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Joined 4 years ago
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Cake day: July 24th, 2020

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  • This is telling, esp the comments.

    There are two strains at work here.

    The Exclusionary: ‘If it’s not pure enough, get rid of it/them!’

    And the inclusive: ‘Sure, not all perfect. This and This are bad, but this other part is great! We should do that part, and not the bad parts.’

    This shows up in things like Lincoln, and modern Russia.

    “Sure, lincoln owned slaves and was racist. So was damn near everyone. But he was progresssive for his time, improved the lives of the working class, and did these good things. So we should uphold him as generally one of the good bits of our history.”

    "Sure, Russia is capitalist now. But they are a strong anti-imperialist force, and worth supporting for all the good they do, even if they are not communists.’

    vs:

    “Lincoln owned slaves. He was a racist white guy. Fuck him.”

    “Russia is capitalist, imperialist, not communist. Fuck them.”

    One of these two approaches builds, one tears down. You can guess which will win.