymakers in the 50s actually realized that the USSR was essentially conservative in its foriegn policy and posed no real threat to the U.S. Essentially it's like "Thank god we don't have to deal with a guy who actually believes his own rhetoric." lol

[Pavlov's House Party]

Wierd, that happened to me in highschool, but in my College level history textbook the Russian Revolutions has almost two whole chapters dedicated to it, whereas the rise of fascism is a small segment in a post-war chapter.

[pranabjyoti]

No, there was a famine after the Great Leap Forward that killed something like 3-5 million people, that was caused by many different factors, one of which was incompetence by party officials at a local level (Mao was the one who constantly urged for caution and for people to not get carried away), but also because of flooding and drought that China experienced at that time, Khrushchev withdrawing all of the USSR's industrial aid to China, etc. It's not like famines were a completely new phenomenon to China either back then. China was having large famines all the time back then. Since the Great Leap Forward though, whaddyaknow, not a single famine has taken place. Bourgoeis propagandists have just pulled the whole "The Great Leap Forward directly caused a famine that killed 38 million people" out of their asses.
What is the source of that kind of 3-5 million or 30 million. It's the most annoying to me, when some "leftist(!)" repeat imperialist propaganda. That's too much irritating and perhaps how the lessons of high school history are showing their effects.
Pity for those leftists, who call themselves "anti-imperialist" but put forward worst kind of imperialist propaganda and draw conclusion based on that.

[maskerade]

What is the source of that kind of 3-5 million or 30 million. It's the most annoying to me, when some "leftist(!)" repeat imperialist propaganda. That's too much irritating and perhaps how the lessons of high school history are showing their effects.
Pity for those leftists, who call themselves "anti-imperialist" but put forward worst kind of imperialist propaganda and draw conclusion based on that.

i think arguing about these "death numbers" is such a moot point because the propaganda has been so effective that even the most sound logic will not convince most people that it is just that - propaganda.

[Tavarisch_Mike]

About the death toll, when they are counting on the Soviet Union, the most common method is to look at the birth rates in czar Russian in 1914, then look at the birth rates on the year Stalin died, 1953, and frome there use the gap of unborne people to rise the death numbers. Without regarding that women who get more educated and gets a higher livivng standard tend too dont get soo many kids, ooh and that this way of mesuring sucks.

[Marxach-Léinínach]

What is the source of that kind of 3-5 million or 30 million. It's the most annoying to me, when some "leftist(!)" repeat imperialist propaganda. That's too much irritating and perhaps how the lessons of high school history are showing their effects.
Pity for those leftists, who call themselves "anti-imperialist" but put forward worst kind of imperialist propaganda and draw conclusion based on that.

38 million from the famine is the usual bourgeois figure. "The Battle For China's Past" by Mobo Gao puts the death toll at 3-5 million and that it wasn't caused by Mao.

[Apoi_Viitor]

What is the source of that kind of 3-5 million or 30 million. It's the most annoying to me, when some "leftist(!)" repeat imperialist propaganda. That's too much irritating and perhaps how the lessons of high school history are showing their effects.
Pity for those leftists, who call themselves "anti-imperialist" but put forward worst kind of imperialist propaganda and draw conclusion based on that.

Ok Alex Jones.... I was unaware that every single political/social scientist who is involved in the study of Chinese Demographics is part of a vast conspiracy to discredit Mao...

Because there is not a single legitimate analyst who contends that 3-5 million people died during the great leap forward. The lowest estimates I've ever seen are at 10-15 million, and even the official Chinese Government's Statistics are that 30 million people died as a result of the famine. But pity for the leftists who call themselves 'allies of the working class', and then deny one of the worst democides of the proletariat, which has ever occurred.

[Burn A Flag]

Speaking of slander and historical bias... My textbook says about two sentences about Malcom X. Those two sentences mention him being a black separatist and hating "blue eyed white devils". Nothing about anything real he did or actual goals. Just blatantly tried to paint him a rascist, and wrote so little about him to almost write him out of history.

Another thing I just love is when they talk about the USA's state in the past they quickly skim over those atrocities like they weren't a big deal, and act like those times are in the past and now our country is the best country in the world and perfect. Segregation for example.

