Welcome again to everybody! Make yourself at home. Sit down in that squeaky rocking chair over there. Have some hot cocoa. That’ll be fifty yuan. In the time-honoured tradition of our group, here is our weekly discussion thread!

We have our own Matrix homeserver at https://genzedong.org; you can make an account with any Matrix client (e.g. Element). We also have a GenZedong Matrix room (see the sidebar for more information), and there’s a general Lemmygrad Matrix room at #internationale:genzedong.org.

Join our Discord if you are so inclined

Short reading list for new MLs here. To find theory (and other books), you can use z-lib, libgen, or Sci-Hub (for scientific articles). If an article is unavailable, try the Wayback Machine.

  • Munrock ☭
    25·
    2 years ago

    Commemoration of the Nanjing Massacre in Hong Kong schools today. This is the first time the anniversary of the event has been mandatorily commemorated in schools in HK.

    • Eat_Yo_Vegetables69
      24·
      2 years ago

      It’s a good change compared to previously where some even taught that the British and Japanese invasions were to bring “civilisation and modernity”

  • DankZedong A
    23·
    2 years ago

    So I have this course on diversity and when I tell people about it, they just laugh because they don’t take it seriously.

    But in my eyes it is an absolutely crucial course to have for everyone and it should be taught in elementary or high school.

    It really opens my eyes on how we as a society treat people that aren’t cishet white. And it also raises some very interesting discussion between class mates and professors.

    • Makan
      13·
      2 years ago

      Being inclusive and diverse for your activist org is incredibly important.

    • Shrike502
      107·
      2 years ago

      Arguably people laugh it off because they instinctively know it’s libcringe. And even libs are allergic to libcringe

      • DankZedong A
        25·
        2 years ago

        That’s the thing. It’s less libcringe that you’d image. It uses pretty radical examples. I think it’s because my professor is an Iranian woman that is pretty radical herself. She encourages us to advocate our Marxist viewpoints in class.

      • Ottar
        111·
        2 years ago

        deleted by creator

        • Shrike502
          74·
          2 years ago

          In short: not by themselves, but by the way the course is bound to present them. It’s like the difference between Marxist feminism and modern liberal feminism. Dig?

          • Catradora-Stalinism☭M
            7·
            2 years ago

            I sort of get this, because even in the countries who are “inclusive” they do it through a liberal lens. Its not a bad thing through and through, though (god I hate english) since it was only by efforts of the working class and our socialist ancestors that any of these things are done.

          • Ottar
            41·
            2 years ago

            deleted by creator

            • Shrike502
              91·
              2 years ago

              Different underlying philosophy. Diversity or feminism as espoused by liberal mainstream is metaphysical in nature. Things are what they are, and they do not change. Everything fits in these neat tiny boxes.

              Dialectic approach understands that things are subject to processes and change.

              I understand that on the surface my comment seems that I’m just going “yuck, diversity”. That is not the case.

              • ☭ 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗘𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 ☭OPMA
                6·
                2 years ago

                Any liberal analysis is inevitably going to be much worse than a materialist one, but even a watered down, capitalism-friendly discussion about systemic exploitation (without mentioning economic class) is a good thing from my perspective, especially if it leads to better analysis later on. It’s probably easier to radicalize people who are already aware of structural oppression on the basis of race/gender/etc.

              • Ottar
                61·
                2 years ago

                deleted by creator

    • ComradeSalad
      11·
      2 years ago

      I see to much of this outside… I am surrounded by wheat and corn… Not even on my computer can I escape from the grains.

        • ComradeSalad
          11·
          2 years ago

          True, I’d rather live homeless in a cornfield then in a 50’s American suburban nightmare

        • ComradeSalad
          9·
          2 years ago

          It is my life’s purpose to discover the resting place of Stalin’s original Giant Spoon, it is the Holy Grail of MLs and would grant me an immense power…

        • ComradeSalad
          9·
          2 years ago

          No, not in isolation. But when all you see is grain then it can become a bit maddening.

  • Absolute
    13·
    2 years ago

    Happy monday comrades here is to another productive week.

    As a side note I got diagnosed with ADHD last week and have begun treatment (medication/therapy) after struggling heavily with it for a number of years. Already feeling such a difference, actually somewhat optimistic about my life for once.

    • Makan
      7·
      2 years ago

      Yeah! Same here when I started getting treatment. What are you taking? Adderall? That alone helped me immensely and it’s not even the most powerful treatment for ADHD.

      Also, here you go, just in case you need it:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tpB-B8BXk0

      Definitely look at out to utilize your ADHD and how it works online.

      • Absolute
        6·
        2 years ago

        Thanks for the link I will check it out after work. I got prescribed biphentin which has been great the controlled release really helps. Pretty cheap too which is nice.

