The Funnier Moments of Radicals

[NoOneIsIllegal]

I was wondering what some people's favorite humorous moments in our history of revolution has been. Anything and everything! Whether it be about a serious situation or something a famous figure once said, did, etc. C'mon, even though smashing capitalism is serious business, we all have our lighter side.


* I remember reading about the free speech fights the I.W.W. took participated in Washington. In one article of the Industrial Worker, they announced "WANTED - Men to Fill the Jails of Spokane"


Now tell me something awesome.

[Red Commissar]

Karl Marx's days of pub crawling:


One evening, Edgar Bauer, acquainted with Marx from their Berlin time and then not yet his personal enemy […], had come to town from his hermitage in Highgate for the purpose of “making a beer trip.” The problem was to “take something” in every saloon between Oxford Street and Hampstead Road – making the something a very difficult task, even by confining yourself to a minimum, considering the enormous number of saloons in that part of the city. But we went to work undaunted and managed to reach the end of Tottenham Court Road without accident.

There loud singing issued from a public house; we entered and learned that a club of Odd Fellows were celebrating a festival. We met some of the men belonging to the “party,” and they at once invited us “foreigners” with truly English hospitality to go with them into one of the rooms. We followed them in the best of spirits, and the conversation naturally turned to politics – we had been easily recognised as Germany fugitives; and the Englishmen, good old-fashioned people, who wanted to amuse us a little, considered it their duty to revile thoroughly the German princes and the Russian nobles. By “Russian” they meant Prussian nobles. Russia and Prussia are frequently confounded in England, and not alone of account of their similarity of name. For a while, everything went smoothly. We had to drink many healths and to bring out and listen to many a toast.

Then the unexpected suddenly happened…

Edgar Bauer, hurt by some chance remark, turned the tables and ridiculed the English snobs. Marx launched an enthusiastic eulogy on German science and music – no other country, he said, would have been capable of producing such masters of music as Beethoven, Mozart, Haendel and Haydn, and the Englishmen who had no music were in reality far below the Germans who had been prevented hitherto only by the miserable political and economic conditions from accomplishing any great practical work, but who would yet outclass all other nations. So fluently I have never heard him speak English.

For my part, I demonstrated in drastic words that the political conditions in England were not a bit better than in Germany [… ] the only difference being that we Germans knew our public affairs were miserable, while the Englishmen did not know it, whence it were apparent that we surpassed the Englishmen in political intelligence.

The brows of our hosts began to cloud […]; and when Edgar Bauer brought up still heavier guns and began to allude to the English cant, then a low “damned foreigners!” issued from the company, soon followed by louder repetitions. Threatening words were spoken, the brains began to be heated, fists were brandished in the air and – we were sensible enough to choose the better part of valor and managed to effect, not wholly without difficulty, a passably dignified retreat.

Now we had enough of our “beer trip” for the time being, and in order to cool our heated blood, we started on a double quick march, until Edgar Bauer stumbled over some paving stones. “Hurrah, an idea!” And in memory of mad student pranks he picked up a stone, and Clash! Clatter! a gas lantern went flying into splinters. Nonsense is contagious – Marx and I did not stay behind, and we broke four or five street lamps – it was, perhaps, 2 o’clock in the morning and the streets were deserted in consequence. But the noise nevertheless attracted the attention of a policeman who with quick resolution gave the signal to his colleagues on the same beat. And immediately countersignals were given. The position became critical.

Happily we took in the situation at a glance; and happily we knew the locality. We raced ahead, three or four policemen some distance behind us. Marx showed an activity that I should not have attributed to him. And after the wild chase had lasted some minutes, we succeeded in turning into a side street and there running through an alley – a back yard between two streets – whence we came behind the policemen who lost the trail. Now we were safe. They did not have our description and we arrived at our homes without further adventures.

Source: Karl Marx: Biographical Memoirs, by Wilhelm Liebknecht. First German edition, Nuremberg, 1896; first English translation (by E Untermann), 1901. Reprinted by Journeyman Press, London, 1975.

[Widerstand]

"... because we know, that the enemies are not the dogmatically 'stalinist' comrades - not even when they, as so often in history, kill us - but the imperialists in east and west."

- FAU-IAA Hamburg, as quoted in UTOPIA Nr. 8/9, Nov./Dez. 1980: FAU – ein Drama in sechs Aufzügen

[Nolan]

When Mussolini begged for mercy.

[REVLEFT'S BIEGGST MATSER TROL]

Marx was such a G, him and Engles always rinsed up whatever town they were in, drinking all day and punching out the odd bourgie who challanged them.

[graymouser]

So on one of his albums, Utah Phillips told the story of the Spokane Free Speech Fights. They were literally trying to fill the jails in protest of an ordinance against public speaking. The Wobblies back then were not literate, many didn't know much English. But they were determined to speak in public. So most of them would step up on a soap box and say "Fellow workers" and be hauled off. But in one worker's case, he stepped up and said "Fellow workers - " and stopped, but wasn't arrested yet. He looked around and said, "Now where's that damn cop?"

