It depends how close they are to a Marxist understanding of the world… I can talk with my twin sister pretty easily about even the spicy stuff, but propaganda has made it difficult to express my views with the average person. People will flip their shit if you even mention Stalin, Mao, or the others, much less suggest that they weren’t literally Hitler.
There’s also the reality that being a communist is a bit like being an atheist or a vegan. These beliefs aren’t compatible with current liberal society, and consequently even encountering a communist as a liberal can feel like an attack. That obviously doesn’t hold true for everyone, but it does happen. I hold my tongue most of the time.
It depends how close they are to a Marxist understanding of the world… I can talk with my twin sister pretty easily about even the spicy stuff, but propaganda has made it difficult to express my views with the average person. People will flip their shit if you even mention Stalin, Mao, or the others, much less suggest that they weren’t literally Hitler.
There’s also the reality that being a communist is a bit like being an atheist or a vegan. These beliefs aren’t compatible with current liberal society, and consequently even encountering a communist as a liberal can feel like an attack. That obviously doesn’t hold true for everyone, but it does happen. I hold my tongue most of the time.