Kad is saying that communism and socialism (btw, very different and in fact, still prevalent Western World and no, not in the US) in the concepts of Marx and Engels are not the ones with bloods on their hands but despots, dictators, and power-hungry people. For you bringing up Cuba or the USSR, how about Pinochet-led Chile, Somoza-led Nicaragua (personal anecdote, my father was in West Point at the same time the son in-waiting Somoza was pre-Sandinistas and at one point tutored him because his English was not up to standard), military junta-led Greece, or apartheid-led South Africa? Different ideologies afoot but their records are equally deplorable, yet very much supported by the West.
The US and UK wanted other nations to follow their influence they were so hung-up on ideology that all anti-communism forces were fair choices, human rights records not really considered. It is one thing to feel that Pinochet kept capitalism in-line in Chile but how about considering the man ordered the torture of Chilean citizens, of which included the future democratically-elected President of Chile? Thatcher was not just an ally of Pinochet but a close friend and guess where Pinochet was before he got extradited? The UK.
And using Reagan supporting South Africa's apartheid does not mean the US as a nation did. Many people who were young or many who were older and worked in the civil rights movement were most definitely not supporting apartheid. However, Reagan refused to be on the right side of history in his powerful position and thought more about $$$ signs than equality.
Updated On: 4/9/13 at 12:43 PM
