Would you rather live in the Soviet system or the American?

[Constantinopolis]

And when I refused to allow it to be confiscated?

Define "refuse". A couple of guys would come over and take the material in question. How exactly would you "refuse" - physically assault them?

[Alyakia]

*not really, I'm actually an atheist

so were the soviets. you're perfect!

[Kumuri]

I always thought it would be interesting to live under the Soviet system.

[Balshvik]

I would love to the Hammer and sickle fly on the American flag right at the White House one day.

[United Marxist Nations]

1) Was not an executing offense, even in Stalin's time, as the NEP was in place at first; it would just be confiscated, and you be either given a job there, or given a job elsewhere.
2) In the time-frame we're talking about, I don't think that was an execution either. Not sure about Stalin-era. In later eras, the material was just confiscated, and you would be interrogated.
3) See 2
4) Define "dissension", it's very vague.

Average sentence to the Gulag system was <4 years.

1) And when I refused to allow it to be confiscated? I'll answer my own question: I become a 'counterrevolutionary'.
2) And after repeated such events I become a 'counterrevolutionary'. Gulag and/or death. Both equally shitty prospects, albeit death might be slightly more tempting.
3) See 2
4) Speaking out against the system. Something the 'Soviet' system couldn't survive when it was allowed to a broader degree than it had been since the inception of the USSR when glasnost came into vogue in the 80s.

If I wasn't sent back into the Gulag system immediately after being released, it means my mind would have been broken by Soviet propaganda and punishment to make me a willing drone. A fate worse than death.

1) I don't think not allowing it to be confiscated was an option.
2) Whatever floats your boat.
4) (because fuck 3) What happened then was the result of decades of putting off attempts to introduce more democratic measures that should have been implemented in 1936; as a result, the prevailing ideas were that the system was inherently undemocratic. I admit, this was a pitfall that the Soviet government did little to change.

EDIT (forgot the part about Gulag): You can hold your personal beliefs however you want, just take the goddamn job, house, and healthcare.

[Oceanic Vakiadia]

The standard penalty for doing those things in the late USSR was being denied promotions in your workplace - in other words being stuck in an entry-level job for your whole life. And, of course, any banned materials would be confiscated, and the police officer dealing with your case might interrogate you to find out if other people were involved. But only if you did such things repeatedly and publicly could you expect actual prison time. And, again, the death penalty was completely out of the question.

That still sounds very undesirable, compared to America.

[Occupied Deutschland]

And when I refused to allow it to be confiscated?

Define "refuse". A couple of guys would come over and take the material in question. How exactly would you "refuse" - physically assault them?

Well, I could, and then I'd be either shot or sent to prison.
Or I could let them, then petition for it to be given back to me at which point I get sent to prison (dissension)
Or I could let them, then go take it back from wherever they took it. And then be either shot or sent to prison.

There seems to be a pattern here in how the Soviet system would treat me.

[United Marxist Nations]

The standard penalty for doing those things in the late USSR was being denied promotions in your workplace - in other words being stuck in an entry-level job for your whole life. And, of course, any banned materials would be confiscated, and the police officer dealing with your case might interrogate you to find out if other people were involved. But only if you did such things repeatedly and publicly could you expect actual prison time. And, again, the death penalty was completely out of the question.

That still sounds very undesirable, compared to America.

And being denied work, healthcare, and housing sounds undesirable, compared to the USSR.

[Oceanic Vakiadia]

That still sounds very undesirable, compared to America.

And being denied work, healthcare, and housing sounds undesirable, compared to the USSR.

I'd rather have the freedom to achieve those myself than have the government hand me it.

[Constantinopolis]

Define "refuse". A couple of guys would come over and take the material in question. How exactly would you "refuse" - physically assault them?

Well, I could, and then I'd be either shot or sent to prison.

Well, uh, assaulting a police officer because you disagree with the law is a big no-no in most systems...

[United Marxist Nations]

And being denied work, healthcare, and housing sounds undesirable, compared to the USSR.

I'd rather have the freedom to achieve those myself than have the government hand me it.

It's not the government handing it to you, it is giving you those things in exchange for your labor. As for education and promising employment, it was the Soviet system's duty to ensure that its people had what was necessary to make it. I don't really like the prospect of not having many employment options (and therefore no options at all).

[Roski]

A mixture of both would be nice at times, it seems.

Not sure where I would fit as a homosexual in a Soviet Society though. ANy of our fellow Russians wanna help me out with that?

[Bulgar Rouge]

I'd probably exploit the opportunities of the American system to leave a footprint through innovation and personal creativity, and then retire in the safety and comfort of the Soviet system.

[United Marxist Nations]

A mixture of both would be nice at times, it seems.

Not sure where I would fit as a homosexual in a Soviet Society though. ANy of our fellow Russians wanna help me out with that?

