this post was submitted on 01 Oct 2024
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103
Who is your hero from history? (lemmy.zip)
submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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For me it has to be Malcom X, I'm not American, but I read his autobiography when I was young and it left a life long impression on me about justice and resiliency. He grew up in an extremely oppressive society, his dad was murdered and his mother was sent to the loony bin and he was clearly lost and traumatized. When he went to jail he was smart enough to be like what the hell, why am I here? Educating himself and channeling his energy into caring about others and justice transformed him into one of the most powerful and well respected leaders of his time.

He is often denigrated by Americans as violent and contrasted with King Jr. but by all accounts whenever he was in a position to project violence he chose de-escalation like during the Harlem riots and saved lives as there were people in the US in positions of military power who would have loved an excuse to do to them what they did to the indigenous across the entire country.

He was angry but principled and really set a template for me about how to be a leader and help me process my own anger and channel it into something more positive.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Interesting to hear the Anarchist's perspective, still doesn't change my analysis. The Anarchists weren't simply "true leftists" and the bolsheviks "fake leftists," they disagreed entirely on Marxism vs Anarchism and as such some Anarchists decided to take up arms against the Communists. It's a complicated situation, but it's also important to note that many Anarchists joined the Bolsheviks, it wasn't a case where 100% of Anarchists detested the Marxists.

If I were to be equally as disingenuous, I would ask you your feelings on Stepan Petrichenko, who tried to join the fascists and succeeded in joining the fascists after failing to overthrow the Communists during the Kronstadt Rebellion. I won't, though, because that's pointless. I suggest you read accounts from the Marxists as well as the Anarchists, the Marxists were not guilty of failing to be Anarchists because they never intended to be.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

If I were to be equally as disingenuous, I would ask you your feelings on Stepan Petrichenko

I asked your thoughts on Lenin involvement in the Kronstadt rebellion and in the executions of anarchists, i didn't claim Stepan Petrichenko to be my hero.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

I answered. The vast amount that Lenin contributed to Marxist Theory and his vital role in creating the first Socialist State, which uplifted hundreds of millions of people and supported numerous anti-colonial and anti-imperialist movements the world over, is absolutely worthy of praise. He managed to contribute meaningfully to Leftist theory and put it to practice.

The subset of Anarchists that decided to fight the world's first Socialist State, rather than join the other Anarchists in supporting it, were certainly not innocent, as proven by high-profile leaders being aligned with the fascist White Army.

I just find it disingenuous that you use Lenin's indirect involvement with suppressing a rebellion led by a fascist against a newborn Socialist state during the Civil War it was still solidifying its existence to be disingenuous. What was your purpose in asking? "Just asking questions?" If I am mistaken, please let me know.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The subset of Anarchists that decided to fight the world’s first Socialist State, rather than join the other Anarchists in supporting it, were certainly not innocent

Some of them were fighting against a government that engaged "anarchists" in this fashion: "the Communist Government attacked, without provocation or warning, the Anarchist Club of Moscow and by the use of machine guns and artillery “liquidated” the whole organisation"

You claim Lenin to be your hero from history so i asked your thoughts on his involvement in the Kronstadt rebellion which was suppressed with blood. It's the first example that came to my mind of one of his shady actions that i personally wouldn't consider heroic.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Some of them were fighting against a government that engaged "anarchists" in this fashion: "the Communist Government attacked, without provocation or warning, the Anarchist Club of Moscow and by the use of machine guns and artillery “liquidated” the whole organisation"

The Communists fought against the Black Guards, a millitant organization that was anti-bolshevik, after the Cheka believed them to be planning a major strike against the Communists. These were not simply random, innocent Anarchists reading theory and making tea, but a millitant organization opposed to the Communists in the middle of a Civil War.

You claim Lenin to be your hero from history so i asked your thoughts on his involvement in the Kronstadt rebellion which was suppressed with blood. It's the first example that came to my mind of one of his shady actions that i personally wouldn't consider heroic.

For clarity, this implies you would have supported the fascist-led rebellion in the middle of a Civil War, while Russia was being invaded by a dozen Capitalist nations. I hope I am misinterpreting your words here.