When Did “Communist” Stop Being A Dirty Word for Some Ignorant Americans?

By Jeff Knox : Opinion

Red Guards Austin Antifa
Red Guards Austin 2017, the only thing they are missing the “I am with stupid T-Shirts”

Buckeye, AZ –-(Ammoland.com)- When I was growing up in the ’60s and ’70s, communists were evil people in far-away lands that our military was battling in the Cold War and never-ending proxy wars.

The first time I met an American who openly claimed to be a member of the Communist Party, was in about 1984, after I’d completed a stint in the Army – keeping tabs on communists – and was working part-time in a call center. I was working there while waiting for clearance paperwork to go through so I could go to Alaska as a government contractor to again keep tabs on communists.

She was a coworker in the call center, and was right out of Central Casting, a very masculine lesbian who wore heavy black boots, baggy jeans, a surplus military trench coat, and a flat-crowned, OD green fatigue cap. She would often leave fliers and copies of a communist newspaper lying around, decrying the evils of capitalism, and promoting some march or “revolutionary action” aimed at realizing the dream of a classless society. I would have liked to have sat down with her to try and understand how she had gotten so confused, but unfortunately, I couldn’t afford to do that.

While it would have been interesting to learn what a young, middle-class, white woman found attractive in a failed ideology that was responsible for more deaths than any other political system in history, the people who issue security clearances were notoriously unforgiving of any sort of relationship with a communist.

Even just spending time arguing with one could easily result in the loss of my clearance, and thus, the loss of my pending job. So I would listen on the sidelines while others challenged her world view, and just shake my head in wonder at the nonsense she would babble in response.

I had learned about Joe McCarthy in school, and while I recognized that McCarthy had gone overboard with his communist witch hunts, I also felt that he had served an important purpose and had done a great service by making communism a dirty word and driving its adherents from the mainstream. My libertarian leanings felt pangs about the injustice of his tactics, but my patriotic team spirit celebrated the victory over the “red menace.”

What I didn’t understand was that by suppressing communist views, McCarthy effectively closed off fair discussion and debate with these misguided people. He didn’t end communism in America, but rather pushed it out of open society, leaving it to fester and spread quietly among guilt-ridden liberals and people who felt disenfranchised. Just because few people openly declared themselves to be communists, that didn’t mean they stopped holding or sharing those beliefs using different labels. And through the decades, the perception of McCarthy, and McCarthyism, slowly changed. It was already changing when I was in high school, as he was painted as a zealot, political extremist, and opportunist, catching up innocent people with his crusade and blacklisting.

By the time I attended college, after I got out of the Army, McCarthy had completely transformed into the bad guy of the story, and everyone he had gone after had become victims.

By then, the anti-war hippies of the late ’60s and ’70s, who were in college while I was in high school, were teaching college, and today those same people are the tenured professors and administrators of our institutions of higher learning.

Bernardine Dohrn and Bill Ayers went from violent revolutionary communists, to respected academics and political operatives. Communists of the ’60s moderated their rhetoric and changed their labels as they built their power base within academia and the Democrat Party, shifting the party farther and farther to the left over the decades. Then taking it from “liberal” to “progressive,” to “socialist,” over the course of just a few years. After Barack Obama’s whiny and divisive “identity” politics, the the false narrative of Black Lives Matter, the socialist campaign of Bernie Sanders, the lying corruption of Hillary Clinton, and the resulting election of Donald Trump, it seems that large numbers of people who really should know better, are openly embracing – or at least accepting of – communists and communist ideology. Suddenly it’s mainstream again.

Today, we see communists and anarchists teaming up to quash free speech in Berkeley and other colleges and universities around the country. We see masked punks carrying Soviet flags and chanting clever “peace” slogans like “The only good cop is a dead cop,” and “Cops and klan go hand in hand,” in Texas of all places. To be fair, it was in Austin, which isn’t really Texas any more, but still, not the sort of thing you’d expect from the capitol of the “Lone Star State.”

Communism is a murderous, failed political ideology, as is its softer little sister, socialism. By embracing these failed systems, these misguided morons are endorsing regimes that were much more deadly and evil than the Nazis or the Fascists, and they are utilizing the exact same tactics, except here in the U.S. they also use our freedoms and protections against us, claiming the very rights that they would deny to others, and demanding that police protect them from the mean old racists.

