I was getting my Master's Degree at a California state university and it was Fall 1992. I befriended a Chinese man from mainland China who was also in the Master's program. He was one smart guy, and he was also really nice, but I had to tell him to quit putting his arm around me as we walked across campus cuz of all the funny glances we got. We used to talk about socialism, China, Mao, Marx, and many other things.
The guy (name forgotten) called himself a socialist, but hated the present CP in China. One warm afternoon we were outside of Historical Linguistics class (fascinating subfield) and we were talking about something or other. He got this wicked twinkle in his eye and said, "Well, you know, Chairman Mao said, 'Revolution... is not a picnic'". He laughed, and I did too, and to this day, I just love that nugget of pungent Maoist wisdom.
P.S. If you are clicking the links above, try this one: an article by Howard Fast from the Daily Worker in 1956, the year he broke with the American Communist Party. Even if you hate Communism, you have to admit it's a gorgeous piece. Wow, what a writer. I know very little about Howard Fast, but the index page for the link above seems to have a trove of information about this fine writer and thinker. Nice biography here.
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