How would you say you're a communist without saying you're a communist?

Casually mentioning that profit comes from paying workers less than the value they create.

I just want to bring democracy to the workplace.

I think we should improve society somewhat

Oh so you're a communist?

We have our own lexicon that makes it's obvious if we don't carefully modulate your own patterns of speech.

Capital workers imperialism empire labor electoralism exploitation owner class bourgeoisie proletarian etc etc.

It's not that nobody else uses these words but we use them to describe things that liberals use other terms for. They prefer words that normalize capitalism and have been normalized by capitalism. They don't call their own country an empire (generally speaking) or call their boss part of the owner class.

One time, a coworker - who I’ve known for roughly 10 minutes throughout the span of 1 month - and I were shooting the shit at lunch and just ranting about work and customers. Then the topic of plastic bags being taxed came up.

Then we talked about how systemic problems are laundered to the individual. Then how most of our taxes are being used for the military. And how the military was committing imperialism and spreading suffering.

Then how imperialism is being turned inwards with the same security tactics and mindsets are being used against Americans, and an example of which being COINTELPRO during the civil rights movements. And finally, with MLK in mind, we talked about how Lenin described the capitalist appropriation of revolutionaries and the highest stage of capitalism.

Then we clocked in back to work

The term "fellow traveler" needs to make a comeback

I say I voted for Obama

back when I gave a fuck I put a "I fucking warned you dude, I told you bro" Capital book cover meme in my profile. Got me one good date lol but not exactly subtle

Now I either tell people straight up or I don't, I guess some people might catch on by the way I speak about some topics but I'm pretty reserved in public

as for a real answer: your options are basically memes/subculture stuff as you've mentioned, coy references or talking about the actual work you are doing in organizing or mutual aid without making explicitly "political" statements about it.

Yeah I make my plans 5 years at a time

"immortal science" "dope-ass bear"

I like to throw out “the principal contradiction” at work sometimes referring to the root conflicts of whatever problems we’re talking about lol

I straight up say I'm a communist and people don't understand. My friendship group's pet lib spent 5 years thinking I was constantly espousing communist ideology as a bit.

Maybe life should be more important than money?

"Uphold Mazovian Thought!"

Now I'm just an old fashioned country kinna guy, but I think that the workers aughta control the factories instead of rich city boys.

One thing I did previously that seemed to raise a few eyebrows was during "bonus season", i.e. when you are supposed to write a description for why you deserve some kind of bonus for the work you did the previous year, and I just asked my coworkers if they knew whether our boss' bonus was paid from the same pool of money as ours, since that would impact how you write your description. I used the phrase "which side [bosses name] was on" which caused a few of the old-heads to look at me funny. Apparently just pointing out that interests can be opposing is enough to get me branded as a "naive young radical".

Is building a giant guillotine too on the nose?

Kind of on the left

Idk, I don't particularly say anything and somehow people figure it out.

Permanently Deleted

• I'm a friend of Bill W. Karl. He helped me figure out why I was drinking in the first place.

• My politics are kinda... Different.

i just want everyone to be paid very well, and for no one to be homeless

I'd say anyone who likes the Culture series, but a lot of techbros like it and don't really connect up the politics (basically a high level communist society doing an interventionism)

Sorry to bother you is my favorite movie

I read about how some CPUSA members hid their politics by calling themselves 'progressives'

I'm a lefty from way back

fellow traveler

Pretty much anyone who says one of their favourite books is The Dispossessed either is or was an anarchist, and if the latter probably still are some form of anti-capitalist.

"the fundamental problem here is the tendency of the rate of profit to fall" "capital accumulation" "class comtradictions"

Hexbear sticker on your car

Hot damn DS9 IS my favorite show. Who knew! DS9 knew.

A lot of these don't work cause I joined the DSA at one point and they asked essentially "What is to be done?" (in different words) and I answered "Sorta nothing, I guess, I mean, capitalism seems to be collapsing pretty fast and like basically everyone I know is some kinda communist." Then there was a sorta awkward pause cause oh wow was I wrong.

I normally just tell people. Disdaining to conceal our aims and so forth. For those times when outright saying I'm a socialist would derail things into an unproductive debate about how "communism has never worked" or whatever, I usually default to saying I'm an anti-capitalist or something like that. Even then, I try to sneak in surplus value and class conflict and similar language. If I'm fairly certain I'm talking to another leftist, I let it slip as quickly as possible so we don't spend however many minutes using coded language and sniffing each other out.

Instead of saying "Xi"(<-Nerd) or "The President of China" (<- Orientalism), just say "The President" and force people to judge by context which one you're talking about.

Like this: I'm not a communist

If I say I’m not not a communist, I’m technically not saying I’m a communist.

I talk about and use the phrase political economy a lot, as well as materialism.

I tend to say that "we should look at the material conditions of" and then follow that with whatever is discussed and the material reasons. Or drawing from historical events aka using whataboutism, haha.

Also talking about class every opportunity I get.

And also I just tell people that I am a communist, depends on the place and the people though.

1991 disaster year