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And yet, historically, it is not at all. We don’t have a problem with the word camaraderie, which has the same Latin root from the Iberian camarada, which means, pretty much, “mate”, and used the way “mate” is throughout the UK, Australia and NZ, etc. In Germany, kamerad was simply a term for people who shared the same interest.

It was through revolutions that comrade took on the more militaristic and socialist overtones, but again this was neither Russian nor Soviet. Beginning with the usage of citoyen/ne (citizen) in the French Revolution, to bring everyone to the same level, regardless of class or background, by the revolutions sweeping through Europe in the middle of the 19th century, comrade was being used in a similar egalitarian way, more particularly now to identify allies to a cause.

That is the way the word is viewed in most parts of the world, still, and especially among those with a trade union background, or voters for left wing parties, etc.

The idea that comrade is a Russian/soviet thing is largely down to, as is so often the case, the media. In my experience, the US views comrade as Russian/Soviet more than other Western nations. I remember when I called someone comrade while briefly living and working in the US, that their reaction was quite surprising to me. At first appearing shocked, they then appeared to decide I was making a joke, and started speaking in a mock Russian accent. I wonder if it is because the US doesn’t really have a left wing party, so much as right wing party, and a centrist party (that often appears to still be more inclined to the right wing anyway), and no strong trade unions. That and McCarthyism, etc., have led to comrade being seen as only a Russian/Soviet thing.

I have had a US friend try to argue with me that comrade is like the swastika, and that it doesn’t matter how long the swastika has been a peaceful symbol, because once it was subverted Nazis, it will forever be associated first and foremost as a Nazi symbol. And perhaps, in the US, comrade is now first and foremost regarded as a Russian/Soviet word. While in Europe (and other countries such as New Zealand, on the other side of the world, who tend towards European rather than US norms), comrade is recognised more simply as someone with whom we have shared interests, and/or are mates with.

I could, of course, be completely wrong.

I can see why some people might have thought Steve’s use of the word is odd, but I can honestly say that the thought never occurred to me until JD brought it up.

JD, I come from a British trade union background. The word comrade to us is to describe brothers, sisters, friends, fellow workers, people in pain, people we associate with, children who are suffering……..I could go on and on. To me, it is not a political word, but a humanitarian one. Yes, I know that might seem an oxymoron when talking about a trade union, but that is, in fact, one of the reasons I am no longer a trade unionist, and one of the reasons I disdain a lot of politics and try not to go there either here, or on my website. I am more interested in the humanity which binds us. Hopefully, that explains my use of that word. 

Maybe so, the wine was much better