Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.
--C.S. Lewis--

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Apparently We Have Yet Another Code Word

First we learned that "community organizer" is a euphemism for black. Here I thought it was a euphemism for pinko rabblerouser... Anyway, now apparently "socialist" is off limits. The reason, "J. Edgar Hoover, director of the FBI from 1924 to 1972, used the term liberally to describe African Americans who spent their lives fighting for equality." The African Americans in question? W.E.B. DuBois, Dr. King, Paul Robeson, and A. Phillip Randolph.

Do you think it would ruin their fun if someone pointed out the fact that W.E.B. DuBois HIMSELF STATED, "In 1911, I joined the Socialist Party." (From McKinley To Wallace: My 50 Years As An Independent) Or for example, that he ran for Senate on the American Labor Party ticket (it was a radical party initially formed by socialists), received the Lenin Peace Prize, and towards the end of his life joined the Communist party? Calling him a socialist was only inappropriate in that it was such a vast understatement.

What about the fact that A. Phillip Randolph openly joined the Socialist party at age 21? Or that Paul Robeson allegedly told a reporter for the Daily Worker when asked about Stalin's purges, “from what I have already seen of the workings of the Soviet Government, I can only say that anybody who lifts his hand against it ought to be shot!” He was also a secret member of the Communist Party and wrote a eulogy entitled, "To You Beloved Comrade" for Stalin after his death.

So here's my question. What is it code for when one accurately describes Lenin, Stalin, Malenkov, Krushchev, and Brezhnev as socialists?