Radicals flip off Victims of Communism Memorial

Marion Smith, Executive Director of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, in an email states:

A group of radicals on their way to a protest organized in part by the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which believes “the only solution to the deepening crisis of capitalism is the socialist transformation of society,” recently descended on the Victims of Communism Memorial in Washington, DC.

For some reason they thought it would be a good idea to give the middle finger to our Memorial—literally—and then had the audacity to brag about it all over social media.

I am livid and I expect you are too.

The Memorial was built to honor the more than 100 million people around the world who were persecuted, oppressed, and murdered by communist dictators including Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, and Fidel Castro. It is a 10-foot bronze replica of the papier-mâché statue made by peaceful pro-democracy students in Tiananmen Square in June 1989. The students had themselves modeled their statue after the Statue of Liberty.

This Memorial is a powerful reminder of the human cost of communism—and a symbol of hope for those still living under communist regimes.

A famous Cuban dissident, El Sexto (which means “The Sixth”) visited the Memorial in February, shortly after he’d been released from prison in Cuba for daring to celebrate the death of a dictator.

Here he is paying his respects.

I was there and I am struck by the contrast of how he responded to the Memorial. They showed ignorance and disrespect. He was moved to tears.

That’s why the work of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation is so important.

Because of the generosity of patriots like you, we are doing something about the crisis of education facing our nation. In 2016, we hosted our first high school teacher seminars and launched our first college programs. In just a few months, we’ve reached thousands of college students nationwide and we’re rapidly building on this momentum.

ABOUT THE VICTIMS OF COMMUNISM MEMORIAL FOUNDATION

In 1994, the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation was legally incorporated with the mission: To educate this generation and future generations about the ideology, history, and legacy of communism.

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