I second this, coming from a person living in one of the former Soviet Bloc countries, we do NOT want that kind of comradeship again. Nonono. Textbook Socialism (a k.a. not Stalinism) with a basis in secular humanism and friggin’ empathy, yesyesyes!
interestingly, china propagandized this peacetime soldier who died in an accident, lei fang, into this model citizen of kindness and selflessness, and thus the chinese call the hat the “lei feng hat” after propaganda depictions. whether that (and the fact that northeasterners usually wear the hat regardless of politics to combat cold) means it has shed communist symbolism is up to you
It depends on the status of your government. If your country isn’t totally controlled by fascism, yes, those optics will make things harder. You can’t mince words and avoid making your demands bold, but fuck the Soviets. They’re libs in a funny hat at best.
In the US on the other hand, any type of protest is effectively done with on January 20th. Do not protest next year. We’re legit past that stage; the law is already dead. Work on keeping people safe from the state, because it will only represent the desires of POTUS.
Trying to protest when freedom of speech doesn’t exist is a great way to die. Where we would have protested peacefully, we must riot. Where we would boycott, we must sabotage. Where we would advocate, we must work the railroad. Where we would commit sit ins, we must use strategies from declassified military manuals.
Fascism only understands force. Words are useless as weapons against them. We’re in their endgame; it is not time to be nice. They’re taking their gloves off, so we must as well. Fawning and freezing will not work, only fight or flight.
The point is to make it hard for them. If they are going to go full Tiananmen Square then make them do it with a spotlight and a backing track.
I will definitely be out there. And if my bloody corpse is crushed into paste and washed down the drain with a hose, my parents and friends and some of my coworkers will stand up and say “yo this person was not a terrorist they were actually pretty patriotic, thoughtful and an engaged citizen who volunteered and was active in local government and fostered dogs and shit.”
This is how you break down the mythology. I won’t hold it against anyone who is afraid to step up, but people need to step up.
" I am asking you to fight. To fight against their anger, not to provoke it. We will not strike a blow, but we will receive them. And through our pain, we will make them see their injustice, and it will hurt, as all fighting hurts. But we cannot lose. We cannot. They may torture my body, may break my bones, even kill me. Then they will then have my dead body, not my obedience."
I’m saying we need to do more than get crushed if we’re willing to. You should make it hard for them by ensuring innocent people don’t starve to death when the economy crashes. Give people healthcare and get them to see hope in the world. You’d be working at an NGO in a 3rd world country, not giving up your life to a meat grinder.
This situation won’t be as stable as China in the late 80s. The economy will be falling, systems collapsing, all while the fascists try to pretend that they’re the solution instead of the problem. Be a real solution, not a martyr.
And i am saying that forcing people to confront the evil they voted for in no uncertain terms is part of the solution. People will find it much harder to bury their head in the sand if that means choking on blood.
I personally do not think the average voter who was upset that eggs cost $4 will stomach even a small amount of violence, and if there is actually a path back it requires snapping these people back to reality. But I don’t intend to be a martyr. I don’t think Trump actually has the balls to mow down peaceful protesters on the national mall, and I don’t think anyone who takes orders from him does either.
I think you’re in denial. He will round up undocumented immigrants and Latino citizens alike. He will commit organized violence against his Republican enemies, let alone any Democrats that stand in his way. He will create a special unit in the FBI to serve as his personal Gestapo. He’s planning to do this all without any help from the House or Senate. If you’ve been paying attention to Project 2025 or his current cabinet picks, you should know this already.
If we’re lucky, the cops in blue states like California might not do his bidding because the corprocrats pay them well. If we’re unlucky, they’ll just do what he wants because they’re already MAGA. In the situation where we’re lucky, the cops in blue states will resist the national guard and federal agents, leading to a weakening of both sides. If we’re unlucky, they’ll be as ruthless against protesters as the cops in red states.
In those crackdowns, fascist brown shirts will make the pro Israeli vigilantes that attacked pro-Palestinian protesters look benevolent. They’ll lynch people without mercy, wearing white hats and swastikas, while the police generally let them. We must confront the evil, but peaceful protests will be off the table.
People will unfortunately learn that the hard way, and the news will not reach many Trump voters. They’ll just think it was the “usual antifa nonsense,” seeing us as the instigators regardless of what we do. Even liberal outlets can’t be counted on, as Trump will convert or go after them to the cheers of his supporters.
It is. They’re a cringe cult, but people are looking for answers rn and are vulnerable to cringe cults. I don’t love when people trade MAGA hats for Ushankas, and I think that’ll be a bigger problem in the future.
Being comrades with someone with a Soviet ushanka sounds like a great way to have workers’ protests violently suppressed.
I second this, coming from a person living in one of the former Soviet Bloc countries, we do NOT want that kind of comradeship again. Nonono. Textbook Socialism (a k.a. not Stalinism) with a basis in secular humanism and friggin’ empathy, yesyesyes!
it looks slay tho 😔
That’s just it. It’s fetishism, really. Tankies ignore the modern revolution for the aesthetic trappings of a failed one.
