Joe: Where are you originally from?
Inga: The Soviet Union.
Joe: Oh! I’m reading The Gulag Archipelago right now.
Inga: It’s well written but it is a bit difficult for me to read. My grandfather and great grandfather were executed, at separate times, by the government.
We had an interesting, but somewhat depressing, conversation after that.
Invite Inga to the range for some trigger time. This country needs more armed, skilled anti communists who understand the problem.
And stop being depressed! I know you like a good challenge.
The depressing part was about her family members that died either from being directly executed or via starvation. In general I’m not depressed.
It was just very sobering to talk to someone who was directly affected by a tyrannical government and to hear her comments about how our government makes her cringe at times with flashbacks to the life she escaped from.
I know what you mean. We had an escapee from Cuba come give a talk at the music store, and he had stories that would have American Progressives plugging their ears and shouting “Lalalalala I cant hear you! Lalalala!” Then again, some Progressives would be listening intently, looking for tips on how to terrorize a population.
For one thing, he and some of his friends would hide in the basement to listen to American music. Eventually they were caught and arrested, and he spent two weeks in a brain-washing center.
THOSE Americans understand the problem, and there are more than a few of them.
Apart from taken her to a range (good idea!) you might introduce her to the works — writing as well as photography — of fellow escapee Oleg Volk.