It would be funny if it weren’t so sad.

The good news is that even though there are way too many people in this country who refuse to see the evil of communism and socialism, only a relative few of them are radicalized to the point of engaging in street violence, and the American people are finally fed up enough with that nonsense that they are demanding that police not allow these misfits to run rampant. They are also serving to wake people up to the stupidity and violence of this demented death cult, opening people’s eyes and causing some of them to rethink their positions.

The one thing that all Americans need to understand is that communism, socialism, racism, nazism, libertarianism, constituionalism, and all sorts of other “isms” – good, bad, and indifferent – are free to be practiced and preached in our democratic republic. That’s not the case under communism or socialism. Just like nazism, in a communist or socialist regime, no other belief or ideology is, or can be tolerated.

Communism and socialism might sound good in theory, but in practice they must be totalitarian, and that can only be accomplished through utter brutality. There can be no individual freedom under communism, and that is un-American.

Neal Knox - The Gun Rights War
Neal Knox – The Gun Rights War

About Jeff Knox:

Jeff Knox is a second-generation political activist and director of The Firearms Coalition. His father Neal Knox led many of the early gun rights battles for your right to keep and bear arms. Read Neal Knox – The Gun Rights War.

The Firearms Coalition is a loose-knit coalition of individual Second Amendment activists, clubs and civil rights organizations. Founded by Neal Knox in 1984, the organization provides support to grassroots activists in the form of education, analysis of current issues, and with a historical perspective of the gun rights movement. The Firearms Coalition has offices in Buckeye, Arizona and Manassas, VA. Visit: www.FirearmsCoalition.org.

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joe black

its a republic not a democratic republic shut that door and maybe you need to READ the first amendment The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prevents Congress from making any law respecting an establishment of religion, prohibiting the free exercise of religion, or abridging the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the right to peaceably assemble, or to petition for a governmental redress of grievances. DOES NOT GIVE ANY RIGHT TO VIOLENTLY ASSAULT CITIZENS FOR NOT BEING A SHEEP . MASKED THUGS ? WEAPONS ? THATS OK RIGHT? PROTECTED BY POLICE NO LESS ? SHOULD ALL… Read more »

A.P.Ball

During the Chinese civil war in the late 40s, Shanghai was occupied by the communist faction whose partisans all wore red neck scarves. The weather was warm and the scarves were cheap, and the dye ran with the sweat. When the Nationalist forces succeeded in getting into the city, the communists discarded the neck scarves. Unfortunately for them their necks were dyed bright red, and those found by the Nationalists were summarily shot. Thousands of them.
gbm

Gregory Romeu

Hence the term… “Red Necks”?

Larry Brickey

lol

David Blakeman

Why are you covering your faces? Take the masks and coverings off, be proud that you are an idiot studying to be a moron.

Ricardo Delta

An oldie; but a goody: Kill a commie for mommy!

RJL

Freedom of Speech does not mean Freedom of Violence. Remove your masks reveal your identity.

Colonialgirl

Round them up, Strip them of every thing and ship their sorry IGNORANT rear ends to China or Venezuela ; See how long it takes them to start crying and whining and grt themselves lock away.

Larry Brickey

Yes, for those who use violence instead of words.

Bud

“Liberal,” “Progressive.” “Socialist.” If history serves me right fasism is their next step.

1776 Patriot

Sorry to tell you but these evil minions already in the fascist stage. It is most evident at Berkeley but spreading…quickly!

dava golin

these people in this picture,like the rest of the anti American garbage are subversive tools of the worst threat the whole globe is facing. the EU agenda is vomiting out all the nation destroying antics it can. Communism, anti history, anti borders, anti religion and morals, except the barbaric RADICAL ISLAMIC HORDE. They are working overtime to foment the hate of Russia, because Russia already kicked Brussels, ie; the EU out of its country. look to the Visegrad group, Japan and Israel. They are the only ones openly opposing the EU AGENDA. WE as American need to name this enemy… Read more »

Larry Brickey

Anti history, religion, morals? You really hate the EU. Do you live there?

