Quote:
Originally Posted by Sam
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LS and RR (or whatever her current initials are) can be considered "useful idiots" by the hierarchy because they promote the "uncut hair" doctrine which some in leadership preach.
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In political jargon, the term useful idiot was used to describe Soviet sympathizers in Western countries and the attitude of the Soviet government towards them. The implication was that though the person in question naïvely thought themselves an ally of the Soviets or other Communists, they were actually held in contempt by them, and were being cynically used.
The term is now used more broadly to describe someone who is perceived to be manipulated by a political movement, terrorist group, hostile government, or business, whether or not the group is Communist in nature.
The term is commonly attributed to Lenin, sometimes in the form "useful idiots of the West", to describe those Western reporters and travelers who would endorse the Soviet Union and its policies in the West. In fact, the earliest known usage is in a 1948 New York Times article on Italian politics. In 1987, Grant Harris, senior reference librarian at the Library of Congress, said "We have not been able to identify this phrase [useful idiots of the West] among [Lenin's] published works.
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