But it raised a few points I do want to address.
Yes, people were oppressed under the Soviet system. American capitalism is oppressive to many, too. Ask a prisoner who can now only access books on an "allowed books" list.
No, soviet life wasn't better for everyone; American capitalism isn't better for everyone. Ask the millions who can't access health care and die prematurely for it.
Saying that "some suffered under soviet rule, therefore it is unacceptable" sets a bar of "nobody should suffer" that is unreasonably high; it is also a bar that American capitalism very distinctly fails to clear. Suffering is great in the US. Ask the homeless, ask the struggling. There's no American freedom for them, it's an empty slogan. There's only suffering for them.
My point that some prefer soviet rule is to rebut the generalization that it did not work. It didn't for many. It did for many others. American capitalism does not work for many; hence the extremism in political life. People want a change.
My point is that it's an oversimplification to say ours is good, theirs was bad, when the history and reality is much more complicated than that.
Strangest distinct memory I have of hanging with people in a post-Soviet state: partying all night long, passing out some time around 3, waking up at 5 to hearing them all singing the Soviet anthem -- not the Russian anthem, though the melody's the same -- and then talking in hushed tones the next day with some of them about life being better before the fall.
And that's just one of many conversations I've had with people about this stuff. shrug