I’ve spent years arguing with people online and really have nothing to show for it aside from my own education and amusement. I was radicalized by discovering r/chapotraphouse back in 2018 I think. Nobody argued with me there, I just lurked, loved the memes, thought it was the funniest place online, then started reading theory because so many people there talked about it. Even though liberals are obviously ignorant about communism, their ignorance is willful: they never thank us for educating them, they always get angry and double-down. (In real life, it’s much easier to embarrass them and get them to shut up.) Still, I admit that it’s possible to change someone’s mind in an online debate, I just haven’t seen it happen when it comes to communism (libs on r/changemyview can change their minds about lib shit). Have you ever seen a lib admit that they were wrong about communism?
Thanks for the depression! J/k I appreciate the convo.
I'm trying to find solutions out of this in the imperial core. I want my life to be useful and not just be forgotten like 99.9999% of humans that have come before me. I believe everyone has the same essential drive to matter.
So for me that means a) finding a way to reprogram the masses, and b) figuring out why I didn't get programmed. Why didn't the propaganda stick?
I'm a mostly well off white dude living in a suburbs aka the lib breeding grounds. I have enough income to be comfortable, cops leave me alone, and I'm not worried about any physical threats in my little corner or burgerland. And yet I am radicalized to the point I dream of
.
Compare to the people in this linked Reddit thread:
https://hexbear.net/post/1931625
All the classics are there: iPhone, making fun of "true communism has never been tried", comparing us to nazis, we're all lazy college students, etc. None of these people have anything new or unique to say. I am surrounded by people like this all day every day. These aren't free thinking individuals but lemmings. Basically language regurgitation machines... but why am I not one of these people?
I also grew up in a very red area. I was inundated with this propaganda. Where I live I can't go a mile in any direction without hitting 3 churches. Right-wing and lib indoctrination is like air here.
The only thing I can think of is that I am not totally straight, and that once I was poor enough to apply for food stamps. OK, but if my temporary brush with poverty was enough to turn left then why aren't the millions of people living that experience and worse joining me? We all know a few poor or struggling people that hold onto lib and reactionary views...
I am starting to think the biggest hurdle to organizing is that the masses are, in fact, programmed by media. I agree with your point that it is overbearing due to the sheer scope of the messaging. But I can't accept that we just wait for material conditions to get bad enough for people to turn left. It's more likely they will turn to full Fascism. After all, the Fascists have all the money to buy propaganda.
So maybe the right way is to push harder against the basic propaganda that China is totalitarian, that Stalin was a terrible person who personally started Ukraine, that people in Cuba eat "mayonnaise sandwiches" as one conservative posted. We need more targeted messaging showing how much better everyday life in these countries is compared to the US. Show how nice Vietnam is after they won their war. Show how beautiful Pyongyang is to walk around. Show what a city looks like when every square inch of space isn't covered in ads. Get the Victims of Capitalism Memorial Foundation going.
And most importantly, figure out the common thread between me and other leftists coming out of the "middle class" and find out how to replicate it.
Another point I should mention about my turn left is that I used to be a big Democratic party supporter. Like donated to candidates, held some roles in the party, even (ugh) worked on the Hillary campaign in a low level role (in the general, voted for Bernie in the Primary). It was the constant disappointments coupled with Democrats voting against what I wanted over and over again, then running the same shitty campaigns, that got me looking elsewhere. And the biggest "trigger" for me is seeing Democrats talk about how "democracy is on the ballot" and "Republicans are the worst" on one hand, and then leadership saying literally "we need a strong Republican Party" and "work across the aisle" BS on the other. It's like they want their party to be weak! So, thanks Nancy Pelosi for helping go full commie?