When you explain to someone you are a Communist what response do you get

[Red Future]

Just curious how people respond , personally I usually get an indifferent response from people but i guess this isn't typical

[Impulse97]

No it isn't I tend to get strange looks or laughs. People don't take me seriously when I tell them. I just wish they'd open their eyes.

[scarletghoul]

"What's that ?"

[Jimmie Higgins]

Well-to-do liberals usually give me a condescending, "aww, how quaint, kid" reaction, but when I tell them that I am against voting for the Democrats they treat me like I'm Satan in flesh. I always find that funny - I guess they just don't see "revolution" as a realistic threat and so they don't care when I talk about that, but being against the Democrats hits a raw nerve.

But most of the time when I explain my politics to regular people in Oakland, I get a response like, "Oh I didn't know it was all about that (ending oppression and building a working class based opposition/working class democracy)". One time I had someone say, "Oh, that makes sense, I thought you guys were like terrorists or something".

[Quail]

Most of my friends that are apolitical think it's kind of weird, especially when I go on my drunken rambles at them. My brother thinks it's a bit odd as well. I tend to get the reaction, "Ha, okay."

[Red Commissar]

I don't generally explain my political views to people right off the bat. The response I get varies though. Some do the whole "it's a phase thing" (though frankly I didn't really consider myself as such until a year ago), others change the subject, just generally avoiding it once they know.

I can only remember it once I got an overly negative response from some conservative college kid, the whole socialism=liberalism=fascism types, but ran into problems when I didn't fit his cookie cutter image of what a "Communist" is.

I've only maybe met one or two people in all my time who took my views seriously and were open to learning what it actually is.

[Ocean Seal]

Some people get angry which they usually reply with an angry Why?
I've gotten a few interesting sets of responses such as
So do you love Hitler?
Communism sounds really good on paper, but it'll never work. HUMAN NATURE HUMAN NATURE
If communism's so great then why do we all hate it so much?
Do you think that's you're Robin Hood?
That's what Obama is trying to do, so you're with us liberals? I plan on working at Wall St., but I'm going to be liberal so that's all right
I'm sure that you just do this for attention, you do know that it'll never work because well you see I came up with the ingenious argument that communism is against human nature.
Communism is unnatural, its going against nature. Even in the animal world communism doesn't exist.
Go back to Russia!
So essentially you support fascist governments like the Soviet Union?
I'm pretty sure that there's gotta be something wrong with communism right? We couldn't have just hated it for no reason?
Get off my phone
While paraphrased these are just some of the negative responses that I've gotten. Well except the last one, but if I ever do talk to Beck, I'm sure that it is the response that I'll get.

[Sir Comradical]

I propagandise them slowly, then they begin to look towards me for information. Soon enough, they're pretty well influenced by my way of thinking.

[Garret]

They might laugh me off, then go all "Stalin and Mao killed this many!", and then go all "human nature" on me.

I might alternatively use Marxist to see if they had a different definition. I'll basically explain Marx's ideas and hope they sympathize a bit.

[Burn A Flag]

Some people just laugh at me, but this type aren't interested in disucssing anyway. Some friends of mine just disagree on certain points. For example, one friend of mine (who is joining the US Army BTW) agrees with our class analysis and such, but just thinks there's really no chance of a sucessful revolution.

Then another friend of mine I debate with is a social darwinist (ugh). Therefore what he likes about capitalism is it's survival of the fittest characteristic.

Basically I get some people who'll actually talk respectfully, and others who are downright mean.

One tea party fascist kid always says socialism makes countries poor and makes up stupid shit and is a dick. No real debate, but I guess he feels better about himself.

Once at lunch, I was sitting near a very rascist kid(not in a joking manner) and made a comment about his statements, then the other people told me to shut up about his white supremacist rhetoric because I am a communist. I guess Klan Members are more loved in the USA than the left. Oddly enough where I live now has ties to the founder of the Klan and was created during integration to keep out people of color.

