When did socialists begin calling one another "comrade"?

[Le Socialiste]

And why? Just curious.

[NoOneIsIllegal]

Wiki:

The political usage of the term was inspired by the French Revolution (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution). Upon abolishing the titles of nobility, and the terms monsieur and madame (literally, "my lord" and "my lady"), the revolutionaries employed the term citoyen for men and citoyenne for women (both meaning "citizen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen)") to refer to each other. The deposed King Louis XVI (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XVI_of_France), for instance, was referred to as Citoyen Louis Capet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Capet) to emphasize his loss of privilege. When the socialist movement gained momentum in the mid-19th century, socialists began to look for an egalitarian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egalitarianism) alternative to terms like "Mister (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr.)", "Miss (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss)", or "Missus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mrs.)". They chose "comrade" as their preferred term of address. In German, this practice was started in 1875, with the establishment of the Socialist Workers' Party of Germany (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Workers%27_Party_of_Germany).[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comrade#cite_note-vienna-0)[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comrade#cite_note-laden-1) In English, the first known use of the word with this meaning was in 1884 in the socialist magazine Justice.I'd assume, because the SPD was the socialist party in the world, the usage in the party began to spread outwards to other countries. This is only speculation, of course.
Edit: just realized the article links to Socialist Workers Party of Germany, when it should say Social Democratic Party of Germany. Makes more sense and all.

[Kléber]

Just as a note, it comes from the Spanish word camarada, which originally meant "roommate" or more literally "bedmate."

[ʇsıɥɔɹɐuɐ ıɯɐbıɹo]

More literally Bedmate.... damn this means we're in some sort of psychological orgy?

[hatzel]

I heard socialists started calling one another 'comrade' about 2½ seconds before socialists starting saying 'I'm not your comrade!' to those they have ideological differences with :)

[Chambered Word]

More literally Bedmate.... damn this means we're in some sort of psychological orgy?

horizontal recruitment. it's totally legit.

[Pirate Utopian]

Better question, why don't they stop?

[Tablo]

Better question, why don't they stop?
.

[hatzel]

Better question, why don't they stop?

I agree, comrade. I hate it when comrades say stuff like 'hey, comrade!' or 'see you later, comrade!' I can just about manage with 'Comrade X' or 'a comrade of mine', but I personally only use the word 'comrade' satirically, when I want to be a mug sending out mass e-mails to my comrades. 'Comrades!', I announce, full of comradery, 'the time is nigh to emancipate yourself from the shackles of bourgeois rule!', and then I have to wipe the sweat off of my forehead with my beret, because that's how frigging empassioned my e-mails are!!!

[Kuppo Shakur]

Better question, why don't they stop?
I stopped.

[Amphictyonis]

Comrade Kuppo. Camaraderie. When did NAZI's start using it as well?

[Scary Monster]

Funny how in the military (im in the national guard) we refer to each other as "fellow comrades", seeing how comrade is a socialist term-- yet the US military is the most anti-socialist organization with quite a lot of commie blood on it hands

[Quail]

Better question, why don't they stop?

It really kind of makes me cringe when people call everyone "Comrade" or call out "Comrades!" to get everyone's attentions. The only acceptable use is when referring to a group of political allies, and even then...

[Magón]

I either laugh or just smile whenever someone uses 'Comrade'. Like Quail, I sometimes cringe when someone says it.

[Sentinel]

I really don't understand the negativity towards the usage of the word, and it annoys me. On the other hand I've only encountered it here, ever.

It's useful as it separates socialists from others in conversation. And calling someone a comrade when talking to them is a beautiful thing.

[praxis1966]

Meh I prefer "homies." So, if I were to tell someone about an IWW function I went to, I'd say something like, "So I was kickin' it down at the hall with my I-Dub homies and..."

[Jimmie Higgins]

I don't use it much except in situations where everyone is a radical. Do you have a good gender neutral alternative for people like me who can't remember names? It's either "comrade" or "hey you" for me in any group of more than 3 radicals. But yeah, I don't like to use it in coalition meetings and or teach-ins and shit like that.

I guess if you're in the UK it might be different because it might connote old Stalinist-holdovers and their terrible politics from the last generation or something. But for people in the US, even old SDSer, most radical trade-unionists and so on don't say "comrade" so the only thing it connotes is either WWII vets who use the term or bad-guys from cold-war movies and Boris and Natasha shit.

Besides, what's wrong with camaraderie?

[Jimmie Higgins]

Meh I prefer "homies." So, if I were to tell someone about an IWW function I went to, I'd say something like, "So I was kickin' it down at the hall with my I-Dub homies and..."I used to call my coworkers "my thugs" and they always thought it was hilarious.

[Rusty Shackleford]

what occasionally weirds me out is calling other people brother or sister i understand the gesture but yeah... in person, its weird. im fine with saying comrade though.

[Pirate Utopian]

I don't use it much except in situations where everyone is a radical. Do you have a good gender neutral alternative for people like me who can't remember names?

Hey people, hey everyone

[Os Cangaceiros]

I thought that it'd already been established that "bro" was the new fraternal greeting?

[Jimmie Higgins]

Hey people, hey everyoneI'll use that when I become a summer camp councilor or an aerobics instructor :laugh:.

[Stand Your Ground]

Personally I like using the term comrade.

[NoOneIsIllegal]

one of my friends at work (who isn't interested in politics, at all, nor' knows anything about it) once said "Oh, you know just talking to my comrades." I was like "wut?" And within a minute or two, he then (jokingly) brought up the idea of a strike.

I swear he's a in-the-closet-revolutionary and won't admit it.