Wild Bill

@Larry Brickey, I hope that dava goblin does not live in the EU, but rather I hope dg lives, here, in the US. You, however, should take a vacation to the EU. Put your feet up. Settle in. Stay there awhile.

Larry Brickey

It just seems he is way over the top. And what country was ever truly Communist? None. Socialist to the extreme, yes. I’ve only been to Belgium and Spain in Europe. Been to Israel and really liked it.

Samuel Stephens

If you are craving a vision of Kommunism, look no further than Kalifornia State Government led by Kommunist DemocRATs. Socialism to the extreme.

Mickt

I believe these people in the picture are poseurs. They probably believe the dogma but are less likely to fight when the shtf. I’m more concerned with the army of professional malcontents waiting in the wings for the flash point. Be very careful brothers and sisters, things are not always what they seem. We patriots are being setup in the most egregious way. Be an individual on the team.

Gregory Romeu

Most Veterans have a well trained and keen instinct of where to point the business end of their hardware and precisely when to squeeze the trigger if need be.

Pete

Roger that!

VE Veteran - Old Man's Club

Yessir – tap twice center mass, if in doubt empty the magazine!

One tenet of the Old Mans Club ” If its worth fighting for, then its worth fighting dirty.”

Marc Disabled Vet

@ov
There is no dirty when your life is at stake .
Just a hit or Maggies draws, fire again !

Darkman

For me it began in junior high school in 1975. That’s right 1975. i had a history/government teacher who told us during a class on communism around the world that we(students) would live to see the day when the United States would become more like the Soviet Union. He said those that truly believed in the communist ideology would use the schools as their launching platform. Knowing it would take several generations to indoctrinate the populous in the ideals of the communist manifesto. He himself was far from a communist and this was all taught as a warning of the… Read more »

JorgeNorberto Pedace

POBRE AMÉRICA,SI SE DEJA A ESTOS INFAMES,SALIRSE CON LA SUYA,SOLO HACERLES VER LO QUE ES HOY CUBA,O VENEZUELA Y LO QUE QUERÍAN HACER CON OTROS LUGARES DE AMÉRICA,LA RECETA DEL COMUNISMO ES MEDIOCRIDAD,TOTALITARISMO,MISERIA,DESMANTELAMIENTO DEL APARATO PRODUCTIVO CAÍDA DE LA ECONOMÍA,DELINCUENCIA,DROGA EN GRAN ESCALA,Y QUITE DE LAS LIBERTADES INDIVIDUA LES,MÁS ATRASO.ESO ES LO QUE QUIEREN ESOS GRUPOS,PUES BIEN QUE LO SEPAN,Y QUE VEAN LA ANARQUÍA QUE PUEDEN DESATAR

Gregory Romeu

TRANSLATION:
Poor America, if you leave these infamous, get away with it, just let them see what is today CUBA, or VENEZUELA and what they wanted to do with other places in America, the recipe of communism is mediocrity, totalitarianism, misery, dismantling of the productive apparatus Fall of the economy, delinquency, large-scale drug, and remove from the individual liberties, more delay. That’s what these groups want, well they know, and they see the anarchy they can unleash

Nada Socialist

El problema con todo lo que es, que estos ‘titulado’ coños poco se han unido a sus tetas de las madres y la Libtards ‘pollas’ para tan de largo no lo han hecho una pista de lo que la vida es realmente todo acerca de… Por eso soy refran que necesitan ‘exterminado’, antes de la enfermedad se propague.

Gregory Romeu

TRANSLATION:

The problem with all that is, that these ‘ titled ‘ Little Pussies have joined their mothers ‘ tits and the Libtards ‘ cocks ‘ for so long they have not made a clue what life is really all about … That is why I am saying that they need ‘ exterminated ‘, before the disease is spread.