[PoliticalNightmare]

If political beliefs were to come up (which they don't), I would just start talking about grassroots democratic worker's organisations, how entrepeneurs/bankers/landlords are taking our money, how society can function without the state, what worker's solidarity means, that I think it would be great if every citizen had an equal say in politics etc. without actually using words like "communism", "anarchism", etc. If I thought they were interested I might conclude, "of course everything that I have just described is communism" - to which extent they might be surprised and exclaim "But I thought Communism [large C] was brutal state tyranny and control over the economy!" Of course I don't usually get into these discussions.

Coincidentally, I did tell someone a while back that I was a communist and he said

"You're probably not... you're probably just a socialist, really." :D

[Widerstand]

I basically tell them what I want, usually they go rambling about capitalism and the state then.

[B0LSHEVIK]

The funniest response Ive gotten is 'you people still exist?'

However, I usually dont start out a conversation with the words, 'First off, I am a communist.....' When political discussions occur, I just go about saying things that people actually find hard to disagree with. Workplace democracy. Proportional government democracy. Workers rights. etc etc. If they ask, then I say I am a commnuist. Otherwise, I just let them go on believing of me what they want, be it a democrat or hippy.

It really is hard to disagree with 'socialism' once the term loses the government induced paranoia and vulgarity.

[Burn A Flag]

God, how the fuck does one deal with pacifists? I talk to some kids who are against everything revolutionary because of violence. They say Malcom X was too militant! How the fuck were they supposed to liberate themselves without the threat of violence?

[B0LSHEVIK]

God, how the fuck does one deal with pacifists? I talk to some kids who are against everything revolutionary because of violence. They say Malcom X was too militant! How the fuck were they supposed to liberate themselves without the threat of violence?

Well had Malcom X been truely revolutionary eg, actually picked up arms, the government would have squashed him like a bug. Being idealistic is one thing, being stupid is another.

[Amphictyonis]

That I'm naive and communism has failed. Some say it's human nature to be greedy, others bring up Stalin and dead people everywhere. Other more well meaning people criticize the (theoretical) efficiency a centralized command economy.

Basically, if our education system was meant for critical thinking socialism would be taught in our schools and the people would truly then have a choice. Maybe thats one thing we should be pushing for but we all know one of the main purposes of education in advanced capitalist nations is indoctrination. So, when I tell indoctrinated people I'm a communist they'll regurgitate whatever opposing argument they've been told, whatever the bourgeoisie have fed them. There's the shallow stupid arguments, the mid level and so called intellectual arguments against communism. In person I usually run into the shallow and mid level arguments against communism. Back in school and online I would encounter the more 'intellectual' (or sophisticated) arguments against communism.

[Kuppo Shakur]

:confused: then :blushing: then :unsure: then they avoid me by any means necessary, lest I try to brainwash them and eat the corpse of their aborted fetus.

[Spawn of Stalin]

People usually tell me about the purges, the famines, the secret police, and maybe throw something in there about George Orwell too. The thing is most people I know outside the Party agree with like 90% of what I propose, they just think abolishing capitalism is a little too extreme, meh, liberal logic. I'm likeable and pretty good looking though so I rarely get people ignoring or avoiding me, or changing the subject, actually I've noticed that a lot of people who don't necessarily agree with Communism actually enjoy talking to me, or having me talk at them. As I said, I'm likeable.

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

Handjobs.

[The Red Next Door]

I was called a PINKO NAZI by my cousin; then my aunt ask me. if i a member of the tea party.

[Manic Impressive]

I get some surprising comments from strangers for instance last weekend I went out wearing a hammer and sickle on my hoodie, I was debating with a couple of liberals whose arguments I destroyed and they ended up agreeing with me then a guy claiming to be an anarchist called me a Nazi "whats dat" (pointing at my chest) "dats comm-a-nism that's soviet union dats Nazi" at which point shit almost kicked off and the bouncer and bar staff got involved. The guy got booted out and the bouncer came up to me and started telling me how brilliant it was to see an English communist as he grew up in Slovakia and recognized how good communism had been in his country. The mates of the guy that got kicked came up to me and asked what it was all about they sat down at my table where I told them about workers control, even stranger they actually listened and liked it. Wonders never cease

However my last two girlfriends had exactly the same response "what's socialism?" then "what's capitalism? that's like America right? England isn't capitalist" /me facepalm

[Savior]

Most people dont know what it is. Once a teacher mentioned communist kill people and the like. I make a loud sigh sound.

