Elia Kazan interview about communism, 1978

A rare clip from the Tonight show where Elia Kazan talks personally about his decision to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee.

[@avramwurf5804]

If Kazan claimed that the HUAAC had the list of names before then why did he testify?

[@appidydafoo]

Orson Welles response: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kGendGd3n7l6aK8

[@anandnair2748]

As much a 'traitor' as Dietrich Von Hildebrand was to Nazi Germany

[@chaidle]

What a dickhead shit fuck. He's just ignorant of the communism and just had a puffed breast which is heaved enough to say that shit just only for the sake of the loves from his mediocre and profane congregation of Hollywood people. Kazan was nothing but brave, Welles despite his genus in art, showed nothing but typically elder and successful artist's overprotective and people-oriented manner. That's just an awkward fucking piece of shit. Hypocrisy. Hypocrisy.

[@lf2ut]

Bravo

[@MrShakespearefan]

Welles was a pompous asshole. He calls him a traitor like Hollywood isn’t the most cutthroat ruthless place.

[@cleftturnip7774]

He's a buffoon

[@MrImiller07]

As illustrated in his autobiography, Kazan had clearly become disenchanted with the Party by the late 40s and early 50s, however, it was abundantly clear that HUAC gave him an extraordinarily difficult choice: to either name the names of other Party members or to see his film directing career, which was at its zenith, be destroyed. Many felt that his actions validated the HUAC, which had ended the careers or damaged careers, including Larry Parks, John Garfield, and Lee Grant. Kazan gave up the names of his friends, including playwright Clifford Odets, and he was allowed to continue working in Hollywood. He was a great artist and craftsman, and made some of his greatest films after his testimony, including On The Waterfront, East Of Eden and A Face In The Crowd. However, he remained a controversial figure.

[@levongevorgyan6789]

The HUAC validated itself.

[@antuanclamaran1205]

"or to see his film directing career, which was at its zenith, be destroyed" That's false. Undoubtedly it would hurt his career but it's not definite that it would have been destroyed as proven by Dalton Trumbo who kept working in the US and Jules Dassin who went on to create films in France and Greece.

[@MrBlackie999]

@@levongevorgyan6789 yea right.

[@levongevorgyan6789]

They did. There were indeed paid Soviet agents trying to spread the evil empires lies to the USA

[@stephenjones1488]

@@levongevorgyan6789 lol

[@len8744]

“Took more courage”. Yeah..ok

[@mrtriffid]

Kazan most likely testified before HUAC in order to save his own career, which was in the ascendant. When he talks about how "brave" he was to testify, he really goes too far: it's NOT brave to ruin the careers of his fellow artists and provide legitimacy to a corrupt witch-hunt!

[@marilenat.5255]

Pay a visit to a communist country and please stay there for a while and you will know how to feel about this specific event! I'm from an Eastern European country.

[@tlm19670]

Orson Welles makes a great point in an interview somewhere when he notes that Kazan could’ve easily not testified, stuck to stage directing for a few years with zero problems, then gone back to film directing. So his career wasn’t even hugely threatened, he just wanted to keep going up and up and didn’t care who got screwed in the process.

[@sadscientisthououinkyouma1867]

That is blatantly false, go watch "On The Waterfront" it is literally just a story of him coming to his senses and testifying against the commies having seen what they are. If you think Kazan did it to save his skin, you need to go read history.

[@theofilikaterina1]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2KznniGqL9qqdk

[@MrShakespearefan]

@@tlm19670Welles was an asshole. It’s easy for him to say that. I think Kazan was politically motivated in his testimony, not really supporting communism.

[@zachgates7491]

If Kazan had exposed Harvey Weinstein, he would have gotten the same response. The industry circles its wagons no matter the criticism

[@robertpolanco1973]

@zachgates7491 - Well, the issue about Weinstein is a separate issue and NOT about politics. Sure the Hollywood industry has been in such difficulty, but what Elia Kazan did in the 1950's was despicable indeed!

