re: #338 Slap

I’m genuinely curious: why do you think that there is such a lack of knowledge of Mao’s mass murders?

I’m sure there are those who’ll suggest it’s a LEFTY plot to make him a hero; there are probably others who assume it’s a RIGHTY plot to make sure the Chinese keep spending money on American businesses and products.

In fact, why is it that, when popular discussions focus on large-scale atrocities, only Hitler and Saddam seem to be used as examples? There does seem to be some sort of mass ignorance going on. Are kids at any age regularly taught about Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Papa Doc, Mao, et al?

Again, I am having trouble getting my head around this.

I can help you out. Rightwing totalitarian evil of the 20th century was based on racism and/or ultra-nationalism. These were not only evil, they were regarded as atavistic. By contrast, leftwing totalitarian evil is, in its most important manifestations, class-based. Disenfranchisment of and violence against “the exploiting classes” still has a whiff of idealism about it for some.