For as much as they loved to mock Kellyanne Conway’s “alternative facts” gaffe, the editors over at the New York Times truly appear to be occupying an alternative reality.
They recently ran an op-ed titled “For All Its Flaws, the Communist Revolution Taught Chinese Women To Dream Big.” Who knew that there could be such a silver lining to the reign of Mao Zedong, which resulted in 65 million deaths – the size of the entire population of France today. In the article, author Helen Gao writes, “Women were liberated from the oppression of Confucian patriarchy and imperialist threat.” She does acknowledge the flaws of communism, which included a lack of decent working conditions and low pay.
What a great trade off for the mass starvation, executions, oppression of political dissidents, and complete repression of basic freedoms!
Gao’s main focus of the article is in arguing that the communist revolution provided “more job opportunities” for women. Mao’s propagandists not only tried to enlist women in the workplace, but also help shape their “self-perception” by depicting them “as men’s equal in outlook.” Of course, such “gains” were only available to the women who didn’t starve to death or wind up in a labor camp.
Relative to the largest mass murder in human history, it goes without saying that any “gains” Gao can point too are irrelevant, aren’t they?
The headline was later changed to “How Did Women Fare in China’s Communist Revolution?” but you can still see the original headline from the original tweet the Times sent out to promote the article.
For all its flaws, the Communist revolution taught Chinese women to dream big https://t.co/Fci82iAPxM
— NYT Opinion (@nytopinion) September 26, 2017
The Times set themselves up for mockery in publishing the article, and almost instantly the hashtag “ForAllItsFlaws” was coined to parody the ridiculous op-ed.
#ForAllItsFlaws , Nazi Germany did have a leader whose vegetarianism helped spotlight a movement to end animal cruelty. https://t.co/XOGe8PgFDS
— Lucas Lynch (@lucasjlynch) September 26, 2017
https://twitter.com/bloodless_coup/status/912482875945226240
#ForAllItsFlaws ebola provides its victims with lots of alone time. https://t.co/rBtGHlfI4G
— Tad Karpis (@tkarpis) September 26, 2017
#ForAllItsFlaws , the murderous Vietnam War did introduce America to the deliciousness of Bahn Mi and Pho. https://t.co/XOGe8PgFDS
— Lucas Lynch (@lucasjlynch) September 26, 2017
For all its flaws, cancer gives radiologists work https://t.co/iiCWyV0v38
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) September 26, 2017
#forallitsflaws, the Black Death did wonders for rejuvenating European forests and wolf populations.
— Ref'd Support Duck (@ReformedintheQT) September 26, 2017
Despite all its flaws, the holocaust really brought the Jewish community together. https://t.co/3iF29p83XC
— Jason McKinley (@jawesomeberg) September 26, 2017
Oh – and on an unrelated note, here’s a favorite of mine from their op-ed section, which our friend Helen shared herself:
Why I Admire Anthony Weiner https://t.co/vMQkOh9cct
— Helen Gao (@Yuxin_Gao) September 26, 2017
For all its flaws, at least the New York Times can provide us all with a laugh.
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