[@zachgates7491]

@@robertpolanco1973 why do you think Hillary Clinton posed for pictures with Weinstein? Because he was a cash cow for the DNC and she said nothing about his antics. You think there wasn’t a profitable link between the Soviets and Hollywood?

[@samgilley3160]

Hello? Based department?

[@leafyutube]

He gave up a bunch of communists. I have no problem with that.

[@carlosmejido3244]

He didn't. Most of the prosecuted people during the Witch Hunt were not communists at all

[@leafyutube]

@@carlosmejido3244 For example?

[@carlosmejido3244]

@@leafyutube Lucille Ball, Leonard Bernstein (in his case for being gay, because the HUAC not only prosecuted communists, but everyone who “betrayed the American family”), Charles Chaplin, Dolores del Río, Ingrid Bergman (in her case for cheating on her husband with Roberto Rossellini), Albert Einstein, Edward G. Robinson, Orson Welles…

[@vitogulla]

Because you don’t respect the first amendment?

[@DMalltheway]

Communism is a first amendment right, so long as it doesn’t affect others regardless of any views who cares.

[@EliteRock]

Unlike many "communists" Kazan actually *grew up* and realised how innately inhumane (inhuman) and destructive communism really was (and, unfortunately, still is).

[@Misterioso]

He mentions Nazi Germany, unfortunately he doesn't understand Hitler was fascism much like Trump is right now. Communism is not always oppression of art or personal freedom. Instead it can be working together to achieve a common goal that benefits the people. Capitalism is essentially the same as fascism which it teeters dangerously upon. Kazan seems confused what political beliefs constitute in various forms and readily eager to support the very thing he complained about, oppression of artistic freedom, through his subservience to McCarthy who was just like Hitler in oppression.

[@Misterioso]

Danny Kramer Christianity is an underground cult created from Kemet theology that originated to the Roman conquest. Jesus has never been proven to exist historically and is only an archetypical interpretation of Alexander the Great and pagan holy trinities. Catholicism, the empirical encompassing doctrine which rules all forms of government residing from the Vatican is within all major historical manifestos and is a way of life. So anecdotes of Marxist rhetoric citing Christianity is not reason to totally dismiss an ideology. Communism is not always death but at best collaboration. Is it flawed? Yes. Just like fascism and capitalism. Kazan is a hypocrite and terrible person, he slept with all of his friends wives and disclosed this in his biography. You might want to study more and gain an understanding of your fallacies and learn from your mistakes.

[@Misterioso]

Danny Kramer Furthermore, the idea that death of personal freedom is upheld totally within communism is not always the actual rule. Just like in capitalism the idea of total freedom isn't an actual reality. Still to this day in Hollywood studios films are edited and restructured for commercial purposes. The same issues Sergei Eisenstein had in the Soviet Union and Leni Riefenstahl experienced in Nazi Germany.

[@applesandgrapesfordinner4626]

@@Misterioso If I had a nickel for every time Trump is compared to an actual fascist

[@ΤάιλερΝτέρντεν-π4π]

He didn't realized shit. He just decided to rat to make a career. End of story

[@andrewvanhalen1984]

Say it with me kids: HOLLYWOOD WAS ALWAYS RED

[@robertpolanco1973]

@Andrew Van Halen - IF that is so, then why do certain right-wing movies and TV shows come from there? Like the 1984 film, "Red Dawn," along with other ANTI-Communist propaganda films as well!

[@chaidle]

​@robertpolanco1973 you are even adding more evidence to your counterpart 😅. What a nut. Do you really think that's gonna be an answer for the statement? That's 1 to 10000 case. Why don't you just go out and find out gold in the sand? You'll see one for sure and you must be really excited for that

[@Powerhaus88]

@@robertpolanco1973 Wow. You named ONE.

[@robertpolanco1973]

@@Powerhaus88 Like what did you mean by that? Really! After all, I was only giving an example in order to make a point anyway.

[@robertpolanco1973]

@@chaidle UP YOURS, YOU PATHETIC CREATURE S.O.B.!

