321OralHistory-Pastia-KissTheHandYouCannotBite

8/7/2019 321OralHistory-Pastia-KissTheHandYouCannotBite

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KisstheHandYouCannotBite:ThreeOralHistoriesfromCommunistRomania1

CristinaPastia

SimonFraserUniversity

Abstract.Theseoralhistoriesfocusonthepersonalexperiencesofthreeparticipantsduring

Ceausescusrule,fromchildhooduntiltherevolutionin1989.Iconductedaseriesofinterviews

witheachparticipant,andtheresultsarestartling.Aschildren,theyweretaughtpatriotism

aboveallelse;asadults,theyrejecttheirindoctrination,butcandolittleagainstthemightofthe

CommunistPartyanditstool,theRomaniansecretpolice.Theparticipantsdescribedhowthey

adaptedtotheirenvironment,howtheyconnectedwithotherswhosharedtheiropposing

views,andhowtheyweretreatedbythesecretpolice.Theirexperiencesarecontrarytothe

commonbeliefthatcommunismisideal.

IntroductionApopularbeliefaboutcommunisminEasternEuropeseemstobethatcommunismisagood

ideaintheory;itsimplyhasnotworkedinpractice.Fewknowthedetailsofthedeprivationand

sufferingoftheRomaniansundertheCommunistParty.MyfamilyisRomanian,andtheyknow

toowellthecold,thehunger,andthelossofhopethatwasprevalentduringthosetimes,

particularlyinthe1980s.Pilon(1976)considersitasaquietdesperationitisanapt

description.

Marculescu,(2007)declaresthatthepreviouslystatedbeliefaboutcommunismiswrong,itis

notagoodideaevenintheory.Itisunreliableeconomically,butitisexcellentasamethodof

socialcontrol(Marculescu,2007).Thetoolsofsocialcontrolwhichishowthisideology

survivedforsolongwereterrorandtheSecuritate,thesecretpolice.Thesecretpolice,it

seemed,wereeverywhere.Theyrecordpublicconversations,especiallyconversationswith

foreigners;infact,allconversationswithforeignersmustbeformallyreported(Pilon,1976).

OtherliteratureaboutcommunisminRomaniasaysverylittleaboutthedaytodaylivesof

averagepeople.MaryEllenFischer(1981)describesthecultofpersonalitythatsurrounded

theCommunistPartyleaderfrom1965to1989,NicolaeCeausescu. Hewasanidol:his

portraitsadornedthewallsofpublicbuildingsandhisspeecheswerepublishedasa

CommunistBible;hewaspresentedasomniscient(Fischer,1981).

1ThisresearchwasconductedandthispaperwrittenforacourseinQualitativeResearchMethodsinCriminology

(Crim321)offeredatSimonFraserUniversitybyDr.TedPalys.Copyrightbelongstotheauthor.


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1 Three Oral Histories from Communist Romania

ItiswellknownthatCeausescuhadaneedforpublicadoration(FundatiaAcademicaCivica,

2008).Thisneedwassatedpartiallybylargepublicassemblies,wherecomradeswereexpected

toclapandcheerjoyfully(FundatiaAcademicaCivica,2008).Inadditiontothis,themedia

controlledbytheCommunistregimehaddailynewsofthethenpresident(Epuran&

Turgeon,2001).Inthe1980s,thefewhoursoftelevisionpresentedmoreofthesame(Epuran

&Turgeon,2001).

Inadditiontothis,whenCeausescuhimselfwasinterviewed,hisresponseswereeitheroutright

liesforexample,inresponsetothequestion,Whenwilltheshelvesbefull?hedeclared

Theshelvesarefull.orconvolutednonresponses(Pintea,1990).Certainanswersthat

appearedinWesternnewspaperswerenoticeablyabsentinRomanianpapers,whichwere,of

course,heavilycensored(Pintea,1990).

OneofthefewthingsthatisknownaboutordinarypeopleinRomaniaisthatavastamountof

timewasspentwaitinginline,oftenoutsideinthecoldandrain(Hale,1971).Thepeoplehad

to

line

up

for

hours

for

basics

such

as

bread,

milk,

or

cheese.

Meat

was

very

difficult

to

obtain,

somanyRomaniansatefishoften.Therewasverylittletobuyandwhatwasforsalewas

oftenoflowqualitybuttherewasaphysicalaswellasmonetarycostforavailableproducts

(Hale,1971).