[Unclebananahead]

In the US, one encounters a lot of 'Mr. Blocks' (as in the old IWW comic strip character) -- working class people who have been mindfucked into adopting a lot of incorrect, reactionary attitudes and beliefs that run counter to the interests of their own class

[28350]

Most people give me the reactions above.
One friend of mine doesn't actually believe me.

[Summerspeaker]

I'd rate mild curiosity as the most common. The prevailing attitude in my academic field treats radical social struggle as an object of study rather than an area of engagement.

[tobbinator]

People usually just say "idiot." Then they usually say to go to North Korea. I just ignore them.

[Summerspeaker]

Folks I explicitly talk communism with tend to be civil at a minimum. I get homophobic slurs and other such verbal abuse when I hold simple signs against military recruitment or aid to Israel. Go figure.

[DecDoom]

I mostly get indifferent responses, sometimes a bit of curiousity. If I explain myself, most people agree with me.

I don't think I've run into any real "Communism is great on paper and they killed everyone because of human nature" types yet.

[PilesOfDeadNazis]

It varies. Some are curious, others think it's funny(as if I'm joking), and then when they realize I'm not they get offended and say the typical ignorant shit. I usually have to clear up that Communists are not Nazis.

My family are the ones that have given me some of the most uninformed responses I have ever heard. Like when I told my aunt that Hitler killed Communists, she said, "Well, that's strange because that sounds like a very Communist thing to do."

My dad told me that the only difference in Communism and Socialism is that in Socialism you can vote, in Communism you can't.

None of them will give me the time to explain away all those false conceptions of Communism.

[Lobotomy]

I'm still in the communist closet. :(

[Tablo]

My friends just laugh cause I've explained it to them a trillion times. They are all apolitical. Random people I talk to awkwardly ask why or say that it is against human nature. Then they fuck off after I give them a well thought out response to the human nature bs.


Most of my friends that are apolitical think it's kind of weird, especially when I go on my drunken rambles at them. My brother thinks it's a bit odd as well. I tend to get the reaction, "Ha, okay."
I also do the drunken rambling.

[Comrade_Stalin]

I only told one person, but she has a open mind. So she approves of my view after I explain it to her. Other wise I have told no one.

[Sosa]

One time a co-worker said to me "Oh you're into that stuff?"

For some reason other's equate communism with fascism, idk why, when they're on opposite sides of the spectrum.

[Sosa]

My friends just laugh cause I've explained it to them a trillion times. They are all apolitical. Random people I talk to awkwardly ask why or say that it is against human nature. Then they fuck off after I give them a well thought out response to the human nature bs.

Can you give me some anti-human nature arguments? I might need some myself.

[Niccolò Rossi]

It doesn't come up often. But with when it has the first remark is: "You are!?"
Followed by: "Why?"

Meh.

Nic.

[Devrim]

I think in Turkey there is still a level of respect within the working class for people who are communists. It is something that people sort of admire.

Devrim

[Tablo]

I never knew that. Turkey must have a reasonably high level of class consciousness.

[Devrim]

I never knew that. Turkey must have a reasonably high level of class consciousness.

I don't think so. People who were communists bore the brunt of the repression after the coup in 1980, in which over 1% (which doesn't sound like a lot, but is when you think about it) of the population was imprisoned with many people also fleeing to Europe. They are seen as people who are prepared to suffer for their beliefs. Of course in some circles, for example fascist/nationalist ones, which are very strong in Turkey, they are hated. Even there though they are not mocked like people on this thread are giving the impression that they are.

If you go back just a few years in Western Europe also, workers had much more respect for communists than they seem to do today. When I worked as a postman in London in the 80s there was a level of respect for communists. If people had a problem at work, or during strike ballots, some workers would always go to communists to ask for advice.

