Not looking for that latest Adrian Zens drop, I want the scoop on re-education camps in an ideal leftward movement- the practical shit, how do they work, what's the structure, etc. Like a top down overview of implementation, goals etc.
Our D&D game has us far away from home & we're coming across orc encampments that threaten some nearby resource exploration we're doing, aswell as the local peoples villages. Want to look into reeducating these beautiful beings and helping them out of their destructive ways, most importantly their enslavement of goblinkind. Hopefully bring them into the fold of our cooperative society, mother willing.
Don't know the first thing about re-education. Where to read about it?
Search results are obviously polluted thanks to all this Anti-China propoganda
What an interesting reason to want this information. I think re-education centers would take a lot more from modern psychology and sociology than the gulags did, so I’m not sure how much historical precedent will serve you here. Perhaps some of the anti-cult literature? That’s one of the few places where you can talk about deprogramming propaganda without it being considered an ethics violation.
First thing’s first, there is a difference between education, propaganda, and deprogramming. Education is about information voluntarily sought. Propaganda is about subconscious influences to gradually change opinions, and deprogramming is a strictly involuntary and forceful process. For example, the process may be to propagandize locals in an area to seek education and then deprogram those of them who resist the education. In effect that makes the entire process involuntary, it doesn’t necessarily feel that way, which is the point. Deprogramming for someone who’s in a cult usually involves physically moving them away from the influence of the cult. Force them to cut off contact for several days at least so they can clear their head. Provide them authoritative emotional support, like a parent would to a child. “Yes, it’s sad that you can’t see your friends. No we are not going, but I’ll sit with you so you’re not lonely.” That sort of thing.
I would imagine the structure starts to look different once this process scales. But that may be enough to get you started and/or passable for your campaign
Totally on point re: education, propoganda, & deradicalization. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction & the good ideas to mull over. Certainly an ethical fine line to walk, but it sure beats responding in kind with violence.
Probably easier to look around anti nazi/other anti bigot movements if you're looking for leftist discussions on how to deradicalize people.
Others have mentioned, but the deradicalisation of Puyi, the Truth and Reconciliation councils in South Africa, and Cuban political reeducation centres are probably good places to start.
There's Puyi's autobiography, which I've read the first few pages of. It's almost exactly the same as The Last Emperor, which was made by an Italian communist, is a great movie, and also has a positive depiction of re-education. Liberals say that Puyi wrote his book basically with the communists pointing a gun to his head though. According to his wikipedia page (I believe) it took years of Puyi taking classes, journaling, and meeting in person with the many many victims of his crimes in order for him to become a comrade. This is probably the way it's going to have to be done in the USA if a communist revolution ever succeeds here :inshallah-script:
I always recommend a great book about the Korean War called "Ghost Flames," which—among many other things—details how a bunch of Black American POWs decided to stay on in China after the war ended because their Chinese guards did such a good job of re-educating them. Given how fucking racist the USA is (and how the American military blatantly used Black soldiers as cannon fodder) re-education shouldn't have been too difficult.
I know nothing about re-education in Vietnam and really want to learn more but like you I don't know where to turn.
There's also Daryl Davis, a blues musician who has converted around a hundred KKK members into "normalcy." I don't really think this is a solution (it's individualistic neoliberal nonsense) and the converts are probably still just racist bastards who no longer wear klan robes, but he seems like almost the only guy who is actually having any kind of success in changing people's minds for the better in the USA. I don't know.
Also, I want to write a LOTR ripoff from the perspective of the orcs, and have them be the heroes—basically an industrializing workers' state fighting the reactionary elves, humans, and their hobbit puppets (or something). Some Russian guy has apparently already done this but I looked at his book awhile back and thought it sucked.