[@michaelwalsh2498]

A beautiful soul who unmasked the Stalinist stooges in Hollyweird.

[@toy2day1]

More precicely, the trotskyist ones.

[@AN-cy7xm]

Um, yeah, most of the individuals who were his friends were members of the US Communist Party in the 30's, long before anyone understood who and what Stalin was. Many had renounced their affiliation long before the early 50's. You're entitled to your feelings, but calling them "Stalinist" is just not factual.

[@cesarzpontu8886]

@@AN-cy7xm Stalin crimes were known in 30s'.

[@PopeUrbanX]

Just because someone is a socialist doesn't mean they worship the Soviet Union and want to overthrow America and start a revolution.Lots of communists then never supported Stalin

[@cesarzpontu8886]

@@PopeUrbanX and? The belived in the same political system as Stalin. They have the same ideals.

[@CatgirlNixon]

Traitor. Took money out of his coworkers mouths. An all time monster.

[@GreenKnight1979]

Communism murdered hundreds of millions and real traitors gave the Soviet Union the bomb yet you call him a monster because some wealthy leftwing screenwriters had difficulty finding jobs? Stupid Communist.

[@MrShakespearefan]

He’s not a monster, he’s a human being, a complicated man.

[@rudolfschimera2980]

I was born in Czechoslovakia - actually in 1978 - and it´s nice to hear how Kazan was aware of what was happening in CZ or Hungary (communist gulags, secret police, colectivization of land, censorship and total propaganda - it was worst than nazis). It´s evident that people that were commies in the 1930s-1953 had to be somehow attached to USSR therefore to Stalin. Just for your amusement - the commie coups in the late 1940s in eastern Europe were promoted also by artists and intelectuals not just the workers.

[@dora1980]

I said the same thing, the communists are worse than the Nazis.

[@isaaccordon4729]

Well, a friend of mine only regarded what happened in the alleged socialist countries were just NOT based on real and true socialism. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, among some others, NEVER advocated any kind of tyranny under socialism in their writings anyway! What you said was based also on the things that were being committed by only BAD Communists! Furthermore, my friend just did not accept your comment at face value as well.

[@ADAMSIXTIES]

Everyone knew about Czech. and Hungary. It's so sick that Kazan used those as examples to justify his cooperating with the HUAC Fascist organization. He ruined the lives of fellow actors by naming names of innocent people to get himself off the hook. Here he tries to justify it; no conscience.

[@rudolfschimera2980]

@@isaaccordon4729 It is always a great pleasure to be instructed by American leftists on what is and is not right or wrong communism. I don't take into account how absurd it is that you refer to "your friend" - of course Marx called for aggressive action, and dictatorship of the proletariat is his term. Most communists weren't evil people, but they were naive fanatics and technocrats who thought the USSR would solve everything for them. Their problem was that even after exposing the crimes of communism or the dysfunctionality of those theories, they were unable to give it up. Europe has a basic social conscience and the fact that we have free health care or free education today is not due to the communists, but due to normal human attitudes and social intelligence that is sadly lacking in the US. I understand that the social situation in the US is absolutely asocial and that Americans still think that only "communists" can produce basic social services by stealing from other people and therefore it is bad. In Europe, however, these are basic and routine services, even in countries that operate fully in the free-market and have never been under the thumb of pro-Soviet communists.

[@rudolfschimera2980]

