# I Pit the Empire **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 5, 2010, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-empire/559559 "2010-11-05T08:14:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-empire/559559/281 "2010-11-09T20:58:37Z")
Tell me about a one party election. Is it hard to choose which one of the one candidates to vote for? ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-empire/559559/282 "2010-11-09T20:59:23Z")
**Commissar** , a legitimate question for you: Why can you say, about such things as the Prague Spring, Stalinism, the Cultural Revolution and other taints on the history of Communism and Socialism, that they were growing pains, and not to pay any attention to those, while at the same time, lambasting the US for Slavery (ended via a Civil War 50 years before the October revolution), the Indian Holocaust (a grim period indeed, and one that the US gov’t has been trying to make amends for for almost a century), and other historical incidents that occured much further in the past than, for example, the class genocide against the Kulaks of the Ukraine and Russia that led to an estimated 17 million dead of starvation? Do you understand why it’s difficult to take you seriously when you are so blind with hate that you cannot see the missed connection there? ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-empire/559559/283 "2010-11-09T21:33:02Z")
> [@Commissar](#): > > (3) My favorite example: the BBC will never, ever refer to Myanmar as Myanmar. Instead, it will always use the colonial name “Burma.” If refusing to call a nation by its current name because you hate its government is not an expression of bias and partisanship, I don’t know what is… Here’s a less negative view of the situation. [Should it be Burma or Myanmar?](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7389525.stm) ---
**Author:** ![Commissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@Commissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Commissar)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-empire/559559/284 "2010-11-09T21:38:24Z")
> [@Tristan](#): > > **Commissar** , a legitimate question for you: > > Why can you say, about such things as the Prague Spring, Stalinism, the Cultural Revolution and other taints on the history of Communism and Socialism, that they were growing pains, and not to pay any attention to those, while at the same time, lambasting the US for Slavery (ended via a Civil War 50 years before the October revolution), the Indian Holocaust (a grim period indeed, and one that the US gov’t has been trying to make amends for for almost a century), and other historical incidents that occured much further in the past than, for example, the class genocide against the Kulaks of the Ukraine and Russia that led to an estimated 17 million dead of starvation? > > Do you understand why it’s difficult to take you seriously when you are so blind with hate that you cannot see the missed connection there? I believe that there are a couple major differences here, **Tristan**. First of all, only young entities can legitimately experience “growing pains.” Yes, Stalinism was a growing pain, seeing as it happened not 2 decades after socialism was attempted for the first time in the history of mankind. Capitalism, on the other hand, had been around for hundreds of years, so the US had no excuses for experiencing such pains in the 19th century. More importantly, the US just doesn’t seem to learn. At no point has it actually made a real effort to become a better global citizen. Sure, it stopped killing the natives and oppressing the blacks… Now it’s killing and oppressing Muslims, instead. Forgive me if I fail to see any progress here. Communist nations, on the other hand, got over their pains in less than a century. Tell me, whom are China, Vietnam, and Cuba invading these days? In essence, I would love to stop hating the American Empire; it just has to stop being such a hateful little monster. Once it becomes civilized, my hate for it will naturally evaporate. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-empire/559559/285 "2010-11-09T21:44:01Z")
> [@Commissar](#): > > Yes, Stalinism was a growing pain, seeing as it happened not 2 decades after socialism was attempted for the first time in the history of mankind. Leninism is not the only kind of socialism. Revolutionary socialism is not the only kind of socialism. Socialism on a nationwide basis is not the only kind of socialism. I’d say the Diggers, for example, would be a little pissed to be told that 1917 was the first time in the history of mankind socialism had been attempted. ---
**Author:** ![Commissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@Commissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Commissar)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-empire/559559/286 "2010-11-09T21:45:39Z")
> [@villa](#): > > Here’s a less negative view of the situation. > > [Should it be Burma or Myanmar?](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7389525.stm) I’ve read that before, and it only cemented my view of BBC’s bias. Look behind the flimsy argument… So, the BBC claims that it uses “Burma” because it is more familiar to its readers. Now look at the last paragraph: “Other countries to rename themselves like this include Iran (formerly Persia), Burkina Faso (Upper Volta) and Cambodia (Kampuchea).” So, how often does BBC call Iran “Persia” for the benefit of its readers? How often does it talk about Peking? Rhodesia? Siam? Shouldn’t all these “traditional” colonial names be used because BBC considers its users too stupid to learn a new name? And yet, only Myanmar gets singled out for this treatment… Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-empire/559559/287 "2010-11-09T23:10:49Z")
> [@Commissar](#): > > (3) My favorite example: the BBC will never, ever refer to Myanmar as Myanmar. Instead, it will always use the colonial name “Burma.” If refusing to call a nation by its current name because you hate its government is not an expression of bias and partisanship, I don’t know what is… Well that’s [obviously](http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/news/30042006news.shtml) not true. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-empire/559559/288 "2010-11-10T00:20:20Z")
> [@kidchameleon](#): > > Well that’s [obviously](http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/news/30042006news.shtml) not true. That article is a red herring - it only exists to provide ‘evidence’ that the BBC doesn’t call Myanmar Burma. Your ability to seperate truth from fiction is pathetic, you are eating from the empire’s hand. Everyone knows that the BBC’s weather service is controlled by American dogs and is plotting to rename the enemies of America to British colonial names. Fools! ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-empire/559559/289 "2010-11-10T00:22:06Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > That article is a red herring - it only exists to provide ‘evidence’ that the BBC doesn’t call Myanmar Burma. Your ability to seperate truth from fiction is pathetic, you are eating from the empire’s hand. Everyone knows that the BBC’s weather service is controlled by American dogs and is plotting to rename the enemies of America to British colonial names. Fools! Red herring? That would be a socialist herring. This is obviously a white herring! ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-empire/559559/290 "2010-11-10T00:24:26Z")