Iplantoconductanoralhistoryonthreeparticipants:mymother,myfather,andanother

individualthatIhaveknownforalongtimewhowishestoremainanonymous.Thefocuswill

beonmyparticipantspersonalexperiencesgrowingupinCommunistRomania:howthey

cametodistrusttheState,howtheyadaptedtotheincreasinglymiserableconditionstheylived

in,andwhetheritwasatallpossibleforthemtofightback.

MethodsThedatawasgatheredoveraseriesofonehourinterviewswiththethreeparticipants.The

participantsaremymother,Maria,myfather,Bobby,andathirdindividual,arelative,who

requestedthatIkeeptheiridentityconfidential.Throughoutthispaper,Iwillrefertothis

personasSpencer.Ichosetheseparticularpeopleduetoourcloserelationship,mybeliefin

theirintegrity,andthefactthatallthreeofthemhavewillinglydiscussedthistopicwithmein

thepastandconsideritimportant.

Theinterviewsweresemistructured;eachinterviewfocusedononeaspectoflifein

communistRomania.Ididnothaveastrictlistofprecisequestions;instead,Imadesuretocoveranumberofpointsineachinterview.Forexample,thefirstinterviewIhadwitheach

participantcoveredtheirchildhoodandteenageyears,whattheyweretaughtaboutthe

communistgovernmentathome,andhowtheirperceptionofthecommunistgovernment

changedthroughoutthoseearlyyears.

Theinterviewswereallrecorded,andinadditiontothis,Itooknotesbyhand.Furthermore,

theinterviewswithmyparentswereconductedintheapartmentthatIsharewiththem,to


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ensuretheircomfort.IconductedmyinterviewswithSpenceroverthephone,ashelivestoo

farawayforaninpersoninterview.DuetothefactthatmyparticipantsandIarebilingual,the

interviewswereconductedinbothEnglishandRomanian;thatis,theymostlycommunicatedin

Romanian,andIinEnglish.Itisthusimportanttonotethatanyquotesinthispaperarerough

translations,notdirectquotes.

Confidentialityisaconcerninthisstudy.Myparentsdidnotconsideritanissueandallowed

metoidentifythembyname.However,thethirdparticipantofthisstudywouldonlyletme

includeapersonalstorythattheysharedifIguaranteedconfidentiality.Inadditiontothis,I

haveinformedconsentfromallofmyparticipants.Allthreeofthemareadultsandtheyareall

awareofthepurposeandextentofmyresearch.

Mymainconcerninthisstudyisvalidity.IhavechosenparticipantsthatIamcloseto,Ihave

knownforaverylongtime,andthatIhavenoauthorityover.Iknowthatallthreeofmy

participantsarehonestandtrustworthy,andthatallthreeofthemtooktheseinterviews

seriously.

The

answers

they

gave

me

were

well

thought

out,

not

flippant,

one

word

responses.

Mysimilarbackgroundandcloserelationshipwithmyparticipantspromotesvalidity.

However,mycloserelationshipwithmyparticipantscanalsobeahindrance.Becausemy

parentswillremainauthorityfiguresevenaftertheseinterviews,theymayengagein

censorship,andomitinformationthatmaydiminishthatauthority.Myparentshadatendency

togiveresponsesthatweresomewhatvague,andhadtobepromptedtoprovideconcrete

examples.Myfatherinparticularwouldspeakingeneralterms,ratherthanuseIstatements.

ThiswaslessofaproblemwithSpencer,whohasonlyrarelyactedasaparentalauthority;

becausewewereonamoreequalfooting,hesharedanexperiencethathehasnevershared

withanyotherperson.

ResultsTwoparticipantswereborninsmalltowns,whilethethirdgrewupclosetoBucharest.Allof

themlivedandworkedinRomaniauntiltherevolutionin1989,afterwhichmyparentschose

toemigrate.Theywerebornintheearlytomid1950sandwereraisedbybothparents.Allof

myparticipantshaveafiveyearUniversitydegree;whenmyparentsmovedtoCanada,these

degreesweredeclaredequaltoaMasters.Allofthemareemployedascomputer

programmers,allaremarried,andallhavebetweenoneandtwochildren.Sincetheirsituations

inlifeareremarkablysimilar,soaretheirexperiences.

