I'm a similar age and can certainly relate.
Most of what I was told about communism was from people that didn't know what communism or socialism was. All the bad parts were basically what's wrong with any authoritarian government. "In soviet russia, you could be arrested for speaking out against the party! Isn't that awful!" That sort of a thing.
Once I realized that communism, socialism, and authoritarianism were all very different things and that many nations have varying degrees of each, it was game over. Someone being a communist or socialist just didn't mean anything to me. Especially since most of the time what they are actually advocating for is simply improving public infrastructure in ways that it used to work before Reagan and Clinton got in office and destroyed our public institutions.
I'm 40 years old, and when Republicans start yelling about "communism" it just confuses me. I didn't grow up fearing the Soviet Union. It died when I was still watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoons. I figure they're communicating to really old people (which is bizarre since I feel extremely old). It's the equivalent of yelling at cavemen about saber tooth tigers.
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