[Antifa94]

My school has a course in global history for incoming freshmen which is vehemently anti-communist. What I do is openly declare myself a communist and then, after the bewildered stares proceed to disprove all assertions presented in that text.
I've actually converted a lot of hesitant liberals this way:)

[Myrdal]

Could the enormous differences in numbers be, due to some counting literally every death which happened under an Administration regardless of cause. For example there are about 2 million deaths every year in the US, by the former reasoning Obama has at least committed genocide on 2.5 million people in his country.

Also there is never any attention given weather or not the countries were socialist or communist. It's kind of like saying freedom is bad because Operation Iraqi Freedom causes so much suffering or Democracy is bad since Democratic People Republic of Korea is such an aweful country. On that note the attack on democracy has already begun by some right wingers, it's only a matter of time before it becomes mainstream.

[A.J.]

Does anyone else feel the same irritance about these with their biased narrative and occasional sly attacks on revolutionary theory.Studying the Russian Revolution and i personally find it greatly annoying.

You sound like you're surprised at anti-communism in the bourgeois education system.

I would be more surprised if history textbooks in capitalist countries displayed balance and impartiality towards communism.


This reminds, however, of having an argument with a trotskyite who, whilst debating whether or not George Orwell was a reactionary tool, ended up asserting that the education system in Britain was ideologically neutral! :lol:

This, after I stated that, if anti-communism wasn't George Orwell principle motivation for writing 'Animal Farm' and '1984' there is no way these works would be taught in schools.

Just goes to show how idiotic trotskyites are(despite always trying to create the impression that they're really really intelligent :laugh: ).

[Apoi_Viitor]

This, after I stated that, if anti-communism wasn't George Orwell principle motivation for writing 'Animal Farm' and '1984' there is no way these works would be taught in schools.

I agree comrade. It's also likely, that George Orwell decided to join the Party of Marxist Unity (during the Spanish Civil War), because of his anti-communism.

[The Douche]

well your history book is a mythical creature from the labyrinths of Narnia.

My girlfriend's high school history teacher often supplemented the official text with A People's History. He went on to be my history professor at college.

[Rafiq]

I cannot put into words how much I DESPISE High School anti-Communism. It makes me fucking sick.

Want something to get me extremely pissed off, give me a bunch of Bullshit text books and false definitions of Communism in High School.

Sometimes when Im reading it I just want to get a sharpie and write "BULLSHIT" or "LIES" all over the page.

[Kiev Communard]

Here in Ukraine the textbooks on Soviet-period history actually praise Nazi collaborators as fighting against "Bolshevik tyranny", so in comparison with that the U.S. textbooks some in this thread have cited look pretty modest.

[Tavarisch_Mike]

Here in Ukraine the textbooks on Soviet-period history actually praise Nazi collaborators as fighting against "Bolshevik tyranny", so in comparison with that the U.S. textbooks some in this thread have cited look pretty modest.

Whaaat!? that kind of revisionism has reached Ukraine?!

[Taikand]

My history book never talks about the 1917 revolution, but there is a lesson called Nazism and Communism, two faces of totalitarianism, with a mass grave picture above.Did you know that communists praise Hitler?My history book knows that so it must be true.
And another thing, we actually have a book that is anti-communist, it's part of some EU-funded "educational" program.Can't find any resources in English on that, but belive me, it's full of lies and the always use "class" and "inequality" like this.
PS: Found a picture of the cover, the image should be enough.
http://www.polirom.ro/_images/esantioane/3062/coperta1.jpg

[RedLeft]

I was involved in an international curriculum, so I was able to escape some of the bias involved with normal Western attitudes towards communism.

I saw someone above say this too, but our class regularly studied A People's History and read excerpts from it. Despite the program's attempt to be less biased, a year learning about Cold War history generated many anti-communist feelings in our senior class.

It was kind of interesting seeing it from "the other side". While some people in my class would regard communism as the supreme evil in the Cold War, I noticed the injustices and crimes committed by none other than the US government far more.

[Die Rote Fahne]

My History teacher was a social democrat from what i gathered, and kept any anti-communist sentiment to himself. He read Chomsky, he criticised the likes of Yeltsin.

So, I escaped what many have to put up with.

Anti-communist sentiment from teachers I would gather is extremley annoying.

[B0LSHEVIK]

Anything from:

1) Ayn Rand
2) The Texas Publishing Board (US school textbooks)
3) Memoirs from Cold War era US presidents
4) Many US AP writers

^ this is stirctly off the top of my head. Many more, obviously.