this post was submitted on 17 Mar 2025
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Thanks for the compliments, though you've probably seen by now that I ended the other comment thread, haha. I feel that this one is consolidated enough so I linked it over here.
Either way, I don't actually think you're wrong from a rhetorical point of view, but I do think that you would see more lasting success by being more open, at least online where you aren't in (as much) danger if you're found out. In personal terms, I usually just recommend friends and potential allies to listen to Blowback. It's very effective for radicalizing against the US Empire, and promotes sympathy for AES states and the Global South in general. Online, however, I find that it's better to openly state that I'm a Marxist-Leninist, and explain my views on those grounds.
As a side-note, I do recommend diving into theory if you haven't. The more theory you read, the more effective your arguments can be, and while it isn't a linear scale this has certainly helped me the most.
I've had a lot of negative experiences with some people who are overly theory-oriented (theory is great but you should form opinions on it, not let it dictate them to you) which has definitely pushed me away from reading it. I'm at a point in my life now where I think I could probably start dipping my toes into that without going off the deep end, and this conversation was a particularly good motivator to start doing so. Always more to learn
You might find it fitting to start with Oppose Book Worship, which deals with just the problem of overly-dogmatic comrades that only ever read theory. You must read theory and test it via practice, each informs the other.
I'll also shamlessly plug my own Marxist-Leninist reading list again as it's designed for people to go from knowing no theory to having a solid grasp of the fundamentals of Marxism-Leninism, as well as its historical context.
You might also try putting people on Why Socialism by Albert Einstein by Hobo Johnson (Spotify Link)
Hobo Johnson is an incredible artist, and as far as I can tell a modern day Renaissance man. In this particular piece he does an exceptional job of literally reading the writing to you without making you think he is. He uses commentary, humor, a melody and a chorus to make learning more fun. I was thinking about this while walking just now and I actually might send him a letter of appreciation to follow the best practices of empowering and positively reinforcing that behavior.
"Positive Reinforcement" is an ideal I get a lot of pushback on because people think I'm treating them like an animal. They're right. Because humans are animals and I'm just as trainable as my dog if you do it right
He's great! I do think Blowback goes way farther though, while being entertaining and heart-wrenching.
I'm gonna check it out but I can almost guarantee that they have different goals and effects which will be useful in different scenarios. Widen your arsenal a bit is all I'm getting at
For sure! Definitely different, but if I had to pick one it would be Blowback as there's sticking power to it, and more importantly generates sympathy for the Global South. Too many new Leftists in the US take on nationalist stances, rather than internationalist.