| Communism is considered a social philosophy, it has never been implemented anywhere. Socialism is one way communist try to enforce their ideas, or in case of China the end result was communists guiding their country into capitalism. Communist scare was created by created in the U.S. during the cold war by uneducated Americans, politicians, public figures and other regular people. Socialism should have caused the fright. Now, unless your DS thinks that people should be send to gulag and shot in the back of the head if he disliked them, like Stalin did, I am going with your DS might have a better understanding of what communism beliefs and the Utopian society it represents. Until he starts making lists on how to eliminate people, maybe go buy some good old fashioned American whiskey? |
| My child thinks I should spend half of what I make on him, so he is a communist too. |
Communism is a good idea, you moron, it is a Utopian philosophy, not a political or social reality anywhere. Are you proud to be stupid? |
Love it! My DD thinks I should spend all of the money on her.... |
If he's truly "thinking critically about economic systems," then he would not be a communist. He's an ill-informed, immature 13 year old who has no idea what he's talking about. |
I invested when I was 12, and didn't turn into Alex or a stinkin commie. |
| OMG. This thread, I . . . |
I love this. |
| OP here again. I was trying to keep things fairly vague since this is the internet, after all. However, I feel as though I need to be more specific. DC is in high school, and gets good grades, especially in the humanities, so I don't think they're "stupid" or lack critical thinking skills. DC has always liked Russian literature, which I think lead to some of the more left-leaning authors like Gorky or Chernevsky, which lead to reading Marx, Lenin, Trotsky, and Mandel. DC seems do have ideological reasons for being a Trotskyist over the other ideologies. What sort of "youth outreach" do the Trotskyists do? They have also read more right/centrist authors, so I don't think this is a case of believing everything they read. While I've gotten into discussions with DC about their viewpoints, I haven't outwardly "lost my lunch". I was going to this forum to see if more reaction is merited. I am a Democrat (voted for Hillary). I am confident I know the difference between someone a little further to the left and a communist. The stock market idea was just a hopefully fun and informative idea, and we would use some of her savings. I've encouraged DC to pick a stock, but they've had "moral qualms about support exploitative businesses" their words not mine. Sorry for the long post. |
It's easy to be a commie when someone else pays for the roof over your head and the food you eat. |
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Well, send your son over to my house. I will tell him what it is like to survive socialism in the USSR (commonly confused with communism, but that's OK). They would put kerosene on out scalps to rid us of lice because we didnt have medicated shampoos. It was that or shave our heads. It would burn like fire. Oh and food? Not much of it. Medical treatment, ha, nope. Those countries are still experiencing the traumatic aftermath of socialism. Yes. My mom was a "mail order bride" and for that I'm very grateful. She was able to bring me here when I was 17. It was like landing in paradise. Actual paradise.
This socialist utopia people dream of does not exist. Maybe spring break 2019 in Venezuela? |
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Then send him over to my house. I lived in communist China in the 1990s and have the frostbite scars to prove it. To this day, I can't stand to look at, smell, or taste cabbage. It was the only vegetable available in the winters. The army would dump truck loads of it on street corners for people to take home.
Women have to report their menstrual periods to their work unit's population officer. And if a woman gets pregnant without permission, she may be told to abort. |
| She’ll be fine. Try to respect what she’s saying or at least be open to hearing her views. Shutting it down too aggressively will only make this persist. |
OP you are overreacting. DC isn't anything and the Trotskyists aren't recruiting from middle school. Communism to kids sounds great. Everything is "fair." Power is spread equally. The little guy is important. Everyone shares. Children, who are powerless little guys obsessed with things being "fair" naturally find this appealing. And, because they are kids, getting their heads around the complexities and nuances of political and civil society takes some work. Encourage it! Encourage discussion and reading history. Encourage him discovering what happened in the USSR and other "communist" countries. Maybe have him read about kibbutzes and how those have worked out-- and not worked out. This is just like him exploring his interest in space when he was four. Doesn't mean he's going to the moon in 10 years. |
Sorry, DC is a girl, just realized. My point still stands. |