FrenLivesMatter

joined 1 year ago
[–] FrenLivesMatter -2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Right. I believe that idea is called socialism, not communism. Unlike communism, which demands a complete overthrow and reform of the system in order to be established, socialists are generally happy to bring about reform within the system by just passing laws requiring various amounts of wealth redistribution.

I'm certainly not against it as long as it doesn't remove too many incentives for people to be able to improve their standard of living by working harder. Having a reasonable social safety system that ensures nobody has to live on the streets unless they absolutely want to certainly seems desirable. And yes the US could probably improve in that area.

[–] FrenLivesMatter -4 points 1 year ago (9 children)

I don’t now man, 2020 isn’t that long ago, I remember the protests fairly vividly, along with the demands for dismantling any and all police.

Unless you’re going to tell me those weren’t real communists. In which case, believe me, I’ve heard that one before.

So no, I don’t think it’s inaccurate to say that communists hate the police, if only, as you admit, because they don’t work for them, not based on any principle.

Also, I didn’t say that that from 1-4 follows that communism is bad, just that it is no better than the capitalism it seeks to replace, because it does nothing to address the violence it claims is fundamental to capitalist oppression. It’s more accurate to say that communism is dumb because it engages in magical thinking, i.e. the belief that violence can be good if only it was being done by the right people.

Yes, perhaps things would get better for some people for some time. But in the end, it will always suffer from the same type of corruption as any other violence-based system, so there is no reason to believe it would be preferable to what we have now. It will just end up perpetuating the same cycle of violence that it claims is at the root of all of our problems.

[–] FrenLivesMatter -3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Yes, I understand that, and I already answered that argument here:

Are you saying that because they went by income instead of by race, it technically wasn't genocide, just mass murder? I'm not sure that makes it any better. Also, don't forget that a lot of the poor people died as well, so it didn't even help those it was supposed to benefit.

[–] FrenLivesMatter -3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (11 children)

Let me put it this way: I’ve never met a communist who argued that it was possible to bring about communism nonviolently, much less that it was desirable or even essential to do so in order for it to succeed. It’s always “we may have to do a little bit of violence at first, but after that, we’ll all be nice a peaceful, because all our problems will have been solved and there’ll be no reason to be violent anymore.”

I’m sorry, but I don’t buy that. Like I said, violence begets more violence. Once you agree that it could potentially be a solution, there is no reason not to use it when push comes to shove, that’s why there will never be an end to it.

Also, my point about ACAB wasn’t that you personally support it, just that communists overwhelming hate the police and see them as a tool of fascist oppression when they’re in the hands of capitalists, but as warriors of peace when they’re in the hands of communists. Their violent enforcers: corrupt and evil. Our violent enforcers: stunning and brave. Basically it all comes down to arguing fairness is a matter of who is on top. The problem with that is that power always corrupts, not matter how good its intentions. I know that’s likely not going to convince you, but I’m only explaining my point of view on why I don’t find communism very convincing.

[–] FrenLivesMatter -4 points 1 year ago

Yes, I know. It was a joke, okay? Clearly cannibalism doesn’t solve any problems.

[–] FrenLivesMatter 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Oh, okay, I think I see what you meant now, excuse me for misinterpreting that.

No, I have never reported anyone for saying “eat the rich” or anything like that, nor would I, because I don’t see it as a credible or immediate thread. I understand that it’s usually just meant as a metaphor; it’s people blowing off steam or venting their frustration, not a suggestion to resort to immediate cannibalism.

I honestly don’t think I’ve ever reported anyone on social media, unless it was spam or advocating for child rape. I might report doxxing if I ever came across it but it hasn’t happened so far. Does that answer your question?

[–] FrenLivesMatter -1 points 1 year ago (3 children)

It means I read the rules for this forum and I don't see how I broke any of them in any way that would be significant enough to warrant a mod to take action.

I was respectful and didn't use any harmful language pertaining to a protected characteristic like race, gender, sexuality, disability or religion. Unless you want to argue that communism is a religion, which would be quite funny given its stance on religion as a whole.

None of what I said was illegal, nor was it spam, porn, NSFW, or not matching the theme of the community (genocide is, after all, at least mildly infuriating). I also didn't encourage harassment, I just stated some facts and provided proof, and I had a good faith discussion with everyone who responded without resulting to name calling or insults, or following people around the site or anything like that.

If a mod wants to disagree with any of that, that's their prerogative I guess, but it would only prove that communists have a very thin skin and are allergic to any amount of criticism, no matter how factual. Genocide is bad, doesn't matter what color of coat it's wearing or what flag it's waving.

[–] FrenLivesMatter -2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Okay? I never said that he was.

[–] FrenLivesMatter -2 points 1 year ago (13 children)

ACAB isn't some international stance the left takes. It's a reaction to the frequently racist, violent and corrupt policing specifically in the USA. And it certainly doesn't mean there should be no law enforcement whatsoever - you'd be extremely hard pressed to find anybody who would take that stance.

Right. As usual, when you press people on it, they'll end up admitting that none of their principles are really absolute and they're always willing to make an exception as long as it's in their own favor.

Counterexamples: the British suffragette movement (which was notably extraordinarily violent, despite its common modern image as a quiet, polite disagreement), the American civil war, the Swedish coup of 1809, the Ukrainian defensive resistance in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war.

Not super familiar with examples 1 and 3, but would you say that violence against women remains an ongoing problem in the UK? Has there really been no political violence in Sweden since 1809? I don't think I even need to point out that America remains an extraordinarily violent society according to leftists (and even many people on the right) or that there literally still IS war in the Ukraine to this day.

"Violence begets more violence" doesn't mean that violence will always continue to escalate (if it did, we'd clearly all be dead already), it means that violence never ends violence. At best, all of its victories will be temporary. All you ever get is a momentary truce once everyone is tired of fighting, but as soon as they recuperate, violence is back on the menu.

And just to be clear, I never claimed that violence was the goal of communism, just that communists seem to universally agree that violence is acceptable in order to reach their goals.

As far as the Ghandi quote goes, I've spent a considerable amount of time thinking about what he could have meant by this, and the best explanation I can come up with is that he may have sought to differentiate between non-violent action and non-action (which is nonviolent by definition). In other words, if you are being demonstrably mistreated, it's better to stand up and do something about it (even if violent), but it's better yet (even infinitely superior) to do something that doesn't involve violence (like protesting peacefully). Violent resistance in the face of injustice takes some courage, but non-violent resistance takes far more courage yet.

[–] FrenLivesMatter 0 points 1 year ago (5 children)

And which rule do you reckon I broke?

[–] FrenLivesMatter -2 points 1 year ago

Okay, but you outright ignored my argument about taxing everything over $1 billion and just went back to parroting “eat the rich” instead.

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