This person tried to tell me peanut butter was illegal in the Soviet Union because they saw it on stranger things. Like…. you know you can fact check that right? You just believe whatever the tv tells you??
It’s even FUNNIER cuz they were talking about how much they hate the 4th, USA and capitalism… like bestie that was kinda the Soviet unions whole thing. What’s worse is I ask them: what makes them evil? And they answer: because the soviets are evil.
Honestly it’s just sad because people are just so content in their lil ignorance bubbles. Learning about communism from corporate media, being led a stray from any actual class consciousness.
We must never stop explaining in this upside down world. ( lol get it)
Sigh…you’re not alone in your experience with that friend, and it’s not exclusive to westoids unfortunately.
Just this week a Russian friend (who grew up in the USSR!) brought up Stranger Things to me and I said I do my best to avoid watching U.S. anti-Soviet/anti-Russian propaganda…even after explaining the whole thing as well as the U.S. Department of Defense sponsoring countless media projects she has the gall to say something like: “oh it’s just good stories, who would believe any of that?”. I told her she clearly doesn’t understand how propaganda works.
The exchange really bummed me out to say the least.
It takes time to notice these things. Especially if your friend, like so many of us here, had grown with 80-90’s Hollywood blockbusters on VHS.
As I mentioned she grew up in USSR, so I don’t think Hollywood is the reason. More likely a reactionary ideological drift in response to coming of age during the dissolution of the SSRs, in combination with a lacking education in Marxist-Leninist theory during that time period and ever since. In short, she thinks she is a communist but by her own articulation of her views she is barely a social democrat with a neolib and pro-Western tilt. In other words, you’re not going to get a very accurate POV from anyone born in the USSR who is younger than 55-60, unless you’re asking them about the collapse itself. Best to find and talk to those pensioners and babushkas if you want a more realistic perspective on the USSR.
Ironically, the most staunchly anti-Soviet, pro-West person I know is a pensioneer old enough to remember Stalin.
Oh verrrry interesting!
Yup, and when you start noticing there is no turning back lol. Its really damn hard to find a piece of western media that doesnt do some sort of anti-communist, anti-russia, anti-china propaganda.
Yup. “Predator” is a fun movie, until you realise it is literally about a group of CIA mercenaries, on a mission to slaughter some non-descript “rebels” and several Soviet officers that are helping. So basically anti-communist death squad type shit.
Even when movies go out of their way to portray China somewhat positive, they still can’t help but do it in a condescending fashion. See “The Martian”.