K-Haderach In reply to Goliath-Maps [2014-03-12 04:30:23 +0000 UTC]

I actually have another map that I made several months ago, but I haven't uploaded it yet because I also want to write a long description for it, and I haven't had the time for that.

But your point is well made! I need to get to writing that description - and making more maps!

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K-Haderach In reply to BricksandStones [2013-10-09 01:40:01 +0000 UTC]

Thank you for the diplomatic tone of your message. I added you to my watch because I'm a fan of Byzantine history, and you have great pictures of Byzantine monuments. I see that you are from Poland. I am originally from Romania. I am also a communist (of the anti-Stalinist kind), and I use the hammer and sickle as my avatar for two reasons: (1) because it is the universal communist symbol, not limited to Soviet communism, and (2) as a protest against the double standards that people have regarding the Soviet Union. This requires a rather long explanation, so please allow me to explain:

The British Empire was also responsible for the deaths of millions, particularly in Africa and India, and for the imprisonment, resettlement and oppression of countless small nations in the lands they conquered. But no one is offended by the British flag. The United States of America committed genocide against the Native Americans, kept tens of millions of slaves long after slavery had been abolished by the other European powers, used nuclear weapons on civilian populations, and started several wars of aggression in the 20th century. But no one is offended by the American flag. Going further back into history, all ancient and medieval empires were responsible for atrocities - Julius Caesar bragged about killing a million Gauls, the Crusaders slaughtered everyone in Jerusalem, and Genghis Khan may have killed more people than the Nazis (using nothing more advanced than swords and arrows!) - but no one is offended by the symbols of those entities. In fact, today, we often celebrate their cultures.

So why the double standard regarding Soviet communist symbols? If you can fly the British flag without supporting imperialism, or fly the American flag without supporting slavery and nuclear bombings, why can't you use the hammer and sickle without supporting Stalinism and the Gulag?

Clearly, the people who use the symbols of Britain or the USA (or ancient Rome for that matter) are thinking of the positive achievements of those entities, or the ideals for which they stand - not the massacres they carried out. Likewise, I use the hammer and sickle to represent communist ideals, and the positive achievements of the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact countries (such as full employment, equality of wealth and income, the abolition of profits, huge progress in the promotion of gender equality and education - particularly in Central Asia - the advancement of space exploration, the defeat of fascism, and so on).

Was the Soviet regime, particularly under Stalin, also responsible for horrible atrocities? Yes, and that should be condemned. But the bad does not erase the good. I look forward to the day when displaying Soviet symbols is as uncontroversial as displaying symbols of Rome, Byzantium, Persia, Napoleonic France, Britain or the USA. The Soviet Union's dark side was not any darker than any of those.

Of course, if that "dark side" affected your family and friends, then I probably won't be able to persuade you by pointing out that the British or the Americans or the Romans did equally bad things to other people in other places. But it is true.

Now, if you still wish me to remove you from my watch, I will do that (although I will still check your profile from time to time, since I love historical sites and your pictures are amazing). But I hope you at least understand my choice of avatar better.

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BricksandStones In reply to K-Haderach [2014-03-14 20:45:34 +0000 UTC]

Thank you for your response, I recently noticed your comment under the poster related to the Russian intervention (to me this is in fact an invasion) on the Crimea and I remembered that I never answered your comment - I am sorry for the delay but if you do not mind I would be happy to answer now. I think many of the points you make are valid points and things that people should take into consideration. I think the main disagreement between us is the degree of communist atrocities. The same argument you make can be said about Hitler's Germany as it also reduced unemployment, collaborated with famous thinkers like Heidegger and reduced poverty in Germany - yet no one SANE would argue that this can balance the atrocities for which Fascism is responsible. This is the same with Communism. Not only under Stalin but all Soviet influenced communist countries were totalitarian regimes killing their own citizens, North Korea, Red Khmers, Cuba, Communist Guerrilla in Columbia and other South American Countries, China with Tiananmen massacre and Tibet (I admit it get better in China but it is still a long way to go, people are still persecuted there for example for their religion) . It so happens that my wife's partner is from Columbia and members of his family were killed by Communist armed groups. Whenever it takes power, Communism becomes murderous regime. I do not mean socialism in democratic countries - that is just a perfectly valid political option but I mean communist governments. Just compare the freedom in modern Estonia or Lithuania with that of Belarus/ There is no freedom of press in Communist countries. Many of the advantages you mention  are simply not true, 'equality of wealth and income'? Where? In North Korea? Soviet Russia? Cuba? In those countries only members of the oppressive regime are privileged. Huge progress in the promotion of gender equality and education? How? Where? In North Korea women are not allowed to wear trousers and in general I do not understand how you can have 'EQUALITY' in countries with censorship and work camps. Yes people might feel pretty equal when they can all get death sentence for reading foreign newspapers or wanting democracy but I am not sure if this is the type of equality we want. Education? Seriously the Soviet Universities invented HOMO SOVIETICUS and argued that it is a better kind of human. I am an archaeologist and I can tell you that all archaeological reports that I have read from the Soviet period are worthless because they are full of propaganda. For example I remember reading an article arguing that Tallin, the capital of Estonia, was founded by Russians in the 11th C. even though it was founded by Denmark and it is a well known fact. How can you have education when there is no discussion because everyone with opposite views is sent to prison or killed? You mean that poor people were taught how to read? Well ok, but this happened in democracies as well - its a natural process.... Defeat of fascism, that is true but you must be aware that before Hitler attacked Russia Stalin was one of the strongest allies of Hitler. Anyway, this is getting longish and I doubt that I will be able to convince you - to sum up I think that many of the communist ideas may be noble, but the symbol of hammer and sickle is an offense to these ideas because if you really believe in equality (Gender equality, economic equality or any other form of equality) you should be offended by Soviets as those who violated these ideals. Does that really not sound convincing to you?

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BricksandStones In reply to BricksandStones [2014-03-14 21:58:04 +0000 UTC]

My sister's partner, not my wife's - Jesus what a bad mistake to make - sorry!

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K-Haderach In reply to CaptainVoda [2012-10-30 10:02:11 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, I saw that after I made the comment... but thank you for pointing it out!

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K-Haderach In reply to soartsy [2012-01-27 04:39:31 +0000 UTC]

You are most welcome! I love Soviet posters.

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K-Haderach In reply to Hillfighter [2011-05-22 08:14:03 +0000 UTC]

You earned them!

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