IconsidertheinformationtheyhavegivenmetobevalidbecauseIhaveknownmyparticipants

foralongtimeandconsiderthemtrustworthy,andIhaveheardmanysimilarstoriesfrom

otherRomanians.Inadditiontothis,theinformationwasverifiedbyanumberofother

sources:books,articles,andatakeawaymuseumDVDboughtfromtheSighetMemorial,

whichisamemorialforvictimsofcommunismandpoliticalresistance.


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TheEarlyYears:ChildhoodandAdolescenceTheearlyyearsofallthreeparticipantswereverysimilar,withregardstotheirperceptionof

thecommunistgovernment.Itisimportanttonotethatwhenmyparticipantswereyoung,

therewaslessdeprivationandslightlylessnationalism.Atschool,theyheardonlythepositive

idealsofcommunismandweretaughtthatacapitalistsocietywasnegativeandanexploitative

wayoflife.Theindoctrinationwasfrighteninglysuccessful.Ofthis,Spencersaidthefollowing:

When Iwasakid, I thoughtcommunismwasgreat. Itswhat Iwas toldatschool.But Iheard

about all these people that ran away, escaped toWestern Europe I didnt get it, I didnt

understandwhytheywouldwanttoleavewhenitwassogoodhere.

Noneofmyparticipantswereexposedtoopposingviewsathomeorinanyotherprivate

situation.Itwouldhavebeendifficulttoexplaintochildrenwhythegovernmentisbad,but

whytheyshouldsaynothingaboutitinpublic.Mymotherexplainedwhatshelearnedfromher

family:

Someparentstoldtheirkidsthatthissituationwasntgood,thatitcouldbedifferent,itcouldbe

better.Thatsomewhereelse,itsdifferentanditsbetter.Butwewerenottoldthis.Wewerent

raisedwiththeideathatinanotherplace,thesituationisdifferentandmuchbetter,andthatin

Romania,oursituationisawfulandnothingcanbedoneaboutit.Wewereraisedwiththeidea

thatthis isthecountryyouwerebornin,this iswhereyoullberaised,andthis iswhereyoull

live and you should try tomake the best of it.My parents thought therewas no reason to

criticizecommunismwhentheycouldnotofferusanalternative.Itwouldonlymakeushatethe

countrywelivedin.SoIthoughteverythingwasperfect.

Indoctrination,however,wasnotlimitedtoschool.Patriotismandloveofthecommunist

governmentwasprevalentinotheraspectsoftheirlives.Allofmyparticipantswererequired

tojoinmandatoryclubs;theylearnedatschoolthattheyshouldbeproudtojoin.Therewere

regularmeetingsinwhichchildrenweretoldabouttheirhistoryortheirgovernment,andthe

importanceofpatriotism.Fromageninetofourteen,theparticipantswerePioneers,andfrom

fourteentoeighteen,theyweremembersoftheTeenageCommunistUnion.Afterthat,they

hadtheoptiontobecomemembersoftheCommunistParty.

However,despitethepervasivenationalismandlackofcriticismoftheState,childrennoticed

somestrangebehaviour.Myfathersharedoneofhisexperiences,inwhichhelearnedoneof

thefewwaystoopenlyopposetheState:

IrememberthefirsttimeIwenttoasoccergame.Iwentwithmyparents.Iwaslessthanfiveyearsoldalmostfiveyearsold.Theteamfrommyhometown,Petrolu,wasplayingagainst

theteamoftheRomanianSecurity2,Dynamo.AndIdidntunderstandthen,butIdidunderstand

later,whenourteamscoredagoal,theentirestadiumerupted,everyoneyelledatloudasthey

could.Andforakid likeme, itwasaterrifyingexperience. Istartedtotugonmymomsdress

andyelled,asloudasIcould,andaskedherwhythesepeoplewerescreamingatsuchavolume.

2The Romanian word for the Secret Police, Securitate, directly translated means security. This is how

I will refer to it throughout this paper.