@@ADAMSIXTIES You absolutely don't understand the context I'm talking about, but that's common among Americans. The Hollywood 10 were useful idiots, naive fools, servants of the USSR and in a way traitors. Most of them were just stupid puppets and got what they deserved. What Americans and Westerners don't know is the reality of how those trials were perceived in the Soviet bloc and the positive response it had here. The Czechoslovak communists published novels and texts by Hollywood communists in the 1950s and 1960s, and people like Lester Cole routinely went on visits and tours to the USSR or Czechoslovakia - Cole even had a book, Hollywood Red, published in Czech in 1985, and the man supported the communist regime until his death. Kazan was faced with a difficult situation in his 50s and made his decision as he did - I don't care if he hurt Mr/Mrs xy - the shit was much bigger and Kazan was very aware of what was going on in Eastern Europe and elsewhere in the world, according to his accounts. People like Kazan are seen in my country as heroes who were not afraid to speak up, and I personally see his testimony in this video as sincere. I understand that Americans don't speak any languages other than American and you are unable (nor your „experts“ on Eastern Europe who often draw only from English sources) to make any critical assessment of what was going on in our country and what these people who actively and knowingly supported. They could be glad they weren't tortured or imprisoned as they were our people in pro-Stalinist camps. What the Hollywood 10 and other Reds went through was a piece of cake and they deserved it for being dumb idiots.

[@romanclay1913]

Great director, terrible person.

[@ColdHardToronto]

Love this guy

[@timmccarthy5353]

Communism isn't the issue. A snitch is a snitch - a dirty rat.

[@actualityfilms]

Wrong.

[@gman4860]

Nothing wrong with snitching on communists!

[@portland9880]

A snitch, whatever their ideology, is the lowest form of life

[@timmccarthy5353]

@@gman4860 Maybe they weren't, J. Edgar.

[@gman4860]

@@timmccarthy5353 sone were.

[@tengiz]

This man was born in Ottoman Empire and can speak Turkish with a Caesarean(modern Kayseri in Turkey) accent

[@toy2day1]

Elia Kazan was a Grerk from Cappadokia and his family spoke Greek at home. His parents knew turkish, as Cappadocia was then part of the Ottoman empire.

[@Greg-cf4mm]

Yes probably he could speak turkish but his mother tongue was the Greek language (a variety of Greek who were talking the Greeks of Cappadocia)

[@AN-qi6ye]

@@toy2day1 He also can speak Turkish

[@kejiri3593]

Respect for this Turkish or Greek guy! Also "On the Waterfront, great movie!

[@zachgates7491]

A Greek whose family witnessed the destruction of Smyrna would naturally be anti-Soviet

[@gianca60]

Never saw this. Thumbs up.

[@GentlemansCombatives]

To quote Orson Wells "Elia Kazan is a traitor"

[@MrShakespearefan]

Welles was an asshole. And Hollywood is the most cutthroat, ruthless, unsentimental place. The blacklist was awful but let’s not romanticize Hollywood, the place that celebrates rapists.

[@zachgates7491]

Welles knew very well that movie mogul Harry Cohn treated actresses much like Harvey Weinstein did. Rita Hayworth, Welles’ wife, was one of Cohn’s favorites. Why didn’t he speak up like Kazan did?

[@dionisispazartziklis5194]

A traitor is nothing but a traitor

[@zachgates7491]

Even Richard Sorge?

[@marilenat.5255]

Pay a visit to a communist country and please stay there for a while and you will know how to feel about this specific event! I'm from an Eastern European country.

[@kaykay865]

How is he a traitor? The American govt forced him These others were the traitors

[@kaykay865]

By the way.. go visit n Korea

[@robertpolanco1973]

@@marilenat.5255 Blah, blah, blah! Personally, you Eastern European emigres get too much attention for trashing a supposed system anyway!

[@motnosniv]

Good for him. Telling the truth - how about that?

[@sanford943]

The truth about what. That some of his friends were in the communist party? I doubt they were trying to over throw America. There have been plenty of books about naming names. However I would read High Noon. It is about the making of the movie and the naming of names. You can agree with what they believe all you want. But it was terrible to name names. And even if you did you still got blacklisted as did Kazan for a time. The people that did get named and testified really didn't get a chance to defend themselves. And many of them had quit the party long before the hearings. And I have no doubt that some fought in the War. Talk about a Kangaroo court.

[@cesarzpontu8886]

@@sanford943 he did nothing wrong. Communist were an obvious threat to USA.