Nada Socialist

All these little p****** have to hide behind masks, and, you’ll NEVER see ONE of them protesting, by themselves. They have to have ‘gangs’ so that when the running starts they can hide in the crowds…

Actually that’s not a bad thing either, because when the violence starts, and you know it will, it makes them easier targets, standing still or running. Because when it come right down to it collateral damage isn’t necessarily a bad thing with these idiots…

john

REMEMBER WE HAD A HARD SERIOUS RUN FOR PRESIDENT BY A HARD CORE SOCIALIST (THE BERN). The strong communist/socialist influence gained great power about 60 years ago when the radio/tv media realized they had power with the print media. Edward R. Murrow with CBS was the lead in taking anti-communist Sen. Joe McCarthy apart. That attack campaign became the rally point for then democrats, socialists and controlling communists to latch on to. This left wing/communist inspired media group think gathered great strength in colleges during the Vietnam war and continues more so today via tv talk and late night shows… Read more »

joe martin

It is a shame that today there are places where I cannot walk the streets safely because I am a white male, Christian, conservative, heterosexual, veteran. I love my country, but do not trust my government and hate how these young Americans have become so misled and disillusioned by the educational system, the media and in far too many cases, their own parents. I wish I had an answer or a solution. I pray that things get better and prepare for the worst.

John R Pyles 111

Communism sucks, and those who honor the idea do as well. This is America the land of the free and unafraid unlike these punks in the associated photo.

Wild Bill

Barry Soetoro (aka Barak Obama) encouraged this. Soros finances this. We must send reinforcements to support Trump who will throttle this. The battle will be won or lost in the primaries (and county caucuses).

Dumbfounded

And they are so proud of themselves and their beliefs, they have to wears masks? No matter what you wear, you can’t hide stupid!

SK

I was wondering the same thing.

Bill

Exactly what I was going to post- If you are proud of what you believe in, you dont wear a mask. These are just lost and confused overgrown kids who feel that they cant be successful on their own, with the skills their parents and “life” has provided them so they want a government daddy to force what is done for everyone. I actually know one of these idiots (not in the picture, but a outspoken communist… its a neighbors sons friend… of course, he was just fine until he went away to college and return a commie—anyway, any time… Read more »

VE Veteran - Old Man's Club

This is why I have been saying that the coming civil war (and its coming) needs to happen soon before this crowd of assh*les gets any bigger. And WE VETERANS will need to lead the fight for our freedoms. The punk kids of Antifa and liberalism are so brainwashed with Communist theory and lies that you cannot speak truth to them anymore. How did it get this bad? We let it by saying “its a passing phase they’ll grow out of it”, Bill Ayers and the rest of the freeze – dried Hippies of the 60’s are still as committed… Read more »

Bill

Well said, and I couldnt agree more on all points…I also agree, war, in one form or anything, is coming. Glad to see other informed people out there –and informed enough to talk about Obamas chicago political breakout breakfast buddies Bill Ayers (dont forget wifey Bernardine Dohrn) both teaching all those moldable minds out there at college in Chicago – maybe they were teaching some to firebomb building like the two of them use to… its a tragedy anybody let those lunatics anywhere near kids—at least they finally retired now (I think)…… Whats laughable is that people wonder why Obama… Read more »

Wingnut

Hi We ALL see the pyramid scheme symbol on the back of the USA one dollar bill. We ALL see the servitude infestation in capitalism. We ALL see the “pay up or lose your wellbeing” Chicago mob-like felony extortion widespread within capitalism. We ALL see the “join or starve” felony extortion done to the 18 year olds… by this ugly competer’s church called capitalism. We ALL see how forcing competer’s religions onto 18 year olds, and/or LURING them into it with bling-dangling and promises of empowerments… kills membership in the cooperator’s church (Christianity/socialism). We ALL understand that AmWay (American Way)… Read more »

Wild Bill

@Wingnut, You write, “…Abolish economies and ownershipism worldwide,” First, if ownership is abolished, then I can come over and take what used to be your stuff. And I will. I will leave you naked, starving, and without means of sustaining your life. Second, if economies are abolished, you will have to make every thing that you need from a spoon to a computer. Then I will come over and take them. And if you are really that skilled, I will capture you, too. Happy communism.
If you don’t like capitalism… don’t participate, but don’t force poverty on everybody.

Mickt

!!!

