Catch You Later, Traitor

by Avi

‘Communism. A system of social organization in which all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state denominated by a single political party.’ ”

Shows American opinion od Communism and the true extent of the red scare. Shows how much propaganda influenced America.

“there are people in government, the Congress, the FBI—I have FBI friends—who are ferreting out red traitors, people who pretend to like America but secretly oppose it. All of us, even kids like you, need to do your patriotic duty to make sure reds, Commie symps, fellow travelers, and pinkos, un-Americans, don’t infiltrate our lives. None of us should have anything to do with reds.”

Shows how oblivilous we were to what communism is. Its true that we put these words behind it but we didnt undeestand what it was like to live in the Soviet Union. Nor did we recognize our hypocrisy. We didnt recognize the extent of our hatred, blinded by Patriotism

No Commies can play.”

Shows how paranoid and indoctrinated kids were. They threw around these words only knowing Commie =Bad they were sheep, as most kids are

Kat was playing first base. I threw a look at her. She didn’t throw it back. The others were glaring at me as if I was a mound of hot horse manure.

Even her parents were afraid of him. And whaat was he? A little boy.

U.S. Communists had to register with our government. How the Rosenbergs, a husband and wife, had been sentenced to death for being Soviet spies.

Totalitarian much

I heard my parents talk about those things, but for me it was like alphabet soup. I knew the letters but I swallowed them whole, without making words or sentences with them.

As most Americans did

Commies were people who pretend to like America, but secretly oppose it.

“I’m afraid Duff was blacklisted.” “What’s that?” “People won’t hire him.” “Why not?” “He was accused of being a Communist.”

Shows how accusations could turn the entire world against you

a Tom and Jerry, began. It was the usual: Tom the cat (large and dumb) constantly tried to catch Jerry the mouse (small and smart). Though Tom invented wild ways to slam the mouse, he always lost and ended up getting slammed himself.

I wonder if Avi knew that Tom And Jerry was British propaganda about Nazi Germany and Britain

Communist Party and its members must register as part of a foreign-controlled agency got under way today after the new Subversive Activities Control Board

“Pete,” said Donavan, “gather your books. I want you to sit over there.” He pointed to the last desk in the far row. Where no one sat. “How come?” I said. “Because I told you to.” “Is it because—” “Pete Collison, I’ve asked you to do something.” “Sir, I’m not—” “You may go there, or to the principal’s

An eighth-grade teacher named Mr. Malakowski—we called him “Mr. Mal”—

He shook his head. “In a nutshell, Pete, socialism is a system where the community, the working people, own the businesses and factories, and they share the profits and the wealth made from what they produce. That’s the theory, anyway. Communism is the Soviet Union’s form of socialism. It’s not democratic. In fact, the Soviet Union is a horrible dictatorship. Murdering people who disagree with you isn’t my idea of socialism.”

WRONG

“Ever hear of the McCarran Act?” I shook my head. “It’s the law. President Truman said it was a bad law and vetoed it but Congress overruled his veto. The McCarran Act does many things, among them, allowing the government to make a list of people they believe are subversives—troublemakers who want to disrupt our government. If there’s a national emergency, subversives can be rounded up. Put in prison camps.” “You on the list?” I cried. “I have no idea. I don’t want to be, but it’s possible.”

Wow

Knowing your parents are afraid is like being in the middle of the ocean and discovering your boat has a big hole in the bottom.

burst. Black ink spattered everywhere.

I’m a Communist. A real one. Proud of it.”

Is Bobby a commie? The accusations are real

Duffy Nursing

is this where his dad is??? Or is it his mom!

Gray-white hair hung down on both sides of his face, like curtains parting. Or maybe they were closing.

Its Tom!

Pete, do you have any idea how suspicious you’ve become?”

This is not always a bad thing. People should question things. However, in my experience, too much suspicion undermines reason.”

Pete stepped into a small, well-lit room where a good-looking blonde sat behind a wide desk. On the desk were neat piles of papers, almost as neat as the dame was, along with a typewriter and a phone. Next to the phone was a small American flag on a pedestal, too small for anyone to count the forty-eight stars. A coat tree stood in one corner. The wall behind the blonde had three closed doors and no windows. It didn’t seem like the best spot to start searching for secrets, but even dull rooms can hold tons of dynamite. Like the blonde.

Kill. Me.

“Yes, Mr. Ewing.” She said it so nicely I decided she was his girlfriend.

“I was Frank’s big brother. He always listened to me. Like Bobby, I was a cocky know-it-all. Hey, maybe Frank would have a better life there. Life was rough here. I urged Frank to go. He went.

Feeling guilty is like quicksand. The more you wiggle to get out, the deeper you sink. “I sank.

“Knowing who he was and finding ways to be true to himself somewhere, inside. Even if you’re not in prison, staying true to your own thoughts is hard.” Dad was silent for a moment and then he said, “Let me tell you, Pal, grown-ups lose their freedom a lot. And they don’t have to be in prison.”