Devrim

[black magick hustla]

i dont say i am a "communist". i say i hate the idea of waking up every day just to have to bend to a boss and a state. that word is not respected in the US but the rage we feel for our masters is understood

[Jimmie Higgins]

I've never had anyone accuse me of being a NAZI when I told them I was a socialist (but I have often heard libertarians argue to me that socialism and fascism are the same). But one time I was wearing a shirt with the Dead Kennedy's logo and someone came up to me kinda nervous asking what it meant and when I explained it, he said "phew, I thought it was a NAZI thing".

[Stranger Than Paradise]

Well I would argue explaining to someone you're an Anarchist is even worse. I get laughed at and shrugged off a lot. References to the Sex Pistols make me cringe most. It's usually better to talk to someone about it who hasn't encountered the word and the negative connotations attached but as a whole I try to just be straight forward without sounding partisan or 'radical'.

[Quail]

Well I would argue explaining to someone you're an Anarchist is even worse. I get laughed at and shrugged off a lot. References to the Sex Pistols make me cringe most.
I tend to call myself simply a communist, or sometimes an anarchist communist, but people have this stupid stereotype of anarchists in their heads. I don't know which is worse, the stereotype of communists, or that of anarchists.

[Stranger Than Paradise]

I tend to call myself simply a communist, or sometimes an anarchist communist, but people have this stupid stereotype of anarchists in their heads. I don't know which is worse, the stereotype of communists, or that of anarchists.

Yeah I call myself a Communist or an Anarchist on different occasions. Some people say they call themselves a Libertarian Communist but I think that's generally more confusing. I think the stereotype of Anarchists is worse though because usually I get stick about not dressing "like an Anarchist" or acting rebellious enough to be an Anarchist.

[Tablo]

It's best to just say you're a libertarian socialist since those are terms people are more comfortable with.

[Pretty Flaco]

I never say that I'm a communist or socialist because of the bad connotation. If someone ever says something political, I just argue my case without saying my political affiliation.

But I've had a few people who have found out. Some think it's funny at first but then they understand. I've had a few who were socialists who can agree with me. Oh, and I have met the ultra conservative "communism kills!" types before.

Most people I know are completely apolitical.

[mikelepore]

Well had Malcom X been truely revolutionary eg, actually picked up arms, the government would have squashed him like a bug. Being idealistic is one thing, being stupid is another.

Quotable:

"What is the alternative to working 'inside' the system? .... Public suicide? 'Power comes out of the barrel of a gun' is an absurd rallying cry when the other side has all the guns." -- Saul Alinsky, _Rules for Radicals_, 1971

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

I think the secret is all in how you say it, and what you're doing when you say it.
An employee saying it to a customer with a wink, a bit of flirting, and maybe an unauthorized discount is bound to get a better response than an annoying Trot paper-pusher declaring their obvious capital-P Political affiliation.
A handwritten note, slipped under a dormroom door, or left in a bag of liberated groceries that has mysteriously appeared on a kitchen table, is doubtless read with more interest than any official statement from a central committee.
A well-played verbal sparring match at a kitchen party, or in Tim Hortons, is bound to change more minds than any well rehearsed speech to a disinterested crowd.

When I tell people about the world I'm living in, I either make friends or enemies, but, thankfully, mostly the former.

P.S. Fuck Saul Alinsky - useless liberal douche.

[Sixiang]

The only person I personally know and interact with whom I have actually told is my brother, who's sort of random in his political beliefs but is generally leftist in some sense. He's not really interested in reading Marx or the heavier, theoretical works. He'll read Tolstoy and maybe Orwell, but he doesn't go much farther than that. He prefers fiction stories more.

I did have a conversation with my brother's friend a few months ago and I said that I liked reading socialist literature. He was an anarchist so I could get along with him well enough.

The rest of my family and all of my schoolmates are all capitalists. I have mentioned in passing a few times to one of my teachers that I have read some Marx. He's a liberal but seems pretty open-minded to these things. I go to a private Catholic school. It's not exactly the most open-minded place. Most of the arguments I get into are more about religion than politics. My government teacher is a free-market idiot and we have arguments on almost a daily basis. I've not explicitly said I am a communist to her, but I try to make arguments based on the matter at hand without saying it.