Nick

Larry, you lack one thing : AGAPE LOVE

Wingnut

Hi, thx for the comment. I tried to find a solid meaning for “agape love”… having troubles. Unconditional brotherly love? If so, yeah, I agree… it SEEMS as though the general world populace is not overly loving, but COULD that be fallout from lots of unnecessary competing? Caps invoice the hell out of each other… and bosses and consumers place “orders” (which WILL be ful-filled OR ELSE you’re “fired” or “terminated”… nice words). That… is a combat situation. Remove the every-person-for-themselves competitive “game”, and “adopt each other” love CAN re-surface, I believe. I see evidence of this… in the human… Read more »

tomcat

@ nut wing, what are you smoking or drinking, you need to change it is destroying your brain, that is if you had one. Uncontrolled gibberish you should keep to yourself.

Marc Disabled Vet

@nutcase
Are you for real ?
If so , It’s clear you would rather be in a different Country !
So ! Why don’t you go and leave behind what your new ,
country go’s without. 1) your money (evil gained ) 2) your phone (no service)
3) Medicine ( try some roots ) 4) your life ( your from USA so your an infidel )
5) your religion ( your an infidel remember )
Second thought ! Just go ! don’t let the door hit ya as ya leave .

Vanns40

I suppose Jews, Buddhists and others have no place in your world since you continue to emphasize “Christians”?

Wingnut

Holy cow, a civil comment. Thanks. Christians love everyone and everything, and gladly share. When there’s no ownership and only custodianship, sharing is the only way. There are new fairness laws that ensure sharing policies, which includes sharing the planet.

Pretty kind of the admin here… not to censor me. Very cool.

Wild Bill

@Wnut, You regurgitate all that communist propaganda that is repugnant to our way of life; you imply that you would use our legal system against our economic system; and you expect a civil comment?
When sharing is forced by the government it is neither sharing, nor Christian.
Finally, what makes you think that your life would be better by forcing a different economic system on those around you? Do you not realize that under any economic system, you would be on the bottom?

VE Veteran - Old Man's Club

Wingnut – that explains a lot! You’re a socialist moron who has bought into the share the misery. You hide behind the moniker “Christian” but true Christians know that sloth is a Deadly Sin … and what are Socialists if not slothful miscreants. Even Christ said “if they shall not work then they cannot eat.” And you support a system that has killed over 200 MILLION victims – that is anti – Christian if I’ve ever heard of it. Socialism = Communism = misery = poverty = death by government. I’ll be looking for you across the field of battle… Read more »

Gregory Romeu

All you have produced is a pretty good abortion job of the English language.

With all tne time and energy you spent spewing all this mumbo-jumbo bulls***, you could have received a degree in English Lit and discovered how simple it is to put letters together to make real words, then string those words together to make real sentences that actually mean something for the sake of communicating with people other than yourself.

Then again, your name is, Wingnut?

tomcat

@ Wingnut, what you rambled on about and misused words and phrases you could have said in one sentence. I am a commie and I believe in a few people gaining all the wealth and starving or shooting the rest who are peasants.
You speak of Christianity but don’t apply any Christianity to your incoherent rant. I am a Christian and have been taught much to the contrary of what you preach.

I really feel sorry for you.

1776 Patriot

Wingnut, you espouse neither true Christian nor true communist teachings, just crazy ramblings, much sound and fury without meaning. How do you even manage to take care of yourself in the real world? I will pray for you to see the truth and love that exists…if you open your eyes and ears. None are so blind as those who will not see and none are so deaf as those who will not hear!

Chris Thompson

Communism is responsible for the deaths of millions of people and should not be tolerated, next time they get violent have the National Guard on scene and light them up. If the government wanted to deputize people to shoot Commies I’d gladly sign up. Same with violent union thugs, or Black Lives Murder. They have the same Communist ideology as Antifa. Unions had their time and place, but it has long past. All they do now is collect dues to donate to Democratic anti-gun politicians, drive up cost of goods and services, outsource jobs, make taxpayers waste money on public… Read more »

Wild Bill

When Eugene Debs was asked what the union members wanted Debs replied, “More and more and more!” I think that is very telling. But on to communism. Communism is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of millions of people. Thirty million Russians were purged and 60 million Chinese were purged before 1950. Communism is responsible for the poverty of hundreds of millions of the survivors. Communism is an over simplified theory that is easy to teach (so they do), but to simple to base an economy on. Capitalism is so complicated and redundant that it is difficult to teach, but… Read more »