Who would go to Venezuala and return singing praises to socialism?

[Newman]

Public school teachers, of course, of whom I was one, now retired. It used to be Cuba that hosted carefully managed tours by eager apologists.

Chicago Teachers Crowdfund Trip To Venezuela, Come Back Praising Socialism

Three Chicago teachers and a union organizer used a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for a trip to Venezuela. The teachers, all members of the Chicago Teachers Union, wrote public blogs and social media posts casting the socialist government of the country in a favorable light.

Even the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) kept its distance from these three bobbleheads.

...Another union member, Karen Moody, told the Tribune that she was “appalled” by the delegation.

“I am appalled a delegation representing themselves as CTU went to Venezuela, not to support striking teachers, not to object to human rights violations, but to go on what appears to be a state-chaperoned propaganda tour,” she told the outlet.

The CTU retweeted some of the group’s tweets regarding their trip, including one from teacher Sarah Chambers who praised the lack of homeless people she saw while traveling in the struggling country.

“While staying in #Venezuela, we didn’t see a single homeless person. USA is the richest country in the world; yet, there are homeless people everywhere. Over 17k CPS students are homeless ... This is why @CTULocal1 is fighting for fair housing #CTUAgainstVezIntervention."

I'm sure this trio is proud of teaching "critical thinking skills." But I remember similar garbage from teachers returning from Cuba, always comparing its features ("100% literacy rate") favorably to America. Always. I don't remember one. single. word that would help you understand why people would risk drowning to get from Cuba to America.

Chambers also compared Maduro to former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. The comparison was meant as a compliment.

“Through major economic hardships, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro never closed a single public school or a single health clinic. This stands in stark contrast to our experience in Chicago, where Mayor Rahm Emanuel closed 50 public schools and several mental health clinics in a single year," Chambers told Fight Back! News.

The group’s blog was named “Radical Educator Collective.”

From my experience with the teachers returning from Fidel Castro's paradise, I confidently predict their response to any skepticism will be variations of, "We were there! We saw it with our own eyes!" which roughly translated means Shut up.

File under, Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

[scott]

Why are unions so in love with socialism?

[Lady Marva]

Why are unions so in love with socialism?

The "leaders" would get to be the bosses...………..

[Djharkavy]

Why are unions so in love with socialism?

Unions literally exist so that a collective of workers have a voice to bargain with owners.

[Newman]

Unions literally exist so that a collective of workers have a voice to bargain with owners.

A better question, Djharkavy, might be, Why is teaching such an accommodating home to such ditzy leftism?

[Novaheart]

A better question, Djharkavy, might be, Why is teaching such an accommodating home to such ditzy leftism?

Teaching is a respectable form of arrested development. Young people think that communism is a fascinating idea because it's "fair", you don't have to work, and it pisses off your grandparents. Teachers are people who never wanted to leave school.

My cousin is a professor at a major international university- he has been a student, a teacher, a professor, or otherwise present on a college campus for his entire adult life (he's 50). He thinks Bernie is swell.

[Djharkavy]

A better question, Djharkavy, might be, Why is teaching such an accommodating home to such ditzy leftism?

Is it really? Or do we just see the outrageous examples. Many of my colleagues lean to the left. None of them think Venezuela is a shining example to follow.

[Celeste Chalfonte]

Teaching is a respectable form of arrested development. Young people think that communism is a fascinating idea because it's "fair", you don't have to work, and it pisses off your grandparents. Teachers are people who never wanted to leave school.

My cousin is a professor at a major international university- he has been a student, a teacher, a professor, or otherwise present on a college campus for his entire adult life (he's 50). He thinks Bernie is swell.

Jeez, you're getting as bad as our cousin. The person of whom you speak isn't your cousin; he's your cousin's spouse. And while he is, indeed, a case of arrested development, we've both had teachers who were fully and productively adult. Sweeping generalizations like this ill become you.

As for youth, I don't recall either of us being enthralled by communism. I thought - and still do think - that fear-mongering against it was stupid and only gave it cachet with the easily confused. Cuba, for example, would never have remained Communist this long if the US had not maintained the embargo. The closest you ever came to endorsing communism was lengthy phase where you believed what was mine was yours and what was yours was yours alone, but that's not real communism, it's youngest child syndrome.

Look at the OP again. A group of people who happen to be teachers and union members made asses of themselves by sucking up to a lying despot. Another person, one of their fellow teachers and probably representative of many more, presumably also a union member, was openly appalled by their conduct. This says very little about all teachers, all union members, or all Chicagoans. It says much about the sort of chumps who believed what they saw when shown about the model collectives and shtetls by the minions of Maduro, Kim, Castro, Stalin, Hitler, and other megalomaniacs.

Incidentally, you may recall that I worked with both the original Cuban refugees and the wave that came in the '70s. There is no doubt that Batista was a bad man. However, the first-waave Cuban refugees I knew were largely educated, hardworking, decent people. The second wave were a much more mixed bag, and we know that was due, in part, to Castro sending us the dregs of his society, but I can tell you for certain one thing: there was no universal literacy in that wave.

[scott]

Unions literally exist so that a collective of workers have a voice to bargain with owners.

So why do they love socialism so much?

[Newman]

Is it really? Or do we just see the outrageous examples. Many of my colleagues lean to the left. None of them think Venezuela is a shining example to follow.

Well, those three Chicago brains do.

Do many of your colleagues lean to the right?

Two I knew did; a third I strongly suspect. In school or in social settings with other teachers they were silent on political matters. I only discovered their inclinations as I approached retirement.

[Newman]

So why do they love socialism so much?

I believe it's mostly because they have just about zero experience in the private sector, outside of summer jobs. Like the cousin-in-law professor mentioned above.

In their experience, improving their circumstances mostly depends on better contracts, and more enlightened benevolence from their bosses (perhaps the state government, for example). It's a set of circumstances extremely conducive to group identity, much closer to socialist ideology than the individual challenge of "capitalism."

[Djharkavy]

Well, those three Chicago brains do.

Do many of your colleagues lean to the right?

Two I knew did; a third I strongly suspect. In school or in social settings with other teachers they were silent on political matters. I only discovered their inclinations as I approached retirement.

Three or four, that I know of.

[Newman]

Three or four, that I know of.

That's a lot, for NYC.

edit: GREAT AVATAR!

[Lady Marva]

A better question, Djharkavy, might be, Why is teaching such an accommodating home to such ditzy leftism?

Easy peasy job with unlimited job security.

[Michele]

Teaching is a respectable form of arrested development. Young people think that communism is a fascinating idea because it's "fair", you don't have to work, and it pisses off your grandparents. Teachers are people who never wanted to leave school.

My cousin is a professor at a major international university- he has been a student, a teacher, a professor, or otherwise present on a college campus for his entire adult life (he's 50). He thinks Bernie is swell.

No doubt there are all kinds of reasons that people go into teaching. IMO, when you are taught by or find a teacher for your child who not only thinks outside-the-box to help a child learn but also has a heart for ALL children, that is a success...that is accomplishment...that is pure joy...for the child, the teacher and the parent.