25th January, 2002
Communism != Fascism (Or, D Rants About
Friday, 10:16 am in The Soapbox
I am a good daughter, and it seems to me that all good daughters feel a great deal of resignation. What would it be like to be American? My country may not be communists, but choices sometimes can be limited for a daughter. If I were American, I would have been more free to choose my own fate.
Quoted From: "Yuki Eiri's Bride"
The fact that I can’t spell ‘fascism’ aside, is it just me or is this snippet – written by (I assume) an American as a first-person narration of a Japanese girl’s thoughts (Ayaka from , for those of you who must know) – vaguely offensive? Hey kids, before you go making grandiose statements; look things up! Communism, a system of government stemming from Socialism, is – in it’s ‘ideal’ (if not ‘practical’) form – perhaps even concerned with equality than democracy is. Just because something’s the type of government chosen in the States doesn’t make it immediately morally superior to everyone else’s government. The Cold war was just stupidity; Communism is not bad (and this is coming from someone whose family lost everything to Stalin, but I bear no grudges; you can’t blame a system for the faults of its leader).
I could, of course, go on and on about this for hours (have been known to, in fact) but for the fact that I feel no pressing need to get flamed by a whole bunch of American fanatics in all their flag-waving-red-white-and-blue glory. This war… gods. I dunno, it was like an episode of I saw a few weeks ago. It was so frustratingly subversive, like the makers were thinking “Hey, maybe we should really tell people… Nah.”
But… anyway. I should really stop now before I hurt myself.
- Comments By » Joriel
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Yes, I AM an American. And I do understand what the ideal of communism means, and most of my readers also understand that comparison was meant based on the actual practices of communism, where things didn’t go very well, not on the perfect working order of communism.
I also understand that if you had something to say about it, my e-mail is everywhere that story is, and you could have informed me that you used an excerpt of my work, and had the courtesy to complain directly to my face.
I’m not writing you because I’m american or I don’t like communism or feel any bizzarre need to defend my country, it is what it is, and I think if it every truly worked without human greed and perversion communism would be a great governmental system, but I do find it completely rude that you feel free to imply that I’m ignorant or subversive without the common decency to discuss it with me. That is what I find even more disturbingly subversive, you’re problem with this issue was from my use, yet you don’t discuss it with me. You use me as an example of your point, but never once spoke to me or tried to find out what my thoughts/knowledge on the subject were. You’re making a lot of assumptions about me, after getting offended that I made them about communism. You have no idea what i know or think about communism in it’s ideal form, as opposed to it’s practiced form.
You are what you complain I am, subversive and assumptive.
Joriel
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Jeezus… I wrote this over two years ago and you’re only giving me crap about it now.
Actually, I’m wrong here; now embarrassingly so. About Communism and what it actually is and where it comes from (sort of). Your statement is still ignorantly offensive, though I now read it as more to do with cultural ignorance/superiority about Japan and the US (Lost in Translation style) than anything actually about Communism (which is simply used, badly, to illustrate this). My point is rethought, two years after the fact. We live and learn.
Oh, I never said you were subversive (I said South Park was almost subversive). And you’re right, you’re not assumptive, either. You’re just historically incorrect. So are your so-called ‘readers’, and so was the 18-year-old me who wrote this (though in a different way, but the sentiment still stands).
I find it somewhat amusing that you’re getting so upset over this now… nevermind how you found this in the first place. Think of it as free advertising for your fic. As to why I didn’t message you personally… God. Why would I bother? I don’t write into the newspaper every time I have a problem with its editorials, and nothing I can ever say is going to convince you of anything (and conversley, nothing you can ever say is going to convince me of anything either).
Oh, and I never pretended to be a saint. And certainly never not a hypocrite. Try a different tack and maybe I will feel even mildly insulted.
Leyawn.
[b]edit :
/b] I actually find it somewhat amusing that you seem to have posted about this as a friend’s only post in your LiveJournal. After chewing me out about being secretive and not confronting you face to face, that’s pretty goddamn funny.<div class=”small”>Edited 17 Mar 04 @ 12:32 am by <a href=”profile.php?userID=1”>loqia</a>.</div>
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As to why I responded now, today is when I saw it. And I always get offended when people talk about me, never having spoken TO Me. And I wrote to you FIRST, before posting anything anywhere, and the reason I friends only set it simple, I wanted to know if I was overreacting, and if so, I was going to drop it and not post about it ever again.
I had already confronted you directly. Of course, you’re perfectly free to laugh about my journal, but there it is. And had you opened dialogue with me about this, I woudlnt’ have cared what you wrote here, ever, even after talking me. Because, as you pointed out in the original post, if you do your research, you have a right to say whatever you please. But you didn’t do any research on me, on what i was thinking, and you are still jumping to the incorrect conclusion.
The statement that started this was a slight on the whole arranged mentality culture, and a put down of cultures that still allow for this, and that was the whole moral behind the fic, sacrifice and obligagion, so there is no cultural superiority of any sort. Each culture has wondrous and terrible points, mine, communistic based, theocratic based, no mattter how wonderful, there are bad points, no matter how awful, there are beautiful things in it.
As far as the statement, the one single thing I have heard from everyone who ever lived in China or Russia is about the lack of choice. Since they lived there, I believed, and still do, that they know what they are talking about. That is where the statement came from. Hopefully this settles it. And I defreinded the post and made it open to any who happen across my journal, since it upset you that I was trying to find out from my friends if I overreacted without causing any potentially wide spread embarassment to you. I apologize for offending you by caring about that. So now we’re clear.