> [@kidchameleon](#): > > Well that’s [obviously](http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/news/30042006news.shtml) not true. Yeah, but when the _BBC_ uses the word Myanmar, they are _implying_ Burma. The BBC is really sneaky like that. You just have to be able to read between the lines to really see it, comrade. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-empire/559559/291 "2010-11-10T00:33:25Z")
> [@Commissar](#): > > I believe that there are a couple major differences here, **Tristan**. > > First of all, only young entities can legitimately experience “growing pains.” Yes, Stalinism was a growing pain, seeing as it happened not 2 decades after socialism was attempted for the first time in the history of mankind. Capitalism, on the other hand, had been around for hundreds of years, so the US had no excuses for experiencing such pains in the 19th century. Your mistake here is attributing these growing pains to Capitalism, versus them being attributable to the growth of the Nation-State. One of the factors that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union was the growth of Nationalism, and a desire for many of the member “states” to have a truly independant Nation-State to call their own. This is one of the common failings of the idea of a Communist nation, hunan nature is not yet ready for a truly Communist ideal. It has been tried, over and over throughout human history, and has yet to work on a scale much larger than early Mormons or other relgious communes. > [@](#): > > More importantly, the US just doesn’t seem to learn. At no point has it actually made a real effort to become a better global citizen. Sure, it stopped killing the natives and oppressing the blacks… Now it’s killing and oppressing Muslims, instead. Forgive me if I fail to see any progress here. Communist nations, on the other hand, got over their pains in less than a century. Tell me, whom are China, Vietnam, and Cuba invading these days? I can’t speak for Vietnam (which is largely a capitalist nation these days, with a veneer of Communism much like China), but Cuba is well known outside of Socialist circles for the oppression of any dissent. Do a search for the posts by the doper **lalenin** , who defected from Cuba some time ago. He loves his country, but is not blind to it’s faults. It was eye opening for me, to say the least. As for China, there are those that would say Tibet could go on your list, and if you are going to say that China does not crush dissent (somtimes literally), then I’m afraid there is no point in discussing any of this with you. China has a long way to go, in regards to “getting over their growing pains”. As does Cuba. The US is involved in 2 small scale wars, in Muslim nations. That being said, I drive past a very nice Mosque on my way to work every day. And I live in the very Redneck part of the country. Most American’s feel that at least one of those wars was a HUGE mistake, and it’s something we are trying very hard to come to terms with, as a nation and as a people. In essence, I would love to stop hating the American Empire; it just has to stop being such a hateful little monster. Once it becomes civilized, my hate for it will naturally evaporate. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-empire/559559/292 "2010-11-10T00:33:42Z")
troll thread ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-empire/559559/293 "2010-11-10T01:28:33Z")
> [@Commissar](#): > > Greetings, my brethren, > > As you may or may not have heard, there has been an election in the American Empire. All things considered, Christian fundamentalist idiocy has won. > > Congratulations; you are now an idiotic nation, represented by idiots, ruled by an idiot. If you disappeared in a puff of nuclear smoke tomorrow, the world would breathe a sigh of relief. > > Your only two notable accomplishments are exterminating your native population and enslaving your imported black population. And both of those put you slightly behind NAZI Germany in terms of human progress. > > To summarize: > > Fuck you, you stupid Americans. Fuck your empire. Fuck your imperialism. Most of all, however, fuck each and every one of you that truly believes that your piece of shit country belongs in the circle of civilized nations. I love you too. Asshole. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-empire/559559/294 "2010-11-10T01:40:13Z")
You’re in his eye And you’ll know why The more you live The faster you will die. Alles klar? ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-empire/559559/295 "2010-11-10T01:46:58Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > troll thread This troll thread has been graped by the uhhhhhhh… ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-empire/559559/296 "2010-11-10T01:52:26Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > troll thread Long quote is long. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-empire/559559/297 "2010-11-10T01:53:30Z")
> [@Commissar](#): > > Communist nations, on the other hand, got over their pains in less than a century. Tell me, whom are China, Vietnam, and Cuba invading these days? [Tibet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Tibet_(1950)), [Cambodia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodian%E2%80%93Vietnamese_War), and [Angola](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angolan_Civil_War) respectively. Well, Angola wasn’t really an invasion, but I’m sure you’d say the US invaded Vietnam, so it counts. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-empire/559559/298 "2010-11-10T02:00:36Z")
> [@Commissar](#): > > (3) My favorite example: the BBC will never, ever refer to Myanmar as Myanmar. Instead, it will always use the colonial name “Burma.” If refusing to call a nation by its current name because you hate its government is not an expression of bias and partisanship, I don’t know what is… You blew this one, Com. A real socialist would have known that Myanmar is the official name of the country that was imposed by the right wing military dictatorship that runs that country. In protest of this, various left wing populist groups have refused to accept the name change and call the country by its old name of Burma. ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-empire/559559/299 "2010-11-10T02:07:50Z")
In case it wasn’t mentioned yet the OP is the one who brought us this gem: [I am a Communist. - Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=575319) Chairman Mao Brings Us Glorious Prosperity! ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-empire/559559/300 "2010-11-10T02:47:32Z")
> [@Yeticus\_Rex](#): > > This troll thread has been graped by the uhhhhhhh… Grape Ape? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-empire/559559.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-empire/559559.md?page=16)