D E F E N D I N G    S T A L I N

Was Joey really that evil? Before I begin to rant, please consider this simple fact: Stalin was a Russian leader. Russian leaders are never wrong. If you disagree, why not express your beliefs publically sixty years ago in the Motherland and see what happens.

Comparing him to Hitler – I am utterly disgusted by the poster in the hallway depicting Stalin and Hitler getting married. First, they were never friendly. Second, they were completely different. Though exceptions do exist, Hitler killed most of his victims merely because they existed. Stalin killed most of his victims because they, or their friends, family, countrymen, etc., were a threat to the unity and peace of his empire. Me might have made some mistakes and killed the wrong people a few times (Ukrainians smelled bad anyway), but everybody makes a mistake.

Economical reforms – He set impossible goals. People tried harder. People fell short and lied. But they still did much better than before. He set the importance of vital resources above those of luxury goods, promoting a selfless, unified nation. He withheld grain from the Ukrainians for little reason. Well, everybody makes a mistake.

Military reforms – He demoted, deported, or outright “removed” the elite of his military from service. He relied on numbers of ill trained grunts. This wasn’t his best move, but everybody makes a mistake or two.

Value to the allies– Without Stalin’s blatant disregard to human life, it is very likely the Allies would have lost to the Axis. His “Not one step back comrades” at Stalingrad held the Nazi troops at bay, allowing the Normandy invasion to go off with minimal German reinforcements. Even though if he hadn’t reformed the military he could have pulled off a better ratio than 1 Nazi for every 6 Russians, he still won. Everybody makes mistakes.

Media – Stalin controlled the media, true. But is he that much different from us? How many people do you know watch BBC World News? Everyone denies it, but we all know Fox is in the government’s pocket. Nobody really cared if they were completely ignorant of everything except that Stalin is awesome.

Police – Is there really any sin in enforcing security? Examine the United States. If you mention bombs at an airport, what do you think will happen? If you mentioned anything negative about Stalin, what do you think would have happened? So what if they were a bit overzealous, everybody makes a mistake, and better safe than sorry, right?

Killings – How can you rank who is the most evil so far? Was it Mao? Hitler? Or our good old buddy, Stalin. We call Stalin a monster, but he was really just emotionless, even more so after his wife killed herself (people who blame him for this are just pouring salt on his wounds). Figures vary, but even I can’t twist the facts and make Stalin’s blatant disregard for life justified. Here’s what I think the figures are:

Mao 40Million; Hitler 34M; Stalin 20M.  However, 30 million of Mao’s deaths are from a famine he caused accidently when trying to encourage China’s economy. So it changes to:

Hitler 34M Stalin 20M Mao 10M. But wait, some of Hitler’s killings were armed combatants, and we generally don’t consider war killings in our murder counts, otherwise every country would be blamed for mass murder. So here’s of killing unarmed noncombatants:

Stalin 18M Hitler 15M Mao 10M.  Well, who is the worst killer so far? That depends on your definition of killing. But remember, everybody makes mistakes, and Stalin’s trigger finger might have slipper a few million times.

Stalin was selfless– Despite being a babe magnet, his workaholic streak and devotion to his duties kept him from ever surrendering to such barbaric human nature as relationships for power. Even as his corrupt comrades ordered each other to take vacations and party during the famines, Stalin worked. He did not wallow in his wealth. I find it sad when people call him a greedy monster, for he was quite the opposite. He did not enjoy his slaughter, by the end of his life, he loathed himself, repressing his emotions to the point of agony.

Summary – Okay, maybe he made a mistake or two, but they’re forgivable. And remember, being a dictator isn’t about copying those who came before you. If they did it right, then we would be too busy worshipping them to think about becoming one. Stalin got closest, so we must learn from him, and eventually erase his mistakes from history.