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Myfather,likeSpencerandmymother,wasexposedtothecommunistpropagandaatschool

andinsociety,butbytheageofthirteen,hepassionatelyhatedtheCommunistParty.Hewas

influencednotbyhisfamily,butbyanelderlymanwhotutoredhim.Becausehewasold,my

fathersays,hedidntcaresomuchaboutthegovernment.Hefeltfreetosaywhathewished

tome.Hetoldmyfatheraboutpeoplewhosufferedneedlessly,aboutthelackoffreedom

(freedomofexpression,amongotherthings).Inadditiontothis,myfatherlistenedtoforeign

radio(particularlyEuropaLibera,orFreeEurope).Itwasdifficulttohearmuchofwhatwas

beingsaidonforeignchannels,duetotheoverlappingnoise,buttherewasmusic,politics,

personalstoriesfromformerEasternEuropeanpoliticalprisonersandotherescapees,and

currenteventsthatwerehiddenfromthepublic.

Ontheotherhand,Spencerandmymother,whobothgrewupinsmalltowns,didnothave

suchnegativefeelingstowardsthecommunistgovernment.Spencerwaslargelyindifferentto

politics.Mymother,however,wasextraordinarilysheltered.Itwasnotuntilsheleftfor

universityintheseventiesthatshewasexposedtoopposingopinions.Eventhen,sheassumed

anynegativeexperienceswereisolatedincidentsorirrelevant.

Adulthood:DeprivationandPoliticalStruggleAttheageofeighteen,duetoherhighgradesatschool,mymotherwaspresentedwiththe

honourofbecomingamemberoftheCommunistParty.Shethoughtitwasnormaltobegiven

apoliticalrewardforbeingtopofherclass.SpenceralsoeventuallyjoinedtheCommunist

Party.However,myfatherhadnointerestinsuchathing:

IhadabadfilebecauseanuncleonmydadssidehadbeenaprisonerofwarinRussia.Andafter

ayearofthathespentsixmonthsinjailinRomania.ThisonlybecausehehadbeenaprisonerinRussia.HehadbeenintheRomanianarmy.AndIhadanuncle,mymothersbrother,whofled

toSweden.Thesewereblackmarksonmyfile.Becauseofthis,Icouldnotbecomeamember

oftheCommunistParty.

ThosewhodidnotjointhePartyfacedcertaindisadvantages.Theycouldnotadvanceatwork

theywouldnotbegivenmanagerialpositionsoranypositionofauthority.However,therewas

littleevenlowlevelmembersoftheParty(suchasmymotherandSpencer)coulddo.

Spencersaidthatasanadult,Romaniafeltlikeaprison.Streetswerenamedafternotable

Communistleaders.Mymothergrewuponastreetnamed21December3Stalinsbirthday.

Youcouldnotleavethecountry;youneededpermissiontogoonvacation,eveninother

communistcountries,andonlythosewithincentivetocomebackcouldleave4.Any

communicationwithstrangerswastobereportedtotheSecurity.Romanianswere

professionallyisolatedtheycouldnotbuildproductswithmaterialsmadeoutsideEastern

3It was later changed to 22 December, the date of the revolution.

4Family was a common incentive. An entire family could not go on vacation together one member could

leave, as they were more likely to come back if they had a spouse or child waiting.


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Europe,sotheyfellbehind.Theylackedaccesstonewideasintheirprofessionalfields.They

lackedbarenecessities:foodwasscarce,everythingwasrationed,andapartmentslacked

heatingandhotwater.Agoodpartoftheirdaywasspentwaitinginlineinthecoldandwet,

andmanytimes,theycamehomewithnothingtoshowfortheirefforts.

Allofmyparticipantsstatedthattheirentertainmentoptionsweresomewhatlimited.They

couldread,theycouldgotothetheatreorcinema,theycouldplaysports;however,books,

plays,andmovieswereeitherprocommunistorpoliticallyneutral.Bytheeighties,Romanian

televisionwastwohoursofpoliticalpropaganda,withprominentnewsoftheirCommunist

leaderandhiswife.Myfathercontinuedtolistentoforeignradio.Whenyouwalkedintoan

apartmentbuilding,youcouldhearthisbuzzing,myfathersaid,itwaseveryonelisteningto

foreignradio,whichwasdifficulttohearbecauseofthenoise.

Romanians,however,aresurprisinglyresilientandevensomewhatcreative.Toheatupan

apartment,leavingthestoveonwasacommonoccurrence.However,asstovesweregas,this

was

dangerous.

Spencer

built

an

interesting

contraption

using

a

stove,

a

pressure

cooker,

and

pipeswhichwentthroughholeshehaddrilledinthewallinordertoheathisbedroomfromthe

kitchen,whilekeepingthedoorofthekitchenclosedforsafety.Whenlightwasnotavailablein

hisapartment,Spencerusedadevicehemadefromacarbattery.Helearnedmanytrickslike

thisfromamagazinecalledTehnium.

