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It's pretty hard to be more radical than a group whose key members think that the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956, and the Tiananmen Square Massacre, are both just fine.
Michael Friedman, 3/17/04 (CORRECTION, a guest blogger)
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As I promised Mike, I will write about one of the biggest wounds in Chinese history. But instead of the standard condemnation that this was wrong and it was the Chinese army vs. helpless students crushing democracy, I will try to give another more balanced perspective based on what i have heard from others as well as from what I know from my own experience.
For the record, I'm neither a fan of ANSWER nor do I agree that that the Tiananmen Square Massacre was "just fine." But, Friedman's position is essentially identical to ANSWER's (and the Worker's World Party) as far as I can tell - that the Chinese government was far far far less to blame for what happened than Western media reported, that the escalation to violence was caused by both sides - protesters and military - and that many in the military died as well.
(thanks to Kynn for the catch)
...just for some context. The role of ANSWER in organizing many of the anti-war demonstrations was used to by the neo-McCarthyites as a way to discredit the entire anti-war movement. One of the main talking points was that ANSWER and the WWP were apologists for the TSM massacre.
...and, for the record, my characterization of Friedman and the WWP's position is just that - a characterization of their position. Not an endorsement.
...Friedman writes in and says it wasn't him he wrote that, but a guest blogger.