Depending on how receptive he is (and I'm assuming he's a Yankee), send him some Parenti material. You can either start coy with something like his talk about the "Assassination of Julius Caesar" book that's pretty tame, or just go straight for the Yellow one or Blackshirts and the Reds if you're feeling bold. Parenti has a way with words and is more relatable with his New York accent than translated books from distant or long-dead communists.
And always make sure to ask what he thinks, make it a conversation not a one-sided lecture. Eventually he'll say something you don't know about yet, so don't dismiss it out of hand, but try to investigate his claims with him. If all goes well you'll both come out of it wiser.
So long as you are not confrontational and keep it respectful and educational, and most importantly acknowledge when you don't know something you shouldn't fear making him mad. Because if you do it with kindness and he still gets mad, that's all on him for not being respectful back. That's a bad sign for the friendship, not just the political divergences.
To add onto this: Parenti is a great start, but I think one shouldn't just throw books at people. Instead, take what the book says, boil it down, and use it as your argument. Then reference the book as a resource to learn more. So for example, if you want to explain that capitalists will always favor facism over socialism say something along the lines of:
"Well, the rise of both Mussolini and Hitler was actually made possible by capitalists who looked favorably upon the harsh anti-union, and more broadly anti-socialist, stances Mussolini and Hitler took. For example, German Industrialists paid for a lot of the trucks and loudspeakers Hitler used to recruit voters. This pattern can be seen repeated throughout history where fascist dictators were often installed by imperialist/capitalist countries to prevent the nationalization of resources so they could continue exploiting them. If you want to learn more about this I'd recommend Michael Parentis "Blackshirts and Reds" It's a great introduction to this and reads quite easily in my opinion. I can also provide you with a PDF if you're interested"
Enjoy! Parenti is tough to put down. If you like his books, you should check out his recorded lectures too. He's a good writer and despite not being able to go as in-depth on live discussions, his speeches are all worth a listen too.
Pretty sure he had nightmares about microphones though.
Depending on how receptive he is (and I'm assuming he's a Yankee), send him some Parenti material. You can either start coy with something like his talk about the "Assassination of Julius Caesar" book that's pretty tame, or just go straight for the Yellow one or Blackshirts and the Reds if you're feeling bold. Parenti has a way with words and is more relatable with his New York accent than translated books from distant or long-dead communists.
And always make sure to ask what he thinks, make it a conversation not a one-sided lecture. Eventually he'll say something you don't know about yet, so don't dismiss it out of hand, but try to investigate his claims with him. If all goes well you'll both come out of it wiser.
So long as you are not confrontational and keep it respectful and educational, and most importantly acknowledge when you don't know something you shouldn't fear making him mad. Because if you do it with kindness and he still gets mad, that's all on him for not being respectful back. That's a bad sign for the friendship, not just the political divergences.
To add onto this: Parenti is a great start, but I think one shouldn't just throw books at people. Instead, take what the book says, boil it down, and use it as your argument. Then reference the book as a resource to learn more. So for example, if you want to explain that capitalists will always favor facism over socialism say something along the lines of:
"Well, the rise of both Mussolini and Hitler was actually made possible by capitalists who looked favorably upon the harsh anti-union, and more broadly anti-socialist, stances Mussolini and Hitler took. For example, German Industrialists paid for a lot of the trucks and loudspeakers Hitler used to recruit voters. This pattern can be seen repeated throughout history where fascist dictators were often installed by imperialist/capitalist countries to prevent the nationalization of resources so they could continue exploiting them. If you want to learn more about this I'd recommend Michael Parentis "Blackshirts and Reds" It's a great introduction to this and reads quite easily in my opinion. I can also provide you with a PDF if you're interested"
Can i be linked to blackshirts n reds?
Sure. https://annas-archive.org/slow_download/64d16106a4618d361efb3e6cf67e33f2/0/1?__cf_chl_tk=.Gm4Q1TBzPsCQVD8aqUs1VW5zUmDHjQXPl7C.7oUI0s-1701005864-0-gaNycGzNCqU
Edit: You can find pretty much any book of your liking on annas-archive.org
Thank you!
Enjoy! Parenti is tough to put down. If you like his books, you should check out his recorded lectures too. He's a good writer and despite not being able to go as in-depth on live discussions, his speeches are all worth a listen too.
Pretty sure he had nightmares about microphones though.
deleted by creator