Communism and Islamism, Holding Hands

[The Fool]

And the glove Watson? What are we to make of the singular occurence of the black glove?

we should be on the lookout for anyone wearing the other one....OMG! Michael Jackson is in on this!!!

 

[richardm]

You are kidding right? You mean I'm wrong to infer the man in the picture is a Communist? Che thingy? Red beret?

Be careful about making assumptions.

The man in the picture is a supporter of Hugo Chavez, correct? [

Chavez's trademark while campaigning for the presidency was the red beret that he wore as a paratrooper; he swapped it for a red tie when he was sworn in. His supporters still wear red berets to show their affiliation, and it has nothing to do with communism.

bin Laden fought the communists for years, so it seems unlikely that he's a communist sympathiser.

That leaves Che Guevara, who is a pretty universal symbol of revolution; you don't have to be a communist to have his picture on the wall.

So yes, I think you're wrong to infer that the man's a communist, there isn't enough evidence. It seems much more likely that he's simply anti-US, and is using two potent anti-US symbols to show it. And just because you're anti-US doesn't make you a communist either.

 

[Hutch]

....The Communists at Che-lives sure know how to make a buck.

Which would make them...Capitalists?

 

[Ziggurat]

Okay, I've tolerated "Islamist" (Muslim, anyone?), but what the ◊◊◊◊ is "Islamism"? Perhaps you mean "Islam"?

"Islamism" is a political ideology that seaks to spread an extremist brand of Islam as a form of political control, along the lines of what the Taliban did in Afghanistan. The desire to spread political control is absolutely central to Islamism, and what separates them from mere fundamentalists or traditionalists. It is therefore distinct from "Islam", which is only a religion. Different words for different concepts, just as "Islamist" is not a synonym for "Muslim" (Islamist is to Islamism what Muslim is to Islam). So no, Capitalist didn't mean "Islam".

 

[Wudang]

I think it's fabulous! Such a bold fashion statement! Communism and Islam? Why not? If you want to be revolutionary then clash, darling! Of course, the kalashnikov is totally iconic, but let's face it, it's been done. Wearing it would have been a cliche.

 

[Ziggurat]

So yes, I think you're wrong to infer that the man's a communist, there isn't enough evidence. It seems much more likely that he's simply anti-US, and is using two potent anti-US symbols to show it. And just because you're anti-US doesn't make you a communist either.

He may indeed not be a communist. But he's certainly a looney leftist. He evidently believes in the two central tennets of far leftist ideology, namely the glorification of revolution (communist, Islamist, doesn't matter as long as it's not pro-American democracy) and the cult of victimhood (the idea that misery and poverty imparts moral supremacy, even if it's self-inflicted). These beliefs underpinned both communist revolutionaries and Islamists (despite being nominal enemies), and unfortunately they have not died their overdue deaths when communism itself fell from grace.

Oh, and while Chavez may not be explicitly communist, he might as well be - he's doing everything I'd expect from a communist dictator.

 

[RussDill]

In that whole post, THAT'S what you find offensive?

what, like its supposed to be some surprise that you can find some guy who likes two radicals at the same time? And this is somehow evidence that the religion of islam and communism has merged.

Capitalist, get a life.

 

[RussDill]

Yet, oddly enough, they were in alliance with the Soviet Union against America until 1979. (And then, they continued to cooperate when it suited them.) Odd isn't it.

Yes, that whole afganistan thing. The soviets and the muslims banded together and fought hard to kick us out of that country

 

[RussDill]

I suspect teletubby involvement too...

Haven't you heard? Spongebob is the new "gay".

 

[RussDill]

Jocko;

I got the photo from Yahoo! News Photos, and it is under the byline of the AP. The link is here:

Don't forget the more important muslim link with sesame street and the clearly homosexual bert and ernie characters:

http://www.bertisevil.tv/img/osamabinladen/bertandbin.htm

I think its time we ban sesame street, and also we ban anyone praticing islam, oh, and the gays, and the poor people, we can send them all to some kind of collection place.

 

[richardm]

Oh, and while Chavez may not be explicitly communist, he might as well be - he's doing everything I'd expect from a communist dictator.

Like what? Or are you using "communist" to mean "mad"?

 

[Capitalist]

what, like its supposed to be some surprise that you can find some guy who likes two radicals at the same time? And this is somehow evidence that the religion of islam and communism has merged.

Capitalist, get a life.

The photo shows, that in the mind of America-haters, any anti-American will do.

And; at which point have I said that Islam and Communism have merged? RussDill, get a mind.

 

[Capitalist]

Like what? Or are you using "communist" to mean "mad"?

Like stealing, er, "nationalizing" land, like making it a crime to criticize "government leaders" (mostly himself.) Like calling his movement the "Bolivarian Revolution", like forming "Bolivarian Committees", similar to the "Committees for the Defense of the Revolution" in Cuba, to spy on the population and beat up the oppossition....

 

[RussDill]

The photo shows, that in the mind of America-haters, any anti-American will do.

You have a picture of some old guy in an alley with a t-shirt and a sign. I don't see how that can that be representative of anything besides his individual views?

And; at which point have I said that Islam and Communism have merged? RussDill, get a mind.

"Communism and Islamism, Holding Hands"

 

[TriangleMan]

I quick Google finds all sorts of picutres of Che playing chess - as well as other photos of high-ranking communists playing this game. And now organizations are busy spreading chess around the US! Don't they know that Communism and Chessism are holding hands!

 

[Capitalist]

You have a picture of some old guy in an alley with a t-shirt and a sign. I don't see how that can that be representative of anything besides his individual views?



"Communism and Islamism, Holding Hands"

So, in your "mind" 'holding hands' implies merging?

 

[RussDill]

So, in your "mind" 'holding hands' implies merging?

If I see two idealogies walking down the street holding hands, at the least, I'll be led to believe they are good friends...or maybe more.

 

[Batman Jr.]

...the cult of victimhood (the idea that misery and poverty imparts moral supremacy, even if it's self-inflicted).

So capitalism doesn't support a cult of screwing people over so you can make a buck (the idea that rich people "deserve" to be more comfortable than those that ended up poor)? I'm not saying that it is wrong to say that the impoverished are not morally superior to people who fall into higher income brackets, but the brand of favoritism to be found in capitalism exercises a sense of discretion no better.

 

[Ziggurat]

So capitalism doesn't support a cult of screwing people over so you can make a buck (the idea that rich people "deserve" to be more comfortable than those that ended up poor)?

Wealth is not a zero-sum game (the other failed far-leftist belief being that it is). You want more wealth in the hands of the poor? Make sure that there's more total wealth to go around. Look, I'm not shanek, I'm not arguing for "unfettered" capitalism and the abolishment of government. What I'm saying is that a basically free-market economy has already proven itself to be the best system in the world, for both the rich AND the poor. And "revolutionaries" like those the moron in the picture idolizes (both the Che type and the Osama type) pose a bigger threat to the poor he supposedly sympathises with than any Wall Street trader ever did.

As for what rich people deserve, well, life ain't fair, never has been and never will be. But yes, the harder (or smarter, or better) you work, the more you deserve. And capitalism is the only system that at least gets that part right. Whine all you want to about how hard two different people work and their relative outcomes all you want, but for each individual, that statement still holds.

Why are these things not obvious?

 

[geni]

The photo shows, that in the mind of America-haters, any anti-American will do.

Well to be fair the US was almost certianly involved in the recent coup there which didn't exactly do anything to improve goodwill.