Just discovered that admins are removing resource-content on the subreddit. Both the DPRK and China megathreads that are in the sidebar have been removed, probably others too.

I doubt this is unique to only /r/communism, /r/communism101 is probably going to be hit as well.

  • Awoo [she/her]5•4 years ago

    I actually wrote a comment on this here in the past: https://hexbear.net/post/22867/comment/168034

    Copying it because for some reason I can see that post in my post history but it won't load?

    When ignoring the period of 1941-1944 (nazi occupation of the soviet union and ww2) where 70% of all deaths in gulags occurred, the program actually had an incredibly low death rate for its time. In fact, by 1953 the gulag system had a LOWER death rate than current modern day US prisons have. Fact.

    According to this study the gulag deaths were approximately 830,000 from 1934 to 1953. As I said above however, it is important to know that 70% of all these deaths occurred between 1941 and 1944 (included) so they can be attributed to difficulties from the War Period and nazi occupation. Also, it's important to note that antibiotics didn't become available until after WW2, this contributes significantly to earlier higher death figures.

    To put things into perspective. Using the same source as above for the USSR, and this report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics we can say that Mortality in the gulag in 1953 (236 deaths per 100,000 prisoners) was lower than mortality in US prisons today, both in state prisons (303 deaths per 100,000 prisoners) and federal prisons (252 deaths per 100,000 prisoners).

    Feel free to double check these numbers(you should check anyone's numbers always). I know it's surprising to hear that as far back as 1953 they were better, but it is absolutely correct. I had to double check it too.

      • Awoo [she/her]7•4 years ago

        Loads for me

        Weird, it gives me "Something Went Wrong" and asks me to submit a bug.

        Anyway, a common complaint from a liberal is going to be that “the Soviets released very ill and dying prisoners in order to keep death count relatively low”. What say you?

        All prisons do that. Prisons are for people that are a danger to others in society not for the terminally ill or dying. The idea that the Soviets were engaging in a method of falsifying their own private and internal documentation for their own archives because some libs might read those archives after the ussr is gone is a bit bizarre though. Why would they do that? It's data for them and you don't operate a state's internal data gathering that nobody will ever see on the basis that you expect your state to eventually end in a coup by traitors.

          • Awoo [she/her]4•4 years ago

            I don't think libs have that level of knowledge or comprehension to even begin to make such arguments. The people that do are either baby-leftists already that are still deprogramming or knowledgeable and deeply ideological capitalists who are a waste of time engaging with as it's all bad faith.

              • Awoo [she/her]4•4 years ago

                Did I do a bad? I didn't intend to insult you, if I did by accident I'm genuinely sorry.

                  • Awoo [she/her]1•4 years ago

                    I mean, your prompt is possible but completely impossible for us to verify in any meaningful way as far as I know so it just kinda becomes a "well do we have evidence?" situation. Since we don't have evidence for that occurring it seems silly for anyone to hang their hat on it being a reason not to believe any of it.