the red star - little help comrades....

[redstaruser]

greetings comrades,
NOW THE FOLLOWING QUESTION MIGHT BE INSULTING TO SOME, AND STUPID IN GENERAL, BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE....SO HERE GOES, what exactly does the red star stand for? im not poser, i am just barely getting into what is politics and i must say, i am on your side comrades, but i need help in better understanding the red star's meaning, so that I dont embarass the star, or my fellow comrades when asked about it, that is all, any help will do, thank you

[Bianconero]

although i don't have a very concrete definition of your 'star', i can tell you that the star basically is a symbol for leftism.

anyway, symbols are not the most important. it is important to express what you believe in, it is important to analyse political tendencies and to decide what you want to fight for. read, learn, form an oppinion.

symbols won't help you there.

[Dhul Fiqar]

I *think* it was first used by the Soviet army in 1918. The only explanation I've heard is that the five-pointed star a symbol for the comming of better times and symbolized the five fingers of the workers hand and the unity of the workers movement throughout the five continents.

I think that's the official Soviet explanation, not totally sure if it's true or not, but sounds good :)

--- G.

[Dhul Fiqar]

Found this:

http://quickstart.clari.net/qs_se/webnews/...y.RibQ_DAJ.html (http://quickstart.clari.net/qs_se/webnews/wed/as/Qrussia-star-history.RibQ_DAJ.html)

--- G.

[redstaruser]

thanks for the help comrades, its nice to know some comrades actually would help out, instead of being assholes about a question, REVOLUTION!

[Dhul Fiqar]

Not a problem! Welcome to the community :)

--- G.

[Sandanista]

the red star was the symbol of the bolshevik labour party

[Dhul Fiqar]

Yup, as illustrated in the links above :)

--- G.

[bluerev002]

Ok, um, it didnt let me go into the site.

Now that his question is answered I wanna know what does the black flag and the red star mean? You know, the one used by RATM.

[Comrade Ceausescu]

duh guys it stands for communism!

[Monks Aflame]

Please, 717, no self-righteous condescension.
Red is of course the communist color. black on the other hand, is used by the anarchists quite a bit, but I can also symbolize resistance, I believe

[Blackberry]

Quote: from Monks Aflame on 12:54 pm on July 27, 2003
black on the other hand, is used by the anarchists quite a bit, but I can also symbolize resistance, I believe

"To this question of the black flag, Howard Ehrlich has a great passage in his book Reinventing Anarchy, Again. It is worth quoting at length:

"Why is our flag black? Black is a shade of negation. The black flag is the negation of all flags. It is a negation of nationhood which puts the human race against itself and denies the unity of all humankind. Black is a mood of anger and outrage at all the hideous crimes against humanity perpetrated in the name of allegiance to one state or another. It is anger and outrage at the insult to human intelligence implied in the pretences, hypocrisies, and cheap chicaneries of governments . . . Black is also a colour of mourning; the black flag which cancels out the nation also mourns its victims the countless millions murdered in wars, external and internal, to the greater glory and stability of some bloody state. It mourns for those whose labour is robbed (taxed) to pay for the slaughter and oppression of other human beings. It mourns not only the death of the body but the crippling of the spirit under authoritarian and hierarchic systems; it mourns the millions of brain cells blacked out with never a chance to light up the world. It is a colour of inconsolable grief.

"But black is also beautiful. It is a colour of determination, of resolve, of strength, a colour by which all others are clarified and defined. Black is the mysterious surrounding of germination, of fertility, the breeding ground of new life which always evolves, renews, refreshes, and reproduces itself in darkness. The seed hidden in the earth, the strange journey of the sperm, the secret growth of the embryo in the womb all these the blackness surrounds and protects.

"So black is negation, is anger, is outrage, is mourning, is beauty, is hope, is the fostering and sheltering of new forms of human life and relationship on and with this earth. The black flag means all these things. We are proud to carry it, sorry we have to, and look forward to the day when such a symbol will no longer be necessary." [Reinventing Anarchy, Again, pp. 31-2] " (http://www.infoshop.org/faq/append2.html#black)

[Comrade Gorley]

I heard once that since the star looks the same no matter which way you flip it, it represents the the inherent and inescapable truth of socialism. This could be inaccurate.

[Monks Aflame]

Originally posted by Comrade [email protected] 30 2003, 01:34 PM
I heard once that since the star looks the same no matter which way you flip it, it represents the the inherent and inescapable truth of socialism. This could be inaccurate.
it looks different when you flip it 180 degrees, when two arms of the star are upwards instead of just one. Perhaps we should adopt the red circle as a symbol.

[chamo]

I think Japan already did that.;)

[Comrade Gorley]

Than let's make Japan communist! :lol:

[blackemma]

Red is of course the communist color. black on the other hand, is used by the anarchists quite a bit, but I can also symbolize resistance, I believe

It's not that simple. The red flag, to my knowledge, was first raised in the Paris Commune. As I'm sure you're well aware, nearly all sides claimed the Paris Commune as their own - not only Marx, but also the anarchists, democrats, etc. Red was to symbolize the blood spilt by the workers in their fight against tyranny. It was also seen to be a symbol of egalitarianism and internationalism since no matter where one may come from, we are all united by our red blood. Since then, it's been a symbol of anti-capitalism and revolution. The colour black, which some speculate may trace back to the days of the pirates, was chosen by anarchists who wished for their own symbol. The anarcho-syndicalist flag, that of the red and black with the black rising and the red diminishing towards the top in a diagonal design, uses both colours: the red is to symbolize resistance to capitalism; the black is to symbolize resistance to the State. Of course, the CNT and other trade unions would later cooperate with the Republican government, making their use of the flag somewhat hypocritical. But that's more, boring history.

[Morpheus]

The Red Flag predates the Paris Commune by many decades. It was used in the 1848 revolutions and probably before then.

[blackemma]

Morpheus, when did you adopt the red and black syndicalist flag? I thought you were against the syndicalist platform. But yes, I stand corrected. The red flag has been used before the Paris Commune, it was simply the first historical event that I'm familiar with which used it. Good to see you're capable of shooting me down on both boards. :P

[antieverything]

Apparently, to my disgust, the red star has recently become a symbol of rock music...you know, the shit they play on MTV2?

Ugh.

[blackemma]

the shit they play on MTV2?

Yeah, it's unfortunate - the red star has been hijacked for everything. To be fair, MTV2 does play better music than normal MTV, I even recall them playing Thursday when I saw it, though I live in Canada so I haven't seen it recently and it's likely worse now than it was then... Ah capitalism, how we love you.

[antieverything]

I'll take back that statement the moment I see Dredg or BoySetsFire on MTV2.

[Monks Aflame]

Regardless of WHAT high-quality shit they play, the star still shouldn't be used...

[antieverything]

...I meant my comment about MTV2 being shit, not about them using the Red Star. Actually, "Red Star Sounds" is a rock "block" of programing on Fuse.