On the Discord that I moderate (Tankie Bunker) the Russian dude (Comrade King) is very anti-LGBT and we had to ban him. Now I know that reactionary Russians are a dime-a-dozen when it comes to LGBT rights and I was told that you can’t always help who gives you certain information (especially if this video series is ultimately right about the USSR post-Stalin being mostly alright or at least non-revisionist, even).

But at the same token? I’d feel guilty about watching this series, even if the info is sound. I just… don’t know what to do. It touches on a topic that I’ve been interested in since I became a Marxist-Leninist because the “official” explanation for the Soviet Union’s fall and culmination into Gorbachev’s farcical tenure always struck me as a bit simplistic.

But at the same token… I have LGBT friends and comrades. I’m not sure if I should be patronizing this.

I guess the reason why I’m posting this is because I don’t know whether or not you should “cancel” a person’s content if it turns out to be good or useful. Like, if this video series is right about the Soviet Union, do you “cancel” it anyways and never bring it up?

I just don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’m still new to Marxism (I’m only over a year and half into all this). Maybe I’m just confused. As someone who’s POC and neurodiverse, I can’t stand discrimination against others. But at the same token, so many ML YouTubers have their fair share of problems. I just don’t know what to think sometimes.

  • @WTOS
    link
    53 years ago

    At the end of the day, information is information. Communism is both a highly specific and flexible lens with which we view the world. It’s not the be-all and end-all, however, as many, if not all, are still bound to tradition, culture, etc. We shouldn’t be surprised if a communist / communist sympathizer turns out to be anti-LGBT despite the penchant for liberation, equality, etc. Likewise, we shouldn’t shy away from learning opportunities just because they don’t fit our stripe.

    To give a personal example: the most helpful economics courses were, in fact, the same neo-liberal garbage that universities manufacture to sustain capitalism. These were the same profs that I would both learn from and would gladly strangle given the opportunity. The math doesn’t lie, the logic is sound, but often the methodology is fraudulent, and the bias is as clear as daylight. I feel a bit strange whenever I give out financial advice or help with homework, but this is information worth knowing so long as it’s relevant. The only exceptions were my labor and macro profs, who were Chinese and Polish respectively. They didn’t / couldn’t say it explicitly, but it was very clear they were pro-China and pro-USSR.

    Meanwhile my history prof is a centrist white sexpat fuck who covers his fetish for Vietnamese women with a PhD in “Modern Southeast Asian History and International Relations”. That being said he’s incredibly knowledgeable and I learnt a lot from him. I’m also shooting him the first chance I get.

    You know the joke about atheists being the only ones who actually read the Bible? It’s cringe but the point stands.

    • Makan ☭ CPUSAOP
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      23 years ago

      I think you’re right. Okay, I’ll probably watch the series of videos soon enough.

      If anyone has anything else to add before I watch it and give my thoughts in another thread, please say so.

      Thanks in advance, comrades.