RED (Bastard)

I invite you to join me in changing the vernacular of tyranny.

Success will be measured by the use of "Maoist" at least an equal number of times as "Nazi" when one chooses to describe the many possible horrors that arise from human against human. Crimes against humanity are, of course, relative -- all bad, but some so much worse in degree or quantity. So, not to belittle the level of sheer nastiness served up by Hitler and his Nazis, Mao makes pale the dark tyranny of Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot bound together by Suharto. [Don't do the body-count math as I mean only to make a point, but Mao still might come out on top.]

The thing that particularly bugs my ass about Mao's historical record -- and my degree in international relations specialized in Maoist China -- is that he truly did hoodwink the World with myth (including those who taught those who taught me, and thus me) into thinking he was at least full of philosophically good, even honourable, intentions, even if he was forced to be evil and ruthless in trying to reach his goals, or that many bad things were done in his name; he unable to control his adherents.

Turns out that is all, all, utter, fucking bullshit.

You might by now have guessed I've decided to read (re-read the third I'd read when first beginning the book a year ago) Chang and Haliday's "Mao The Unknown Story."

I believe I've blogged about that first third read last year, but let me repeat that there's barely a page in the book that doesn't rewrite history in a fundamental way.

I'm at a loss considering what from the book to perhaps convince you of the enormity of Mao's complete absence of any concern for anything but his own well-being (read, power).

Let me leave you with these tidbits:

Mao wanted World War III and he more than once promoted the use of nuclear weapons. He told Khrushchev that the Chinese people "are willing to endure the first [U.S. nuclear] strike. All it is is a big pile of people dying." The broader context into which the comment was uttered is that Mao truly didn't care about the horrors that might arise from nuclear war -- so long as he survived, of course.

Seventy million Chinese died in peacetime with Mao in power. SEVENTY MILLION

And he was completely aware of all of it as his total control of the country meant he got complete and full reports, and indeed often lectured on deaths being needed and important.

Confronted with food shortages (for Chinese) that he engineered (he paid for Soviet weapons with food -- China's ONLY export), Mao suggested people eat less. HA! I mean, that's truly a funny thing to say.

In the four years of The Great Leap Forward 38 million Chinese people starved to death or died from being over worked to produce food that was not given them to eat (In the second year of The Leap, Mao exported nearly 5 million tons of grain while his country was literally starving to death). Rural food rations provided less calories for Chinese than were served in Nazi death camps.

"In...1960, 22 million people died of hunger. This was the largest number in one year in any country in the history of the world."

None of this begins to touch the facts of tens of millions more Chinese who died as part of Mao's key tool of rule -- terror campaigns. He ruled with fear and was, indeed, a master of doing that.

And the fucker died an old man in his bed.

PS -- as for the title of this blog, I'm maligning pinko commie bastards as Mao wasn't a Communist except in name.