Mymotherusedtheblackmarketasfrequentlyashersalarywouldallow.Shedbuybaby

formula,coffee,ortheoccasionalclothingitem.Ontheblackmarket,merchandisewasten

timesmoreexpensive.Mymotheralsoreceiveditemsfromhermother,whofrequentlyvisited

thesameshopsandwouldgivethesalespeoplegifts(mygrandmothercouldknitandsew);she

wouldthenreceivedairyproductsorotherthingsinreturn.Mymotherstated:

Peopleusedwhateveradvantagestheyhad.Doctorsexpectedcigarettesorcoffeefortheirwork,

salespeopleonlysoldsomeoftheirsuppliesandkepttherestforfriendsandfamilyifyougave,

yougotinreturn,butyoualwaysfeltlikeyoudidntgiveenough.

Inadditiontothedeprivation,therewasfear.Myfathersaid,Youwerescaredtospeakout

againstcommunismeveninsmallgroups,becauseyouneverknewwhototrust.Itwasalways

arisk.ItwassometimesdifficulttoknowwhoworkedfortheSecurityandwhowasprivately

opposed.Onehadtoreadbetweenthelines.Mydadspentmostofhisadultlifeattemptingto

accessforeignmaterialsanddreamingoflifeinafreecountry.Sincebothheandmymother

hadasenseofselfpreservation,anddidnotopenlyfightback,theywerenotoftenbothered

bytheSecurity.Spencer,however,wasnotsolucky:

Ihadagoodfile,noblackmarksonmyrecord.Atwork,Ididmyprojectswell.Iwasamemberof

theCommunistParty.Myonlyproblemwas that Iwas consistently late toworkand Iwas

honestaboutit,Ididntsneakinthroughtheback,IlettheguardknowwhoIwasandthatIwas

late.Once, Iwas called in to seemyboss,whojust firedmeout of the blue becauseofmy

lateness.Ithoughtthiswasridiculous,andIarguedthey,mybossandsomeotherhigherupsin

thecompany,heldameetingtotellmethatIwasntfired,butwasstronglyencouragedtofinda


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newjob. I told themno thank you. Iwas,a fewdays later, approachedbyamemberof the

Securitytheyofferedmeajob,saidIdjusthavetopassalongsomeinformation.Isaidno,and

theirreactionwasWithyoursituationatwork,youshouldntbetellingusthat. Istilldidnot

wanttojoin,andtoldthemsobutIhadacleanrecord,IwasamemberoftheParty,andthey

thoughtIwasthetypetohelpthem.Ithinktheyeithertookadvantageofmysituationatwork

or,morelikely,theyjustcreatedit.Becausetheydidntfirepeopleforlateness.Theywantedme

tobeamemberoftheSecurity,andIdidntwantto.

Afterthat,Spencer,likemyparents,waslargelyignoredbytheSecuritybecausehetoowastoo

frightenedtofightbackorattemptescape.Alloftheparticipantscontinuedtheirroutineof

working,waitinginline,andwishingtheyweresomewhereelseuntiltherevolutionof1989.

ConclusionWhenIstartedthisstudy,mygoalwastobetterunderstandmyfamilyandasignificantpartof

thehistoryofmycountryoforigin.TheimpressionIgotfromallthreeofmyparticipantswere

constant

feelings

of

terror,

particularly

of

the

Romanian

Security,

of

desperation,

and

of

hopelessness.Theirchildhoodswereforindoctrination,foracceptingtheCommunistPartyas

supremeauthorityandidolizingNicolaeCeausescu.Theiradultliveswerespentinmiserable

conditions:theywaitedinlinesinhopesofobtaininglowqualityfood,theirworkwas

unsatisfying,andcensorshipandtheCeausescucultpollutedtheirmedia.Theytriedtoadapt,

buttheycouldnotopenlyopposetheCommunistregime.Theydidnotseeanywayout.