        Actually just so excited to accomplish stuff now lol

        • Makan
          4·
          2 years ago

          Yeah, mine helps me with something as simple and fun as playing video games.

      • ComradeSalad
        5·
        2 years ago

        Dr. Barkley is a god among men. Nothing but a positive influence on the ADHD community.

    • Catradora-Stalinism☭M
      3·
      2 years ago

      It gets better, comrade, I swear it! You know the problem now, or at least the root of some issues, and now you can properly tackle them in any way you see fit!

  • DankZedong A
    13·
    2 years ago

    Someone called me less manly today because I don’t eat meat and eat a lot of vegetables lmao. Like you could be 6ft1 180 lbs minding your own business, eating your veggies, and some guy still feels the need to try to be a tough guy or something.

    Being manly is eating dead animals.

    • Makan
      9·
      2 years ago

      I hate masculinity and I identify as male so whatever.

      • DankZedong A
        9·
        2 years ago

        I’m coincedentally looking for gifts I want to receive this Christmas, after my mom has been pushing for me to make a list for weeks now, and so I went on to websites of some stores I visit often. I choose ‘for him’ and it’s books on how to BBQ, meat knives, whacky nerd shit like star wars, something about fires or stuff, alcohol etc. I then went over to the ‘for her’ section and it was herbs and spices, a garlic press, how to make your own cooking oil, vega(n) cook books, basically stuff I actually want lol.

        Like, I’m a man. I’ve always identified as a man. But my god could the whole ‘for him’ section of a lot of stores use an upgrade. Give me my rack where I can put my herbs and spices on, damn it.

        • Makan
          3·
          2 years ago

          Yeah, that’s exactly how I feel.

          Like, I’m a man, but I’m not a “beardo” or have a triangular physique.

          I’m a small person and that’s how I imagine myself as and that’s how I imagine some of the characters that I create for my fictional novels.

          But now everyone in fiction has a beard or looks “swole” or whatever.

          I like people who are slight or even small, like myself IRL.

          Hell, whenever I played a video game, it was always as someone who had a slight build and was a “thief” or “assassin” or whatever sneaky class I could play as, if I had the option.

    • DankZedong A
      17·
      2 years ago

      I’m not always in the mood to read but one thing I really like here is that people are willing to go into great detail to make their point clear. Reddit in particular is filled with people that condense complex issues into a one paragraph argument, failing to mention crucial details.

      The world is complex and it needs complex explanations sometimes.

    • Makan
      4·
      2 years ago

      I prefer books.

      You can learn techniques for reading, btw. Something as simple as highlighting the text every time you read can do wonders, along other techniques or “hacks.”

    • Arsen6331 ☭
      2·
      2 years ago

      It depends on how interesting it is. If it’s dry and boring, my ADHD will never let me read the whole thing. If it’s interesting, it will be difficult to stop me from reading it.

      Writing them is about the same. I write absolutely massive, well written walls of text about interesting technical topics, but try to make me write something about anything I don’t find interesting, and I’ll struggle to write a single word.

      In fact, my brain often actively resists reading and writing uninteresting things. For example, I have had numerous times where I had to write a school essay and literally forgot how to write an essay right when I sat down to do it, then remembered the second I stopped doing it, and forgot again when trying to do it again. I’ve also had numerous books I was being forced to read (like 1984, unfortunately), where I forgot the meanings of words while reading, and forgot all the context as if I never read it, essentially meaning I never made any progress. I ended up getting an F in English class and just stopped caring after a while.

      • BloodToSpillToday!
        1·
        2 years ago

        Indeed. There are things I really like to write about afterall, but I usually break them down into short paragraphs and interact with the inquirer.

    • Shrike502
      7·
      2 years ago

      Thanks. Have you seen the weather in Moscow? Wild

      • DankZedong A
        9·
        2 years ago

        Seems rough. It’s getting colder here as well unfortunately (or not, I mean it’s supposed to be colder). A big test for many with turning on the heating and all.

        • aworldtowin@lemmy.ml
          4·
          2 years ago

          Here in the states we’re having a massive cold storm going across the country it seems. Sometimes living in the south has its benefits lol, my family up north aren’t excited.

  • ash! [they/them]
    11·
    2 years ago

    Does anyone know any good news sources for China and the DPRK that aren’t just RFA propaganda/bourgeois BS?

  • DankZedong A
    9·
    2 years ago

    IT’S STRIKE DAY BOISSS

    Half the country is down and I’m striking as well. Good times.

  • frippa@lemmy.ml
    8·
    2 years ago

    I’m at the Indian restaurant watching Argentina Croatia and we are all rooting for Argentina, its a vibe (they just did a gol BTW 1-0)

    Edit: 2-0 Edit: 3-0 🎉🎉