[@sanford943]

@@cesarzpontu8886 how so. were they going to attack the country

[@cesarzpontu8886]

@@sanford943 they would build a ground for Soviet invasion

[@davidb9531]

Orson Welles called it right

[@pietrobarile7110]

I read many comments in defense of Kazan, but his behavior was unacceptable: with his denunciation he ruined the lives of many people guilty only of having political ideas that were unwelcome to the American government. And freedom of thought should be what distinguishes a democracy from a dictatorship or a totalitarian regime; unless freedom of thought is only to have the "right" thought. Orson Welles called Kazan "a traitor", it seems to me a fair definition: if I look at his films I judge him a great director, as great a director as he is small as a man.

[@chaidle]

Then what about his achievement in preventing all those commie shots which had resulted in big big big big big massacre which is 10000time than what you're fucking referring to now as a irreversible mistake by him? You hideous mean fuck.

[@chaidle]

You call whistle-blower as a traiter? Even at this point historically all the fucking shits have revealed at last?

[@MrShakespearefan]

Welles was an asshole. Calling him a traitor as if Hollywood isn’t cutthroat and ruthless. Kazan was in a damned if you do, damned if you don’t position. He obviously felt he was doing the right thing. I think it’s more complicated than you make it out to be. And I think it lets McCarthy off too easy.

[@zachgates7491]

A traitor to Stalinism?

[@pietrobarile7110]

@@zachgates7491 I repeat: a traitor to people guilty of having unwelcome political ideas, completely harmless artists who had nothing to do with stalin's terrible regime.

[@richrome9897]

Pigeon for a Pigeon! On the Waterfront

[@jansdoe6963]

Elia Kazan was a jerk, but he did make good movies. How could he snitch on his so called friends ?

[@DIY_Miracle]

Because they were shit "friends". So many HUAC members were strong armed into joining. So many times he was forced to speak in testimonies against his will. Loyalty is not worth maintaining if those you are loyal too are morally objectionable to such an extreme degree communist ideaology has proven to be. Unity isn't some beautiful easy going utopia, it's tyranny by consensus as those who may disagree may only agree and lie or be open and face persecution, this is exactly what happened to Elia and many of his comtemporaries who left the American Communist Party

[@schmuck.on.wheels]

@@DIY_Miracle So you're saying, in your mind, Communism will eventually turn into persecution of those who disagree, and that's bad, when literally that exact same thing was happening TO Communists under McCarthy and you don't have a problem with it?

[@utkarshpandey6424]

@@schmuck.on.wheels why not Give them their treatment.

[@brian0057]

@@schmuck.on.wheels I mean, McCarthy did nothing wrong. And he was proven right when the Soviet Union fell. Also, the Hollywood blacklist had fuck all to do with McCarthy.

[@StoneMasonComix]

@@brian0057 Roy Brewer did nothing wrong either.

[@KenShawsanfrancisco]

Brave man.

[@Misterioso]

Ken Shaw He's a coward rat.

[@kejiri3593]

@@Misterioso Commies would do same thing if you had influence. They hate anything they see right wing. So good luck trying to get movie career. So this is just revenge of what was coming. Commies are by default coward. This is a taste of what they wanted

[@gavinmillar816]

He was a traitor and a coward

[@isaaccordon4729]

@@kejiri3593 That is so STUPID and even FOOLISH to believe coming from pathetic creatures like yourself! What you said is based on pure right-wing lunacy, jackass!

[@marilenat.5255]

​@@gavinmillar816Pay a visit to a communist country and please stay there for a while and you will know how to feel about this specific event! I'm from an Eastern European country.

[@ronturner3598]

What a weakling.

[@fotistube4467]

Needs courage to be a traitor I'm ashamed of his Greek descent

[@ΒΑΓΓΕΛΗΣΚΑΖΑΚΗΣ]

Right but those words are consider most for the communists and especially in Greek Kommunist party who wants to betraied Macedonia.

[@levongevorgyan6789]

A hero, not a traitor. He stomped on the despotic snakes of Hollywood. A true American Patriot and Hero.