[Lord Testicles]

Spartacus shenanigans:

http://www.revleft.com/vb/showpost.php?p=520181&postcount=23

[ZeroNowhere]

De Leon's constant attacks on Professors probably win out in my case. Chase that Professor!

[graymouser]

De Leon's constant attacks on Professors probably win out in my case. Chase that Professor!
I'm not a De Leonist, but I always enjoyed his discussion of poodles and the inadequacy of shaving poodles as far as changing into non-poodles. Example here:

http://www.marxists.org/archive/deleon/works/1908/081102.htm

[Sasha]

any action by the metropolitain indians must have been an blast.
and the whole pink tank hype from reclaim the streets london was funny as hell.

[Ele'ill]

http://static.twoday.net/Wendlandclown/images/CIRCA12.jpg

http://www.taz.de/uploads/hp_taz_img/xl/Clown.jpg

http://yoowho.files.wordpress.com/2007/06/rebel-army-11.jpg

[NecroCommie]

Mariel: Explain! Immediately!

[EvilRedGuy]

Awesome, joker criminals finally excists?

[Widerstand]

http://static.twoday.net/Wendlandclown/images/CIRCA12.jpg

http://www.taz.de/uploads/hp_taz_img/xl/Clown.jpg

http://yoowho.files.wordpress.com/2007/06/rebel-army-11.jpg

Ohhh I've seen so many awesome pictures of the Clowns at Heiligendamm. Damn that was good stuff.

[Rusty Shackleford]

Suppression of Kronstadt.

how many people did i piss off? :lol:


im not serious by the way.
i honestly dont know whats the funniest.
the utter failure of the parcel-bombing campaign in greece?

[Honggweilo]

Trots going to eastern europe during 1989, getting beat up by workers while thinking real socialism was around the corner

also this;

http://i56.tinypic.com/ind1c9.jpg

[Honggweilo]

also this :D

http://i51.tinypic.com/22r6g.jpg

[Ele'ill]

I've said this before in another thread and it's a bit more specific than what's being asked for here but I always find it funny when there's a bloc of considerable size and everyone's covered and a friend comes up behind someone and just friendly puts their hand on the person's back and the person turns around and shouts at them not to touch them and glares at them for several seconds before realizing they're a friend.

I also like when there's a chant started and it lasts several minutes before trickling off into a mumble- it becomes sort of embarrassing when the 'bloc' turns into a roar because everyone's talking to each other. People are so easily distracted

Also when marches get lost (Pittsburgh) as in they no longer know where they are in relation to where they want to go. It's a great way to lose the police though

And when marches are planned fairly shittily (Arsenal Park, Pittsburgh) and the only possible routes are down two streets and right into the police barricades while the rest of the riot squads move around the rear and block off all possible escape which in turn creates three hours of running through people's yards, hopping fences and being chased by startled golden retrievers.

[KurtFF8]

Trots going to eastern europe during 1989, getting beat up by workers while thinking real socialism was around the corner

What do you mean? I'm unaware of this happening (not claiming you're wrong, I'm just curious as to what incidents you're talking about cause I'd like to look that up)


I also like when there's a chant started and it lasts several minutes before trickling off into a mumble- it becomes sort of embarrassing when the 'bloc' turns into a roar because everyone's talking to each other. People are so easily distracted

Yeah I love that too, when people don't really know how to end a chant and it just kind of slowly and awkwardly dies out.

[A Revolutionary Tool]

It's possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way.
-Karl Marx

Love that quote, funny as hell to me.

[RedStarOverChina]

It's possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way.
-Karl Marx

Love that quote, funny as hell to me.

Yes, I think he said that about writing articles regarding military matter for the New York Tribune.

He usually begs Engels to write them (Engels was a soldier) in his name so he could earn the extra money. But when Engels was too busy to be bothered, Marx bullshits his way out of it with dialectics. :lol:

[MarxSchmarx]

Karl Marx's days of pub crawling:
...Marx launched an enthusiastic eulogy on German science and music – no other country, he said, would have been capable of producing such masters of music as Beethoven, Mozart, Haendel and Haydn, and the Englishmen who had no music were in reality far below the Germans who had been prevented hitherto only by the miserable political and economic conditions from accomplishing any great practical work, but who would yet outclass all other nations...

Mozart and Haydn were austrian

[Comrade Gwydion]

Mozart and Haydn were austrian

As a matter of fact, 'Germany' didn't even exist, but there were several 'german' countries, Austria being one of them. So, austrian = german, in this context.

[Manic Impressive]

I've heard a story of a guy during the Irish rising who got to fire one shot. He had never fired a gun before so raised the butt of the rifle to his face when aiming the kick back knocked him out cold and he missed the whole thing.

[Rafiq]

I've heard a story of a guy during the Irish rising who got to fire one shot. He had never fired a gun before so raised the butt of the rifle to his face when aiming the kick back knocked him out cold and he missed the whole thing.

Hilarious...?