It does, unironically. Soviet aesthetics are pretty cool, a shame the Soviets ruined them by being the ones to use it.
Hey, nobody says ushankas should carry the sins of humans! We can reclaim ushankas as a symbol of empathy and… uuh… general goodness, I guess!
interestingly, china propagandized this peacetime soldier who died in an accident, lei fang, into this model citizen of kindness and selflessness, and thus the chinese call the hat the “lei feng hat” after propaganda depictions. whether that (and the fact that northeasterners usually wear the hat regardless of politics to combat cold) means it has shed communist symbolism is up to you
I believe Anarchist Batman from the Redsun Supperman comic used one.
Remove the Soviet cockade?
It depends on the status of your government. If your country isn’t totally controlled by fascism, yes, those optics will make things harder. You can’t mince words and avoid making your demands bold, but fuck the Soviets. They’re libs in a funny hat at best.
In the US on the other hand, any type of protest is effectively done with on January 20th. Do not protest next year. We’re legit past that stage; the law is already dead. Work on keeping people safe from the state, because it will only represent the desires of POTUS.
Telling people not to protest is a great way to accept fascism.
Trying to protest when freedom of speech doesn’t exist is a great way to die. Where we would have protested peacefully, we must riot. Where we would boycott, we must sabotage. Where we would advocate, we must work the railroad. Where we would commit sit ins, we must use strategies from declassified military manuals.
Fascism only understands force. Words are useless as weapons against them. We’re in their endgame; it is not time to be nice. They’re taking their gloves off, so we must as well. Fawning and freezing will not work, only fight or flight.
The point is to make it hard for them. If they are going to go full Tiananmen Square then make them do it with a spotlight and a backing track.
I will definitely be out there. And if my bloody corpse is crushed into paste and washed down the drain with a hose, my parents and friends and some of my coworkers will stand up and say “yo this person was not a terrorist they were actually pretty patriotic, thoughtful and an engaged citizen who volunteered and was active in local government and fostered dogs and shit.”
This is how you break down the mythology. I won’t hold it against anyone who is afraid to step up, but people need to step up.
" I am asking you to fight. To fight against their anger, not to provoke it. We will not strike a blow, but we will receive them. And through our pain, we will make them see their injustice, and it will hurt, as all fighting hurts. But we cannot lose. We cannot. They may torture my body, may break my bones, even kill me. Then they will then have my dead body, not my obedience."
I’m saying we need to do more than get crushed if we’re willing to. You should make it hard for them by ensuring innocent people don’t starve to death when the economy crashes. Give people healthcare and get them to see hope in the world. You’d be working at an NGO in a 3rd world country, not giving up your life to a meat grinder.
This situation won’t be as stable as China in the late 80s. The economy will be falling, systems collapsing, all while the fascists try to pretend that they’re the solution instead of the problem. Be a real solution, not a martyr.
And i am saying that forcing people to confront the evil they voted for in no uncertain terms is part of the solution. People will find it much harder to bury their head in the sand if that means choking on blood.
I personally do not think the average voter who was upset that eggs cost $4 will stomach even a small amount of violence, and if there is actually a path back it requires snapping these people back to reality. But I don’t intend to be a martyr. I don’t think Trump actually has the balls to mow down peaceful protesters on the national mall, and I don’t think anyone who takes orders from him does either.
I think you’re in denial. He will round up undocumented immigrants and Latino citizens alike. He will commit organized violence against his Republican enemies, let alone any Democrats that stand in his way. He will create a special unit in the FBI to serve as his personal Gestapo. He’s planning to do this all without any help from the House or Senate. If you’ve been paying attention to Project 2025 or his current cabinet picks, you should know this already.
If we’re lucky, the cops in blue states like California might not do his bidding because the corprocrats pay them well. If we’re unlucky, they’ll just do what he wants because they’re already MAGA. In the situation where we’re lucky, the cops in blue states will resist the national guard and federal agents, leading to a weakening of both sides. If we’re unlucky, they’ll be as ruthless against protesters as the cops in red states.
In those crackdowns, fascist brown shirts will make the pro Israeli vigilantes that attacked pro-Palestinian protesters look benevolent. They’ll lynch people without mercy, wearing white hats and swastikas, while the police generally let them. We must confront the evil, but peaceful protests will be off the table.
People will unfortunately learn that the hard way, and the news will not reach many Trump voters. They’ll just think it was the “usual antifa nonsense,” seeing us as the instigators regardless of what we do. Even liberal outlets can’t be counted on, as Trump will convert or go after them to the cheers of his supporters.
Oh, I didn’t mean as a matter of optics for the public, just as a general “Association with repressive Soviet shitheads is undesirable”
It is. They’re a cringe cult, but people are looking for answers rn and are vulnerable to cringe cults. I don’t love when people trade MAGA hats for Ushankas, and I think that’ll be a bigger problem in the future.