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I’m not offended, or embarrassed and I honestly don’t care what you write about me in your little secret friends-only posts (or not), or what your little friends say about it. They’re your friends, so they’re all going to be like, “Ooh, aah, of course you’re right and oooh, isn’t she nasty blah blah blah.” And if I could really care enough about this to post about it in my journal, I’d get a mirrored reaction.
And it still means absolutley jack shit.
China and Russia aren’t Japan, in case you hadn’t noticed. They’re very close geographically, yes, but they aren’t the same.
There’s nothing I can say or do with can make you see exactly how arrogant this statement sounds. The incorrect use (and capitalisation) of Communism rankles too, but not nearly so much as the sentiment.
Why bother with this circular argument? You’re just going to be all indignant and hauty. I’m just going to laugh and point and use big words. No-one’s going to change anyone’s mind. Why does my opinion matter so goddamn much to you? I’m really not all that great, but thanks for thinking so, I suppose…
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You ask me why I bother with the circular argument, so I’ll tell you. Writing untruths about me causes me harm, quite simply. If even one person reads this and believes this is me, when it’s not, it diminishes me. It’s a small esoteric way, I understand that. But I also understand that silence is implied consent. And I do not consent to this or any untruths about me. People can write whatever unpleasant things they want that I have actually done or stated explicitly that I believe in, but you are completely off base about me. So I speak up for myself. I’m not out to win, or even change your mind, but I do simply have the right to correct gross misstatements about myself. And this isn’t about you at all, I argue the points simply because it is never okay to give implied consent with silence because you don’t think you can ‘win’. Just writing the truth is enough.
Now you say the statement is arrogant, and you assigned me the motive of cultural superiority in an earilier post. Is it not arrogant to assume that I believe I am culturally superior? You have no idea what my thoughts on my own culture are, you never asked, and I haven’t offered them.
The use of the word communism in this piece was releveant. Those I met and discussed what life was like there under practicing communist governments, like China and Russia(Which I did not at all confuse with Japan, but those are the countries that are run by communist-based governments that I have personal experience and discusssion with people from, and have done the research on you called for me to do in your original post) have all stressed the lack of choices. Ayaka in this story is facing a severe lack of personal choice, and makes an anology in her mind. I also researched what would have been expected of a daughter in her position in her culture. It was not a blanket statement on my views on the governmental process, but the anology works for the situation.
Furthermore, it was a piece of fiction to begin with. The fact that you took one line from a piece of fiction and wrote that I didn’t understand the idea and practice of communism from a single sentence, and no further mention, was kind odd to me in the first place. Then when I objected, you assigned me the motive of cultural superiority. But you have no idea what my personal cultural knowledge or views are, and then you say I sound very arrogant. Why is it not arrogant of you to decide what is in my head from a piece of fiction? You didn’t even choose an exposition or factual essay I wrote on a topic in depth which would offer a reader a detailed look into my thought processes on a topic.
Now you have diminished my friends. They would not write “Ooh, aah, of course you’re right and oooh, isn’t she nasty blah blah blah.” My friends tell me flat out when I’m being stupid, when I’m misreading things, and when I’m off the deep end. My husband is particularly good at going for the truth as opposed to what I want to hear. Sucks sometimes, but it’s good for me. I know you didn’t mean harm by that statement, but there is some there. You also say ‘And if I could really care enough about this to post about it in my journal, I’d get a mirrored reaction.’. I think that perhaps that is a rash statement that I am reading out of context, but if that is honestly true and you don’t have friends who will say when you go too far, I extend an invitation of friendship to you. Everyone should have friends who will drop the ego boost and speak honestly. I think you must have these people, and I’m wrong to take that statement as serious, but I believe in this so I will make the offer anyway.
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I’ve just spent six hours arguing about cultural imperialism, Marxism and Communism with people more knowledgable about it than both you and I combined, and really have no impetus to justify myself further to you. I found your statement – and the midset that created it – offensive. That’s all, really. Sorry my opinion matters so much to you.
Though I am curious as to what you actually want from this continued tiresome hassling? For me to fall upon my knees and cry out oh how wrong I am and how I now see the light thanks to ye, oh mighty saviour? For me to reaffirm your sense of self by saying that, gosh gee, you really are a smartie and such a nice person and please be my friend? Something else? Because I really would like to know how you think this is going to end…
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Nope, I’m done now that I pointed out that you honestly don’t know the mindset that created my statement. You don’t know how I think or feel, and that I just wanted you to know that it wasn’t okay to say that you did(which you did by assigning me motivations that you don’t know for fact that I have). But I don’t complain and then run away, I’m always willing to discuss what annoys me, I don’t put out something into the ozone then ignore it. And you never seem to be getting my point, you keep going back to cultural imperialism from one analogy in a work of fiction, that has nothing to do with what I think of my culture, other cultures, or anything. That’s the only thing I think you are wrong about. But your’e still claiming the mindset that created my statement offensive, and I see I am not going to get through to you simply that you don’t knoy <i>my</i> mindset. So I’ll just agree that we won’t agree on this, and I’m done with it. But I do ask you not to analyze me again without communicating directly to me to find out what is in my head before you write out what you think is in there or motivates me to create a single sentence in a work of fiction again.