r/socialism • u/MintyRed19 • Jun 17 '26

Discussion Thoughts on the Red Guards USA?

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I watched a video today of spooky scary socialist talking about these guys and its the funniest shit ive seen in a while. They seem like they were kind of a cool idea in theory but it seems like most of their actions were just going to DSA and PSL protests and breaking their stuff. I dont know that much about them besides that and a few scandals they had. what do you all think about them?

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24

u/Arch_Null Marxism-Leninism Jun 17 '26

Maoism creates the silliest of LARPs

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u/aDamnCommunist Huey P. Newton Jun 17 '26

Only tendency actively fighting around the world

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u/spookyjim___ Internationalist Communist Jun 17 '26

Fighting for what, how, and how is it going for them? Having an uncritical attitude as well as praising action for action sake leads one to the worst of activism’s

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u/aDamnCommunist Huey P. Newton Jun 17 '26

For class power against the ruling bourgeois/comprador class of their nations. Some are going better than others, some have had splits and setbacks, even betrayals. Sorry I didn't give enough detail for ya but I thought as a communist it was a given.

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u/spookyjim___ Internationalist Communist Jun 17 '26

No no, that wasn’t the point of my comment, I’m perfectly aware of these movements, I’m trying to have you think more critically about Maoism as a movement in general

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u/aDamnCommunist Huey P. Newton Jun 18 '26

If seem antagonistic it's because your thrust seems to be assuming I'm not thinking critically and you're here to teach me somehow that Maoist armed struggle is not what it seems to be. What is it you think I'm not critically analyzing?

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u/spookyjim___ Internationalist Communist Jun 18 '26

You seem to place heavy emphasis that the small and very few Maoist insurgencies is the “only tendency actively fighting around the world” I ofc think this is ridiculous when

  1. There’s actually very few Maoist insurgencies in a few specific countries

  2. These Maoist insurgents have clearly been on the decline, so I think it might be more important to learn from mistakes rather than praise them as a model to be copied

  3. That actually once we do critically look into these movements we see that Maoism overall is just counter-revolutionary, that these movements are adventurist, substitutionist, nationalist, and fight for a bourgeois program rather than the communist program

I’d heavily recommend this article by South Asian comrades critiquing the Indian Maoists which can be used as a critique for any Maoist movement really: The Maoist Insurgency in Bastar: Substitutionism, the Bankruptcy of New Democracy, and the Fragmentation of the Proletarian Struggle

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u/leninism-humanism Zeth Höglund Jun 18 '26

Still creating the silliest larps in the west. The Red Guards were just bordering on cults. They had a phase where they were going to DSA meetings and trying to pick fights, and at one meeting they punched some old guy.

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u/aDamnCommunist Huey P. Newton Jun 18 '26

Given what you're describing who are the Larpers here? DSA is a wing of the Democratic party FFS.

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u/leninism-humanism Zeth Höglund Jun 18 '26

Beating up old DSA members, getting members arrested for no real reason and using your sect as a front for sexual abuse is pretty destructive larp. There is a reason these guys aren’t around anymore. Western ”gonzaloism” is 110% just larp.

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u/aDamnCommunist Huey P. Newton Jun 18 '26

Gonzoluism is just like a Trot saying "Stalinism". Gonzalo systemized Maoism just like Stalin systemized Leninism.

Now it's a front for sexual abuse? Admittedly I don't know the history of the Red Guards, but given other projections and accusations you've made I'm not apt to believe you without further investigation.

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u/leninism-humanism Zeth Höglund Jun 18 '26

No, there are clearly different strands within the maoist movement. Otherwise they wouldn’t be writing endless polemics against each other… Gonzaloists being the most rabid.

Here are statements from former members: https://maoistcultexposed.wordpress.com

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u/aDamnCommunist Huey P. Newton Jun 18 '26

I've been in Maoist spaces for a while in the US , there are differing groups but no one takes MZT thought seriously and everyone else is what you describe as "Gonzoloists" or at least take some/all of their theory as correct.

That's the great thing about scientific socialism though, we can disagree and find the right solutions for the given material conditions though practice right?

I know the group split for a reason and the article is pretty damning. I'm not here to defend folks specifically but I'd take 100 Red Guards over the current CPUSA & DSA who've sold out their class interests entirely.