random thought: is it still technically illegal to be a communist in the US?
@awr well yeah that's true for sure
I just remember reading that it was made illegal to be a communist during the cold war and I don't know if that was ever rescinded
@Felthry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_Act_trials_of_Communist_Party_leaders this sort of thing ended in the 50s. although after that the government took to alternative measures to quell "subversive movements" in general in the US - e.g. the FBI's tauntings with MLK (who was technically not a communist) and their supposed infiltrations of a lot of New Left groups during the 60s
@Felthry illegal probably not, but certainly taboo in many contexts