I mean, sure, they made an effort to make people hate all forms of tax and welfare, but the USSR and China have done a fantastic job of making you hate the words socialism and communism.
Hell, even the nazis used the moniker of National Socialists.
this post was submitted on 11 Sep 2026
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Yeah I'd say there might be a bigger problem with leftists trying to associate things like healthcare programs with the word socialism that's holding things back.
Kinda disconnected from reality when you're saying we should do X because X is something failed systems have done. Might be more successful to say we should do X because X is good and it won't make us into a failed state.
Yeah socialism is going to make the US fail, it's totally not currently failing rn... LOL
Everybody's hooked on communism.
But what about anarchism?
Anarchism is an assured destruction of the Social Contract. People, without guidance, are more horrible.
A top priority for me is the people who do stuff benefit from that stuff, instead of some removed jerks.
Along side health care, food, shelter, an environment that's sustainable for human life.
I'm not familiar with anarchism's solutions to these things.
Anarchy only helps those privileged enough to have the means to defend what they have with violence.
Anarchy means the sick, disabled, poor, minorities, etc are thrown to the wolves, and expected to defend themselves with less capability and resources than the majority.
Sure, you might argue family units or communities might band together and take care of each other, but they probably need some rules to make that equitable since not everyone will agree, and- oops we made government again.
Sips fox news brand coolaid
That's not how anarchism works.
But it is kind of how humans work. Have you met humans?
The US used to be a world leader in anti-fascism. There's even those old-timey films explaining how letting it in would ruin the American way.
https://youtu.be/42X_eAOU4DU "Don't Be a Sucker"
Eeeh... It was only anti-fascism as in "anti-others" (who happened to be fascists in a way they differentiated from). The US has been real fucking bad from the very start and there hasn't been a single moment where that stopped. I can't see a single period where it isn't the modern day meaning of fascist. Yeah, the civil war was won by the better part but it wasn't a "good vs evil" black and white thing, because nothing is like that in reality. Faschism is deeply ingrained in the US and has always been so, especially when it comes to politicians, military, police force etc.
They even called out Alexander Hamilton for being a proto-fascist.
Then that one Wall Street fuckwad wrote a book about him filled with lies and eventually turned it into a play.
If you want a hero in the founding fathers, look up Aaron Burr
And T-Paine while you're at it!
I tried that in a group of people the other day. I got a resounding "Nah, I'm good"
What do you do when everyone is happy to die? Because right now my plan is "try my damned best to make sure these dipshits don't take me down with them"
“Means of building collective power”. That’s the right thing to communicate, My take is we need a new word that’s not socialism, communism etc because those words have lost concrete meaning, similar to globalism and neoliberalism no one knows what they mean anymore because they’ve been targeted, abused, redefined and vilified.
People have knee-jerk reactions to those words.
I think basically stop denonising unions. I've been hesitant to join mine, as I don't want to be seen as a trouble maker. Funnily I've already received my 'last promotion' at 56. I could shit on the marble floor and not get sacked (because vital skills). However, simply displaying solidarity with my younger colleagues would be deemed 'offensive'. Two more years and nearing retirement, I think I'll let rip
Yeah.. most people in my country don't have a union available, and there are no prospects for creating one in the near future. I don't mean any offense myself, but just having access to a union and not joining it is... an interesting choice from my perspective.
Both of the Cold War empires spent decades lying about what socialism was, and that process continues to this day. No wonder people are confused.
All major media outlets are fascist mouthpieces
Sweet
And yet you need twitter to get your message out. Irony in that...
How does one connect with one's humanity?
How does one connect with one's community, especially if somebody has to start?
Volunteer work
Maybe some voluntary work? That should tick both boxes
Doesn't really exist here, there's work that most people drive to from 30+ minutes away and church which I refuse to go to for obvious reasons. Everything closes at 10 including on the weekends, there's a lot of lot of America that's like this, I've tried moving, didn't help.
On a restaurant supply site, or maybe even just ask a local restaurant, aquire a quantity of take out containers. Make a large batch of inexpensive food, chicken and rice is a good one. If you have a little extra cash grab a huge bag of Halloween candy. Drive to your nearest economically depressed area, and look for someone outside. Offer them food. If they say no, ask if they know anyone that could use a meal. The food will be gone quickly. Don't means test, just give. It feels pretty good.
Grab a bucket and pick up trash along your street. Take the old lady's trash out. Paint something that's worn out (with permission where appropriate). Find the ugliest yard in the neighborhood and offer to cut some of it back or just clean up an abandoned yard or park. Landscaping goes exponentially faster with power tools, but a hand pruner, hand saw, and cheap weed whacker can do a lot.
Oh, that's sad to hear. I live in Germany in a relatively small town (~50k population). I work in a much larger town but I have a lot of remote work from home. In my home town are at least 10 places where I could volunteer and get there by walking or bike.
I actually do at a place where I try to teach some older folks a bit about computers.
However, there's also an animal shelter, voluntary fire fighters, a second hand shop that donates the income for disabled children, a nature preservation station and probably a bunch more.
I actually considered both animal shelter and vfd, animal shelter wasn't interested and it would cost around $600 to get started for fire department, yes cost. Been so bored I'd do yardwork for free but once again equipment cost etc, plus everyone is convinced you're out to murder them.
I see. Maybe you can do something in line with your professional work? E.g. if you work with computers you could also help people in the neighborhood. Especially older people often need help.
Another thing I just remembered nearby are repair cafes, I'm not good with electronics so it's not for me but maybe it's something for you? Also we have people that help immigrants with bureaucracy, translation or just integration into society (eg. local sports clubs)
Anyways, don't pressure yourself into something. Just keep your ears open, maybe something pops up.
Thank you for sharing this, OP. This is beautiful.