Two documents. Which is real?
And now the original:
[Lenin quotation source.] Raw text versions follow:
1. Press Release: People of Color and Gender Equality Working Group
For our racist and sexist society, freedom of speech means freedom for whites and males to control the media, a practice which in all countries, including even the freest, produced a corrupt corporate media.
For people of color and alternative genders, freedom of the press means liberation of the media from racist and sexist oppression, and public ownership of domains, websites, and servers; equal right for public groups of a certain size (say, numbering 10,000) to a fair share of media resources.
As a first step towards this goal, which is bound up with our liberation from racist and gender oppression, the POCAGE Working Group has appointed a Commission of Inquiry to look into the ties between racism, sexism and media, the sources of their funds and revenues, the list of their donors, and every other aspect of the media business. Concealment of books, accounts or any other documents from the Commission of Inquiry, or the giving of any evidence known to be false shall be punishable.
All media owners, shareholders, and all members of their staffs shall be under the obligation to immediately submit written reports and information on the said questions to the Commission of Inquiry, probing the ties between racism and sexism and the media, and its dependence on capital, at website listed below.
[And now the original:]
2. Vladimir Lenin, Petrograd, Russian Republic
For the bourgeoisie, freedom of the press meant freedom for the rich to publish and for the capitalists to control the newspapers, a practice which in all countries, including even the freest, produced a corrupt press.
For the workers’ and peasants’ government, freedom of the press means liberation of the press from capitalist oppression, and public ownership of paper mills and printing presses; equal right for public groups of a certain size (say, numbering 10,000) to a fair share of newsprint stocks and a corresponding quantity of printers’ labour.
As a first step towards this goal, which is bound up with the working people’s liberation from capitalist oppression, the Provisional Workers’ and Peasants’ Government has appointed a Commission of Inquiry to look into the ties between capital and periodicals, the sources of their funds and revenues, the list of their donors, covers for their deficits, and every other aspect of the newspaper business in general. Concealment of books, accounts or any other documents from the Commission of Inquiry, or the giving of any evidence known to be false shall be punishable by a revolutionary court.
All newspaper owners, shareholders, and all members of their staffs shall be under the obligation to immediately submit written reports and information on the said questions to the Commission of Inquiry, probing the ties between capital and the press, and its dependence on capital, at Smolny Institute, Petrograd.
What really grinds my gears about all of this hoopla is that there has already been such a staggering amount of generous “corrections” and benefits spoon-fed to undeserving and many that perceive or announce themselves to have been oppressed. Privilege is such a subjective and relative concept. What if you’ve been brought up in a culture in which it’s looked down upon to accept funding or any valuables without working for them in a truly altruistic manner? On top of that, you must be honest with yourself regarding that altruism and effort, so you are constantly spreading yourself thin to bring value to others. You’ve gone hungry for others. Others that you watch plunder systems of redistribution and handouts that devalue the currency you work so hard to keep tied to a mutually understood value. I would say privilege (at least by their definition of garnering more than your neighbor) lies with the folks that are able to refrain from being honest with themselves about their creative robbery. I can’t fathom how so many are able to immorally collectively guilt trip naive people into relinquishing their hard earned resources. These inauthentic, insatiable types definitely have a special advantage over genuine good hearted people that feel compelled to give rather than take. I remain hopeful, because I’m beginning to understand integrity, dignity, and self-reliance as ultimate advantages that will never be known by proponents of socialism. I am worried, however, that even those attributes will be necessarily sacrificed by some that are forced to find ways of shooing off the stench of envy and entitlement. Furthermore, one of my biggest fears is that those who are most qualified will be unable to pass on righteous ways of Being, as they fall under attack from those who seek to overtake and socialize resources to the point that there is no private property unless it’s held by their ilk.