[@toy2day1]

No, defending your country from communism is actually a heroic act.

[@mskidi]

Whilst the rest of Europe was rebounding from WW2, the Greeks had to suffer another 5 years of destruction due to communists. We are all proud of great compatriot Elia Kazan. Communism is like cancer and has to be dealt with upon discovery.

[@ΤάιλερΝτέρντεν-π4π]

@@ΒΑΓΓΕΛΗΣΚΑΖΑΚΗΣ αρχισατε και εδω να λετε τα δικα σας;

[@Susieq26754]

Good for him!

[@Mauro_B._Vieira.]

Those were Mcartism times.

[@theofilikaterina1]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2KznniGqL9qqdk

[@Selzor]

McCarthy literally never held a single inquiry into communists in Hollywood.

[@americanbolshevik2053]

Traitor

[@thecat8513]

meanwhile his grand daughters are far left woke actresses. they didnt inherit his intelligence.

[@robertpolanco1973]

@The Cat - WHAT A PATHETIC COMMENT YOU MADE! It's no wonder that right-wing nutjobs like you are soulless and cruel!

[@TheMagnusCondor]

Many good traits have been lost nowadays in society

[@DMalltheway]

At least they don’t destroy others careers over someone’s freedom to think whatever they want

[@zachgates7491]

Maybe Kazan’s daughters learned to conform from his example

[@Alektoum]

How

[@anthonydileonardo8156]

I still don't know how I feel about what he did.....

[@marilenat.5255]

Pay a visit to a communist country and please stay there for a while and you will know how to feel about this specific event! I'm from an Eastern European country.

[@pietrobarile7110]

​@@marilenat.5255The people whose lives Kazan ruined weren't the bloodthirsty dictators of Eastern Europe, they were just ordinary people, artists moreover, guilty only of having political ideas they didn't like. Freedom of thought is a beautiful thing, I really understood it just by visiting a country in Eastern Europe: but for this very reason from a country where freedom of thought is sacred one should expect 100% protection, not partial, save for some unwelcome ideas. Because in this case where is the difference with the dictatorship?

[@sadscientisthououinkyouma1867]

Go read the history, when you look at the massive list of USSR spies we have confirmed or things like the CPUSA being a USSR front group (the CPUSA itself funding many hollywood unions, thus making them front groups as well) you come to find that Kazan did the right thing. Ultimately though it is unfortunate that for all the talks of the "tyrannical" HUAC it did very little to combat the problem, as there were numerous government influences preventing it. Which shouldn't be surprising given the Lee List exposed over 50 confirmed communist inside of the State Department ALONE. You might be able to argue that Kazan shouldn't have testified as it caused unnecessary harm and did little good due to the ineffectiveness of the HUAC, but I would say my response is hindsight is 2020 and those who were harmed were already harming others so I would say as such it was a good thing. For instance when you look into Albert Maltz and read "What shall we ask of writers" realize that after writing that he was shunned by his party (the communist party) and forced to make a retraction both in print and at many major Hollywood events. Communist even those without connections to the USSR, were at the time attempting to take over the film industry with underhanded tactics such as that.

[@sadscientisthououinkyouma1867]

​@@pietrobarile7110 The difference is one of foreign influence. Many of those accused could be linked to the USSR or a USSR front group (Like the CPUSA).

[@pietrobarile7110]

@@sadscientisthououinkyouma1867 "Could be" also means they couldn't, and in fact many had nothing to do with it. McCarthyism was, in short, a huge witch hunt, a collective phobia that ruined the careers and lives of many innocent people. Kazan gave his contribution in this squalid affair, which is why when he was awarded with the honorary award he was booed by some of his colleagues.

[@justhuy7960]

I don't care about communism, heck I grew up in communist country and still dislike it, but it's about the action of him that made people hate him, he gave up his friend, some were innocent and even lost their careers, and when there was someone like John Garfield, the image of Kazan just getting worse and worse

[@Quaquadaqu]

None of them were innocent

[@robertpolanco1973]

@@Quaquadaqu Well, some people would rather DISAGREE with you on your pathetic assumption on the alleged "guilt" of the people who were innocent of having political beliefs that were controversial at the time.

