What is the reason for Socialism being such a dirty dirty word in America?

[Jackalope]

McCarthyism.

^^^ also this ^^^

[ErGingerbreadMandude]

America is weird..

[Rev. Rye]

What in the world? I don't even understand that comic. Like I understand it's that Russian hammer and sickle with the statue of liberty, but what in the world? Also, wasn't there a movie made on this Red Scare? I think it stars Jim Carey? Like where people were being accused of being a communist and would get deported or sent to jail. Something like that. I remember my mother telling me about that time. She was born in the late 50s, but still people were scared as hell of anyone who labeled themselves a communist.

There were literally dozens, due in no small part to Hollywood's tendency to look back on its past, which it wound up being caught up in. The Majestic, the one you mentioned, is by no means one of the better ones. My personal favourite film about the bullshit that was the Red Scare is Good Night and Good Luck starring David Strahairn as Edward R. Murrow, the most prominent journalist willing to call McCarthy out on his bullshit.

Also, on the other end of the spectrum, Big Jim McLain was John Wayne's cinematic attempt at fighting communism via cinema. Remarkably, when the time came for it to be dubbed into Italian (as well as German, apparently), the dubbers could make neither head nor tail of the film's understanding of communism and, not wanting to turn down the chance of making a shitton of money by not releasing a film starring one of the top movie stars of the day, turned it into a film about fighting pot smugglers. It was retitled Marijuana! I'd love to see a redubbed version of this film, Backstroke of the West-style with a translation of one of those Marijuana scripts.

[Minimalist]

Seems there are some aspects of it when applied properly would work. But maybe I'm just a clueless "Libtard". Oh and my favorite, a clueless Libtard that's been brainwashed. Just because someone advocates for some socialism doesn't make them anti-American. Hell, I read Forbes on occasion.

Because fascistic bullshit aside, big corporations own the news media and socialism is not good for them.... until they need a bailout.

[vorlon13]

I never tire of pointing out the 1620 Plymouth Pilgrims attempted Biblically inspired small 'c' communism and killed over half their numbers in the effort.

Come on Jesus people, Ananias and Sapphira died showing you God's Holy way of living and you didn't fucking pray hard enough to make it work !


Well, anyhow, ever since, just cuz they didn't pray hard enough, all that social liberalism stuff has been a tough sell to the religious folks, despite plainly worded testimony in their bibles and their endless prattle about being inspired by Jesus excruciatingly painful (but temporary) death.

[The Grand Nudger]

Republican Jesus doesn't have any time for that shit.  Too busy stealing from the poor to give to the rich, simultaneously denying them healthcare.  There's no point in helping people, it would only create dependency.

[GUBU]

Seems there are some aspects of it when applied properly would work. But maybe I'm just a clueless "Libtard". Oh and my favorite, a clueless Libtard that's been brainwashed. Just because someone advocates for some socialism doesn't make them anti-American. Hell, I read Forbes on occasion.

I think it was becasue Americans as a people never really learned the lesson of the downtrodden "if we don't hang together, we'll be hanged seperately".

There are a number of contributing factors, the most important of which I think are the make up of initial settlers, who were laregly individualistsescaping European conformist regimes ditching collegiality along the way*, and second the huge hinterland that opened up after Independence, giving a section of the population the temporary chance to prosper without needing much in the way of outside help.

*The trade union movement is essentially an adaption of the guild system framework to scialist or social democratic ideals for example. There was never much of a guild collegiality in the 13 colonies. In fact a lot of settlers were fleeing the iniquities of the guild system.

[TaraJo]

IMO, socialism is looked down on for two specific reasons.  First, the cold war.  A lot of people don't understand the difference between the economic philosophy of Bernie Sanders and the military philosophy of Joseph Stalin.  Second, the super wealthy capitalists don't want things to change because they wouldn't be super wealthy anymore.  And the super wealthy capitalists are in control of the media, so they're steadily pumping out a pro-capitalist message.

[Brian37]

Seems there are some aspects of it when applied properly would work. But maybe I'm just a clueless "Libtard". Oh and my favorite, a clueless Libtard that's been brainwashed. Just because someone advocates for some socialism doesn't make them anti-American. Hell, I read Forbes on occasion.

We have always had socialism, government is a form of socializing in and of itself. Things like a tax payer funded military, cops and public schools are social constructs. Medicaid and Medicare and SOCIAL SECURITY are not communist ideas. It is a fucking myth that having a social safety net means those who advocate for it want Stalin's Russia or Castro's Cuba. I am tired of that old cold war bullshit. 

But we do at the same time have a very destructive form of socialism. The 1% over the past 36 years have destroyed anti monopoly concepts and have basically turned Wall Street into a giant casino where they socialize the profits when they win and socialize the losses on the tax payers when they lose.