as a teen i was extremely lib, and pictures of stalin i would see on the internet made my blood boil. i had a great great aunt who was sent to a siberian gulag after all! then i learnt that the reason she was sent there was because she married a literal nazi who was caught by the soviets, and she refused to renounce him, being a sympathiser herself. that was fun.
mostly though it was just talking to my grandmother who remembered the soviet times extremely fondly. at first i just thought well, that's just soviet propaganda still rotting her brain. but then just asking about specific things like how much she paid for rent, and slowly realising that she was a single mother with only a highschool diploma who worked in a factory and still managed to have a mostly worry-free life, materially being better off than i expect to ever be (like, owning a flat)
eventually i read "blackshirts and reds" being incredibly apprehensive at first, but nearly cried at passages that mentioned my country, and my transformation into a card-carrying ML was complete
as far as i understand its not like she disagreed with her husband much, so it wasn't even "i can fix him" situation. it's just that she didn't like directly do any nazi shit herself except supporting him. oh and the best part, the nazi husband apparently started a hunger strike in protest when he was imprisoned. and apparently, force feeding a nazi prisoner was not the highest priority at the time, so he just died
oh and the best part, the nazi husband apparently started a hunger strike in protest when he was imprisoned. and apparently, force feeding a nazi prisoner was not the highest priority at the time, so he just died
TBH that generational gap thing is pretty common with my family. My father side hates Mao and shit because of the land reform and how my grand Grand father was a landlord (he took his own life to avoid the persecution). But my maternal grand mother loves Mao because the revolution gave her the opportunity to become a teacher and improve her life in a way
did you escape the brainwashing in any particular way?
as a teen i was extremely lib, and pictures of stalin i would see on the internet made my blood boil. i had a great great aunt who was sent to a siberian gulag after all! then i learnt that the reason she was sent there was because she married a literal nazi who was caught by the soviets, and she refused to renounce him, being a sympathiser herself. that was fun.
mostly though it was just talking to my grandmother who remembered the soviet times extremely fondly. at first i just thought well, that's just soviet propaganda still rotting her brain. but then just asking about specific things like how much she paid for rent, and slowly realising that she was a single mother with only a highschool diploma who worked in a factory and still managed to have a mostly worry-free life, materially being better off than i expect to ever be (like, owning a flat)
eventually i read "blackshirts and reds" being incredibly apprehensive at first, but nearly cried at passages that mentioned my country, and my transformation into a card-carrying ML was complete
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as far as i understand its not like she disagreed with her husband much, so it wasn't even "i can fix him" situation. it's just that she didn't like directly do any nazi shit herself except supporting him. oh and the best part, the nazi husband apparently started a hunger strike in protest when he was imprisoned. and apparently, force feeding a nazi prisoner was not the highest priority at the time, so he just died
Just letting the nazi starve himself is unbelievably based. Like okay die I don't care.
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lmao good on him for following his leader. wish they'd all do it.
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He ended up doing the right thing though.
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This is what I was referring to.
TBH that generational gap thing is pretty common with my family. My father side hates Mao and shit because of the land reform and how my grand Grand father was a landlord (he took his own life to avoid the persecution). But my maternal grand mother loves Mao because the revolution gave her the opportunity to become a teacher and improve her life in a way