chapotraphouse

yeah I was gonna come say this. Most everyday regular people think the word communist just means "bad." They don't ascribe it any particular political leaning, they don't associate it with leftism or welfare or working class concerns or anything. It carries the same weight as a word like authoritarian or tyrant. Most everyday folk if pressed to describe what a communist believes will instead describe a cartoon of a greedy autocrat who makes everyone poor and causes the crops to die.