I live in a very conservative part of America. Most of the people are very religious and republicans always win elections here. They're not very welcoming to any revolutionary ideas. The closest I've gotten to is my brother-in-law who is a right-wing libertarian. He's agreed with me on a few things about democracy and we both agree that this country is fucked up. We can complain about a lot of the same things, but not agree on much.

[Veg_Athei_Socialist]

I think only 3 people know I'm an anarchist. One told me that anarchism is a flawed system just like any other, another said we need competition to create new and develop better technology because it drives people to the best of their ability creating more efficient products being independent, another told me that people wouldn't be motivated to work any harder than anyone else or do unpleasant jobs unless they got rewarded with more money or wealth. These are a democrat, a moderate and a sort of apolitical type of capitalist. I try to answer them but they just kind of say, "well you have your views and I have mine" and just leave it at that.

[apawllo]

I've been called an idealist many, many times. A lot of people have also said to me things like "yeah, that looks good on paper."

I have some friends from way back who I'm still close with and they're on the conservative side of the spectrum. They were surprised when I told them, but don't care much now really. Sometimes they'll refer to me as dirty commie when we're hanging out, which I find entertaining really.

[Sixiang]

I think only 3 people know I'm an anarchist. One told me that anarchism is a flawed system just like any other, another said we need competition to create new and develop better technology because it drives people to the best of their ability creating more efficient products being independent, another told me that people wouldn't be motivated to work any harder than anyone else or do unpleasant jobs unless they got rewarded with more money or wealth. These are a democrat, a moderate and a sort of apolitical type of capitalist. I try to answer them but they just kind of say, "well you have your views and I have mine" and just leave it at that.

I've heard that one way too many times. It's annoying.

[Leonid Brozhnev]

I tell them, I rant a little, I get the response 'Holy shit, you're right!'... few weeks later, same people say to me 'The BNP make a lot of sense', and I just die a little inside.

[A Revolutionary Tool]

Well I've told a few people that aren't communist because debates about politics rarely come up and when they do I don't say "Well since I'm a communist I think..." I just say how I view whatever is being talked about(From a Marxist perspective of course, but they'd never catch that). It was only one time in Theater class a group of people in my cast started talking about something political, in which case I interjected and spoke up, and this girl said "Isn't that communism" and she was right so I told her that was the goal.

That's the only time at school I know of that someone actually knew a thing about communism.

What's funny is telling people you're a communist and them not believing you. I have a friend who wore a Disturbed shirt that had a picture of Mao on it and I told him he had a communist on his shirt. He laughed and said "How would you know, you a communist" and I said "Actually, yes I am". He laughed and I insisted I wasn't and he still thinks I was joking.

[NewSocialist]

A few examples

"So you must have voted Obama in 2008!"

"Why do you hate freedom?"

"Isn't that, like, evil?"

"What's wrong with making money?"

[Savior]

On Obama, I hear that all the time. Pretty ignorant.

[Blood]

Denial. That's what people tell of me.

Them: "lol, do u agrE komunism is bed???!!"

Me: "Actually, I am Communist."

Them: "no, ur not. u jus think u r. u r a tee prty."

Or I get the questions, like every single other Communist in the world does (after I explain Communism). Only once has a libertarian made me think about my answer, but I was able to answer it a few hours later, fairly easily as well. I went to a bar with a friend once and he brought me to talk to a businessman about it. He got so pissed. He said that if he sees me on the street then he would "beat my pinko ass". Basically, "If I ever see you again, randomly somewhere walking around close to me, then I will hurt you."

I asked him, "Why would I have the need to be around him?" It wasn't even a good come back at all. But he got torn anyway :P I've never seen a fifty y/o man so close to angry tears about a freakin' argument before.

[Black Sheep]

Mandatory!
similar old thread:
http://www.revleft.com/vb/people-your-country-t108264/index.html?t=108264

epic post:
http://www.revleft.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1436853&postcount=19