[@rfgator22]

Rat.

[@zachgates7491]

Kazan must have read Robert Conquest

[@robertpolanco1973]

@zachgates7491 - Robert Conquest SUCKS big time and I would NEVER read any of his right-wing lunatic books anyway!

[@zachgates7491]

@@robertpolanco1973 clearly a fan of J. Arch Getty who denies that Stalin committed large scale atrocities. Minimizing Hitler’s victims is also attracting supporters these days.

[@robertpolanco1973]

@@zachgates7491 Like what the heck were you trying to imply here? To be fair, only Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot had given socialism or Communism a BAD NAME and for failing to following what was stated in the writings of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, and Vladimir Lenin as well! So typical of right-wing reactionaries like yourself for attempting to generalize all Communists for "being evil" in the end! Please!

[@robertpolanco1973]

@@zachgates7491 You know what, I don't know about someone named Getty, but you are just a pathetic reactionary fool and you can go screw yourself, you numbnut child!

[@goranadamson906]

Likely!

[@NATIVEMANHATTANITE]

Good man!

[@juanchomalvavisco2351]

Tine is giving you the reason Kazan, you did nothing wrong.

[@cannedpineapples9848]

ofc its the guy with the woody allen pfp

[@Brianbeesandbikes]

u$a has feared marxism and every nation and group that shows interest in any critique of private elites controlling govt and economies. That's why u$a's banks and industrialists aided Hitler. It nearly came to a public hearing by congress. u$a's govt abuses of indigenous and Black ppl were key models and inspiration for Hitler which he wrote of in Mein Kampf.

[@asr7480]

@@cannedpineapples9848 fuck em communist

[@robertpolanco1973]

Personally, I think that Elia Kazan was a total jerk. He sold out his friends in the name of a horrible crusade against Communism. I wished that Kazan had been assassinated so that he would have gotten what he deserved. I also blame the politicians that created the House Un-American Activities Committee for 30 years in creating an unhealthy atmosphere of fear, and even perhaps, terror, in this country.

[@carlosjones8712]

Communism is indisputable the most evil force in human history, killing over a hundred million and enslaving and impoverishing over a billion, which was entirely avoidable. If more stood up to communism as Elia did, the 20th century would have been a much better period.

[@robertpolanco1973]

Personally, I think Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot gave Communism a BAD NAME. If there were better Communist leaders, then Communism would have been run on a better direction instead of being the so-called "evil force" in human history. I also think that the reality of Communism has been exaggerated.

[@bbbbc123]

+Robert Polanco I'm sure the 100 million plus killed and billion plus enslaved under communism will take great comfort from your continued faith in the system, preferring to scapegoat a few bad apples.

[@robertpolanco1973]

"Scapegoat a few bad apples"? What do you mean by scapegoating? There is NO scapegoating just singling out those who took the path of Communism in the wrong direction. I also think that Karl Marx would NOT have approved of the likes of Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot if he were alive in the early 20th Century. After all, Communism was only a totally misunderstood philosophy. I also will NOT accept the "fact" that Communism was evil.

[@bbbbc123]

+Robert Polanco surely the fact that all attempts at establishing a country based communist principles created a genocidal totalitarian state should tell you this is not a deviant or rogue consequence of rulers "evilness" but rather somethings that flows from communism itself. As a thought experiment consider if China adopted the political and economic system of Taiwan after ww2 as opposed to it being based on Maoist principles. Consider how many life chances were lost, unnecessary death and brutality and starvation inflicted it's truly staggering. And quite frankly I find people such as your good self apologising for and promoting this system when we know what we do morally reprehensible.

[@josephdugan4797]

Great man. Don't let any stalinist toady tell you otherwise.

[@patriotsman6511]

Rat 🐀