No way to tell what the USSR would have done, since the big progress in the study of LBGT stuff happened largely after the fall of the USSR, but it seems reasonable to think that the USSR would have liberalized in that area along with the rest of the world.

[Roski]

A mixture of both would be nice at times, it seems.

Not sure where I would fit as a homosexual in a Soviet Society though. ANy of our fellow Russians wanna help me out with that?

No way to tell what the USSR would have done, since the big progress in the study of LBGT stuff happened largely after the fall of the USSR, but it seems reasonable to think that the USSR would have liberalized in that area along with the rest of the world.

I'm not sure they had an opinion on it. I never really dived to hard into the laws of the Soviet Union.

[Occupied Deutschland]

Well, I could, and then I'd be either shot or sent to prison.

Well, uh, assaulting a police officer because you disagree with the law is a big no-no in most systems...

As is taking a person's stuff. Criminals don't become lawful when given a badge.

[Oceanic Vakiadia]

I'd rather have the freedom to achieve those myself than have the government hand me it.

It's not the government handing it to you, it is giving you those things in exchange for your labor. As for education and promising employment, it was the Soviet system's duty to ensure that its people had what was necessary to make it. I don't really like the prospect of not having many employment options (and therefore no options at all).

I guess it comes down to priorities. Personally, I value social freedom over amenities like that.

A mixture of both would be nice at times, it seems.

Not sure where I would fit as a homosexual in a Soviet Society though. ANy of our fellow Russians wanna help me out with that?

No way to tell what the USSR would have done, since the big progress in the study of LBGT stuff happened largely after the fall of the USSR, but it seems reasonable to think that the USSR would have liberalized in that area along with the rest of the world.

Just like Russia did?

[The Fascist American Empire]

Both were rather flawed, but in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics I would be thrown in prison for being a Christian, so... Regrettably, America.

[Alyakia]

No way to tell what the USSR would have done, since the big progress in the study of LBGT stuff happened largely after the fall of the USSR, but it seems reasonable to think that the USSR would have liberalized in that area along with the rest of the world.

I'm not sure they had an opinion on it. I never really dived to hard into the laws of the Soviet Union.

"Joseph Stalin re-criminalized homosexuality in 1933 (Stalin's criminal code punishing gay men by up to five years in prison with hard labor) and the law withstood through the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and was only repealed in Russia in 1993."

[Roski]

Both were rather flawed, but in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics I would be thrown in prison for being a Christian, so... Regrettably, America.

Only when an example was needed. It wasn't as "Godless" as the West made it seem...

[Nord Amour]

As someone who isn't taking my modern luxuries for granted, I'll choose the American system, where I'm less likely to starve even if homeless.

[Roski]

I'm not sure they had an opinion on it. I never really dived to hard into the laws of the Soviet Union.

"Joseph Stalin re-criminalized homosexuality in 1933 (Stalin's criminal code punishing gay men by up to five years in prison with hard labor) and the law withstood through the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and was only repealed in Russia in 1993."

No Soviets for me then.

[United Marxist Nations]

Both were rather flawed, but in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics I would be thrown in prison for being a Christian, so... Regrettably, America.

You should have seen that picture Constantinopolis posted of Brezhnev and the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church sharing a drink.

[Alyakia]

Both were rather flawed, but in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics I would be thrown in prison for being a Christian, so... Regrettably, America.

Only when an example was needed. It wasn't as "Godless" as the West made it seem...

" By 1941 only 500 churches remained open out of about 54,000 in existence prior to World War I."

[Imperializt Russia]

Define "refuse". A couple of guys would come over and take the material in question. How exactly would you "refuse" - physically assault them?

Well, I could, and then I'd be either shot or sent to prison.
Or I could let them, then petition for it to be given back to me at which point I get sent to prison (dissension)
Or I could let them, then go take it back from wherever they took it. And then be either shot or sent to prison.

There seems to be a pattern here in how the Soviet system would treat me.

They'd seize your building. You act like you're talking about bailiffs or debt enforcement officers. They won't politely wait outside for you to let them in, if you're feeling charitable. They are there to take your business for the state.

And being denied work, healthcare, and housing sounds undesirable, compared to the USSR.

I'd rather have the freedom to achieve those myself than have the government hand me it.
EDIT: With the exception of healthcare.

Then live in a real country, like the Commonwealth.

A mixture of both would be nice at times, it seems.

Not sure where I would fit as a homosexual in a Soviet Society though. ANy of our fellow Russians wanna help me out with that?

Lenin decriminalised homosexuality.
Stalin recriminalised it.
Between then and the dissolution of the union, it was decriminalised again.

I think it's technically not illegal now, the Russians are just taking a crackdown on it in all but name.