Now that you mention it, I really don't know how I found you. I think it was through @pinmapple, an account posting and boosting travel related content. I think they also have something to do with the community in which you posted the "Travelogue 6" article, which is the first one I saw from you.

I know about communities, took me some time to figure things out. I met some wonderful people over @project-hope, that's where I'm the most active. Since my posts are mainly about technology, they seem like a perfect fit. I'll check the Man Cave out, after all there's no harm in being in more than one community, right?

Regarding communism, you should keep in mind while reading this that I haven't lived during that time so all of the knowledge has been passed on to me either in history class or by parents, grandparents, etc. Unfortunately I can't give you the analysis of a first-hand experience.

You'll hear two different views on communism in Romania depending who you're asking. Some people will tell they miss those days because everyone had a job and while the food was rationed they managed. There were the people with a couple connections that sometimes got more food than they should and then there were those with no connections which simply "didn't get in time" to the grocery store and now they have to go home with only half their milk ratio or meat, etc.

Those that were able to get food either from relatives that lived in the countryside or thorough connections will most probably tell you that "people managed", but they mean their family and a couple other relatives, forgetting about those that actually lived only on the breadcrumbs provided by the communist party.

Ceausescu, the last communist leader had a dream of paying all of Romania's debt and a lot of people think that's a good thing except that an economy isn't just a zero-sum game. What's the point of having 0 debt if by the end of id you've got a hungry population that won't work and you'll have 0 money to incentivize them to.

The working class had enough when the amount of labor they had to put in every day didn't match the amount of rewards you'd get out of it. Money was pretty much useless since it couldn't buy basic things such as food.

There were also the intellectuals. My grandfather, who was a teacher, got arrested for his anti-communist ideas and was sent to forced-labor in a coal mine for a year. There was always someone following you and it was hard to trust anybody. Everybody was encouraged to collaborate with the police to report any anti-socialist/anti-communist behavior.

I think it was a really dark time and I don't think there is anything positive we took from it and implemented in our "modern version" of Romania. We struggle with corruption, which you might argue it's something that remained from communism when everybody was used to this kind of behavior for the sake of survival. Everybody was just so used to give a little money, or goods like coffee, in exchange for basic services like healthcare, education, that we grew accustomed to it.

Things are going better and better, but it's a long and tough road ahead. If there is something positive that came out of communism I can't find it.

So, I'll check out the Man Cave and I've just added you on discord. It is a pleasure talking to you, I really enjoyed our little discussion, you are a great man. 😄