this post was submitted on 09 Aug 2023
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[–] brain_in_a_box@hexbear.net 92 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That the only way you can come to the conclusion that Mao "killed more" is if you're deliberately downplaying how many Hitler killed, aka Holocaust denial.

[–] Fox@pawb.social -1 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I may have missed the lesson where numbers aren't allowed to be bigger than other numbers, so let me rephrase this in a way you might be able to understand. The most conservative estimate of famine deaths during the Great Leap Forward (backward) is greater than the ENTIRE European Jewish population in 1933 by at least six million.

[–] Starlet@hexbear.net 90 points 1 year ago

pretending hitler only killed jews is holocaust denial LIB

[–] Zuzak@hexbear.net 87 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Famines were extremely common before the CPC came to power. Most Chinese people lived in extreme poverty, and life expectancy was less than 35, with no significant improvement under the KMT. In between Mao coming to power and his death, life expectancy in China nearly doubled. Today, average life expectancy in China has exceeded that of the US, a feat that would've been unimaginable back then.

It's true that Mao made misteps (which the CPC readily admits), but those specific, dramatic events have been disproportionately elevated to obscure the more general trend, which has been drastic improvements in the lives of the people of China.

Of course, in addition to minimizing the frequency and severity of famines in pre-industrial China, your history books likely did not place the same level of blame on the British for the intentional famines which Ireland and India were subjected to, in which Britain did not only refuse to provide aid to their colonial subjects (often on the express basis that it would motivate people to work harder), but also did not cease their plundering - in both cases, food was exported out of the country while the people starved.

[–] Frank@hexbear.net 35 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I read somewhere that Mao's family was considered well off for peasants because they could afford eggs a few times a year. I have no idea if there's any truth to that.

[–] NPa@hexbear.net 35 points 1 year ago

They had to go hat in hand to the Egg Monopoly Lady every year to ask for a single egg for their New Years Celebration.

[–] Fox@pawb.social -2 points 1 year ago (6 children)

What about what about what about

[–] Zuzak@hexbear.net 77 points 1 year ago

You're right, what does it matter that every Chinese person gets to live twice as long as they used to, if the process of getting there wasn't perfect?

Your carefully researched and insightful rebuttal has convinced me. I hate massive increases in life expectancy now. Clearly, we have no choice but to abandon communism no-choice

[–] Starlet@hexbear.net 74 points 1 year ago

It's not whataboutism when you bring up Hitler, though, of course

[–] brain_in_a_box@hexbear.net 66 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What's the matter? Suddenly not so keen to compare death counts now that your Holocaust denial has been exposed?

[–] Fox@pawb.social -1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I'm amazed you haven't passed out yet from oxygen deprivation

[–] ElHexo@hexbear.net 43 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You, two posts up:

What about what about what about

[–] Flaps@hexbear.net 61 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You have people taking time to give context and explain things to you and this is your reaction? Lmao dickweed get a load of PIGPOOPBALLS

[–] Fox@pawb.social -2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

LMAO my entry level wumao troll, you think I am actually seeing your links links as images, go outside 🤣

[–] silent_water@hexbear.net 29 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

idk man the only person I see going what about is you

EDIT: OHHHH you're a fascist. hog out or log out.

[–] meth_dragon@hexbear.net 78 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

the GLF was economic policy made in response to withdrawal of soviet technological and financial aid during the sino-soviet split, one of the primary motivating factors of which being soviet insistence on china essentially allowing the soviets to recolonize the port of dalian to build a naval base from which to deploy its pacific fleet.

on top of being under sanctions from the west, the sino-soviet split further deprived china of markets with which to support its all-important capital intensive industries and so china was forced to resort to agricultural export as a method of making up the shortfall. collectivization was also pursued simultaneously to pool domestic capital for internal consumption, but due to various geographical, technical and political considerations, internal consumption was not sufficiently stimulated to support manufacturing, and so agricultural export became the primary way to finance china's continued industrialization. most accounts that are not hysterically anti-communist (including liberal darling amartya sen) of the period around the 1958 famine have records of aggregate production being more than sufficient to sustain the overall population, with the primary points of failure being overzealous local governments in highly productive areas, as opposed to popular western conceptions of overbearing central government mandated directives.

all this to say that hitler and the holocaust's relevance as a point of comparison to mao and the GLF as anything beyond 'people died when he was in charge' is laughably superficial and mostly only functions as a thought terminating associative fallacy for juicing your dopamine receptors in order to immunize your brain against more correct opinions.

[–] brain_in_a_box@hexbear.net 75 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Source: it came to me in a dream.

I also like how you're deliberately trying to whitewash Hitler by ignoring all the non-Jewish deaths he was responsible for.

Seriously, you're trying to argue that Mao "killed" every single person who starved to death in a famine, but Hitler is completely innocent of any of the deaths that occurred in World War 2. It's a double standard no one would employ unless they were trying to downplay Hitler's crimes.

[–] Fox@pawb.social -2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's how it works in a dictatorship right? The fish stinks from the head.

To address your disingenuous bad-faith argument, counting non-Jews you have 11 or so million total dead in the Holocaust, we are still nowhere near it. Fuck Hitler, fuck Stalin, fuck Mao, the CCP, and fuck the US federal government.

[–] brain_in_a_box@hexbear.net 69 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Again, you're saying Mao is guilty of every death in a famine because he was a "dictator", but Hitler isn't responsible for any of the deaths in WW2 (even the deaths by famine it caused).

You really are working hard to white wash Hitler.

[–] Fox@pawb.social -1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If the great wall were as thick as you it would have kept the Mongolians out

[–] brain_in_a_box@hexbear.net 64 points 1 year ago (2 children)
[–] Commiejones@hexbear.net 4 points 1 year ago

I don't know what Hog out means but at this point I'm afraid to ask.

[–] Fox@pawb.social -1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Go fuck yourself, apologist for your most preferred mass murderer

[–] brain_in_a_box@hexbear.net 62 points 1 year ago

Speak for yourself, Holocaust denier.