How to argue against these quotes?

[The CPSU Chairman]

Earlier tonight I was having a debate with some people about Communism. This one guy gave me this list of quotes from this BS-looking anti-Communist website:

paulbogdanor (dot) com/left/communists (dot) html

Now, a good number of those quotes I don't even find remotely objectionable. Some of them I take with a grain of salt because of the source (for example Jung Chang and Jon Halliday and their discredited "Mao: The Unknown Story"). Some of them are quotes by Zimbabwean officials and I don't understand what they're doing on that page, others are from the Khmer Rouge and scum like Nikolai Yezhov who, as I understand it, are pretty much universally disowned by Communists.

Other ones, though, including a few by comrades Lenin, Trotsky, Che and others, I would find more difficult to explain away. Since these are all out of context and i'm not particularly well-read about this stuff (but I do understand, for example, the intense pressure Lenin and Trotsky were under due to the civil war, foreign intervention, etc), I was wondering if any more well-read comrades here could help me out with what to say in response to this.

[Broletariat]

http://paulbogdanor.com/left/communists.html

I'll edit this post with some feedback in a sec, for now there's the link.

Man, all those quotes are from too obscure of sources for me to actually be assed to check.

The overarching point should be, even if those people said, "jews should all die." It doesn't mean we think that, or that it forms any of our central tenets.

[pax et aequalitas]

Are they really so stupid? I mean look at the very first quote. That is put there out of context like it is pro-slavery or something, which it of course isn't.

edit: Also as Bro stated: We got brains of our own, just because someone with awesome facial hair said it doesn't mean I agree with it word for word. Hell no.

[Nox]

This is why being an Anarchist rocks; you don't get attacked by Jewish-Bolshevik conspiracy theorist nutjobs.

[Broletariat]

This is why being an Anarchist rocks; you don't get attacked by Jewish-Bolshevik conspiracy theorist nutjobs.

Instead you get painted as an angsty rebellious teenager who wants no laws and total chaos.


The media fucks us both tbqh

[pax et aequalitas]

Instead you get painted as an angsty rebellious teenager who wants no laws and total chaos.


The media fucks us both tbqh

I got people saying I am a crazy chaotic terrorist, because I'm an anarchist and I got people who say I must support the Soviet Union and Stalin and mass killings because I'm a communist (that last one was said to me literally, I know it is sad)

It those moments that humanity dissapoints me.

[Broletariat]

I got people saying I am a crazy chaotic terrorist, because I'm an anarchist and I got people who say I must support the Soviet Union and Stalin and mass killings because I'm a communist (that last one was said to me literally, I know it is sad)

It those moments that humanity dissapoints me.

I tend to find it best not to identify yourself until asked. Talking substance rather than labels tends to clarify misconceptions quickly.

[Per Levy]

just looked over it real quick, quotes taken out of context in 99% of the quotes. its like creationists trying to convince you that charles darwin didnt actually belived in evolution through some quotes taken out of context.

[pax et aequalitas]

I tend to find it best not to identify yourself until asked. Talking substance rather than labels tends to clarify misconceptions quickly.

Yeah, well I'm quite vocal in regards to politics and I actually explained everything probably a hundred times, but some just are deaf to my words it seems. They just wanna believe all them lies.

But we are drifting from the original topic :p