Solidarity to CodePink getting the message for diplomacy instead of endless money/arms heaping in the war as always. Can't habeeb Bernie went from resisting with his full body weight between two cops in his youth, to dolling out zip-ties like friendship bracelets. bern-disgust

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 year ago (1 children)

And the Eastern Germans they were so glad about their "liberation" that the Soviet govt had to build a wall to keep people from running away from this GLORIOUS "democratic" state. Even shot people who wanted to exercise their right to leave.

140 people in total were killed trying to cross from East to West Germany. Not 140 million. Not 140 thousand. 140, over a 30 year period. 4-5 people per year. Obama's drone strikes killed at least 3800 people, a tenth of which were civilians even under Obama's maximalist definition, over 8 years. Which historical events do people mention more when searching for evidence of brutality by governments - Obama's drone strikes, or the Berlin Wall? Thousands die in the Mediterranean Sea trying to cross it. Israel's crimes in Palestine dwarf the crimes of the Berlin Wall. Why are European governments not derided as authoritarian hellscapes like the GDR was? Why is Israel not a pariah state for their totalitarianism?

Today, 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, 57 percent, or an absolute majority, of eastern Germans defend the former East Germany. "The GDR had more good sides than bad sides. There were some problems, but life was good there," say 49 percent of those polled. Eight percent of eastern Germans flatly oppose all criticism of their former home and agree with the statement: "The GDR had, for the most part, good sides. Life there was happier and better than in reunified Germany today."

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

I know about these opinions, especially since I'm living in the East. Also I genuinely respect them. But of course there are reasons for this: The people who wouldn't voice that opinion have been long gone. Either fled before 89 or moved to Western Germany in the years after, as millions of young Eastern Germans have done. And those who stayed were most likely those living on the countryside where influence of the government was smaller and the oppression less notable. But of course the GDR was not hell on earth and some people had the chance to enjoy life every now and then.

Still... Even if not many were shot: Many more were interrogated and tortured in Stasi jail. And knowing that anyone, even your closest relatives, could be spying on you... Just because you didn't conform to the reason of state. That must've been horrible. It's not like people fled the country without reason.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

And knowing that anyone, even your closest relatives, could be spying on you... Just because you didn't conform to the reason of state. That must've been horrible.

Eagerly awaiting your essay discussing the authoritarian and orwellian treatment that communists received from the United States government.