[Maceman]

That's the way the world works...unfortunately.

What's terrible is not that Hollywood judged Kazan by his politics. I think it is appropriate to judge people by their politics, since one's politics are a conscious choice and not a genetic fact of birth.

What's terrible is that the vile politics of Hollywood's powerful elite lead them to ostracize not those who support thuggery, tyranny, murder and genocide, but those who oppose these evils.

[NutCrackerBoy]

Mark made an important point about the polite front of an ideology that led to mass murder. Then and now, folks among us, even in our families, flirt with advocacy of Communism. They are extra-good-hearted liberals who are going for the higher-octane form of liberalism. It is usually a passing fancy like a love for the philosophy of Ayn Rand. In other words, people snap out of it.

It is not polite to talk about the gulags, the mass murders, or even what happened to the Rosenbergs. Perhaps all this politeness is not such a good thing.

[liberallarry]

Disagree.

Leni Reifenstal made great movies. So did Elia Kazan.
Muhammed Ali was a sensational fighter.
Paul Robeson was a wonderful singer.
Adolph Hitler was the master of political theatre.
Both the Nazis and Soviets had world-class physicists, engineers, mathematicians.

Why can't I celebrate their talents...and judge their politics separately?
Their talents in their chosen fields are beyond dispute.
Politics always raises unanswerable questions.