I worked in NYC for a fair while. There was a Communist book store right near the office - flags, posters of Che, books on why George Bush was the Anti-Christ, and other foolishness. I didn't pay it much attention.
One of my co-workers did, however, and flipped. Really mild-mannered guy, so it was totally unexpected. Things got loud, and violent. Buddy of mine and I each grabbed an arm and hauled him out of the store before he got arrested. Got him into a coffee shop, and got him calmed down some. His English deteriorated when he got wound up, so I didn't get the whole story, but approximately, it was this -
I'd always thought he was Thai, but he was Cambodian. His father was a doctor, so he was killed almost immediately, his older brother as well. He and his mother were smuggled out in a cargo container, and he travelled in it from Singapore to London. He had no idea where the rest of his family was, or if they were alive - this was as of 15-20 years ago, so I hope that's changed. I heard in idle office gossip that he was working to try and find out some info awhile back, but I've no idea how it turned out.
It was eye-opening to be sure. You always say, "Communist SOB's" or somesuch ... but to talk to someone who actually lived through it was an experience that these liberal fools should have.
That’s exactly the kind of person whose story should be heard. It puts and name and a face on the statistics.
I grew up during the Cold War and remember the stories of Cardinal Mindszenty, Richard Wurmbrand, the Radio Free Europe TV ad that showed a young boy with chains around his head. I was in high school when I became familiar with Solzhenitsyn, and a whole new world opened up to me. Then while in college, I did an internship involving refugee resettlement. That’s how I came to know people from Cuba (Mariel Boatlift), Vietnam, and Cambodia. I converted to the Orthodox Church in my late twenties and got to know people from all over the old Soviet Bloc, including people whose fathers had served in the White Army during the Russian Civil War. My wife is of Serbian ancestry and her father had fought with the Chetniks in WW2. His side lost, and he was never able to return to Yugoslavia.
Anyone who embraces communism now must live in some kind of moral, intellectual, and spiritual void. There is no difference between someone who calls for “full communism” and and someone who calls for “full naziism,” and both deserve a severe and literal asskicking.
I have always respected the opinions of those who have actually lived under tyranny.
We haven’t in our lifetimes, here in the USA.