Andwhiletheliteratureabouttheeverydaylifeofordinary,workingclassRomaniansduring

Ceausescuserawasquitescarce,theliteraturethatdidexistmatchedmyresults.Thecultof

personalitywasdocumented(Fischer,1981;FundatiaAcademicaCivica,2008;Epuran&

Turgeon,2001).Thelowquality,insufficientproductsandthephysicallyexhaustingmethodsof

obtainingthemwasfrequentlydescribedasastapleofeverydaylife(FundatiaAcademica

Civica,2008;Hale,1971).TheruleoftheRomanianSecurityandthefeartheyinstilledinthe

Romanianpopulationismentionedinliteratureaswell,ifnotasfrequently(Fundatia

AcademicaCivica,2008;Pilon,1976;Marculescu,2007).

Pilon(1976)saiditbestwhenhesummarizedthepopulationsresponsetotheentire

Communistruleasaquietdesperation,withnoendinsight.

DiscussionIsetouttolearnaboutmyfamilysexperiencesinCommunistRomaniawhattheirchildhood

beliefswere,andhowthosebeliefsweredismissedandreplacedbystaunchanticommunist

views.Ibelievethisanalysishasprovidednumerousexamplesofthemiserable,hopeless

conditionswhichdrovemyparticipantstorejectCommunistideologyandtheCommunist

government.Manyexperiencesmyparticipantshavesharedtherealizationthattheyhad

beenbrainwashedaschildren,theatmosphereofterrorcreatedbytheRomanianSecurity,the


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censorshipandlimitationsontheirpersonalrightsandfreedomsshapedtheiranti

Communistviews.

OneofthemajorstrengthsofthisstudyisthatIincludedmultipleparticipants.Interviewing

threeindividuals,ratherthanjustone,wasagoodwayofshowingthattheseexperiencesand

feelingswerenotuniqueamongtheRomanianpopulation.Onepersoncanbeananomaly,but

multiplepeopleindicateapattern.Inadditiontothis,Iuseddirectquotesandspecific

examplesinordertohumanizetheparticipantsandtheirexperiences.TheCommunistregime

inEasternEuropeisoftendismissedasamistake,andtheRomanianpopulationregardedasa

facelessmass.Humanizingtheparticipantsexperienceslegitimizestheirsuffering.

Ontheotherhand,thenumberofparticipantsisalso,inaway,alimitation.Itisdifficultto

summarizethirtyyearsofexperiencesintohalfadozenpages.Itisevenmoredifficultto

summarizesuchalongperiodofthreeindividualslivesintosuchasmallamountofspace.

Unfortunately,noteveryrelevantexperienceorsentimentcouldbeincluded.HadIinterviewed

only

one

person,

more

details

about

that

period

of

their

life

would

have

been

presented

in

the

analysis.Consideringhowsimilartheparticipantsofthisprojectwere,perhapsinterviewing

onlyoneofthemwouldhavebeenabetterplan.

However,theparticipantsmaynothavebeenagoodrepresentativesampleofthepopulation,

sincetheyhadsuchsimilarbackgroundsandpersonalities(thatis,noneofthemconsidered

thatopenlyopposingtheCommunistPartywasworthit).PerhapsIshouldhavechosena

samplewithgreatervariationwithregardstolevelsofeducation,futuregoals,age,family

background,andsoon.Forexample,hadSpenceractuallybecomeamemberoftheRomanian

secretpolice,hisexperiencesandperspectivewouldhavebeenincontrasttomymotherand

father.

AnotheraspectofthisstudywhichisbothastrengthandalimitationisthecloserelationshipI

havewithtwooftheparticipants,mymotherandmyfather.Sincetheywouldremainparental

authoritiesevenaftertheseinterviews,Ihavereasontobelievethattheymayhaveomitted

someexperiencestheyarenotparticularlyproudof.Ontheotherhand,ourcloserelationship

alsohelpsguaranteevalidity.Iknowmyparentstobehonestandtrustworthy,andinorderto

retainmytrust,theywouldnotbedishonest.

DuetothefactthatSpencerisafairlycloserelativebutnotaparentalauthority,Ibelievewe

hadthebestrelationshipforthisresearch.Wewerecloseenoughtopromotevalidity,butnot

soclosethathefelttheneedtoprotectmeorhimselfbynotrevealingcertainexperiences.

Ihavelearnedmanythingswhileconductingthisstudy.IfIweretorepeatit,Iwouldmakethe

followingchanges.Iwouldinterviewonlyoneindividual,andfocusmoreintenselyonwhythey

engagedincertainbehavioursoradoptedcertainbeliefs.Iwouldnotchooseanindividualwho

isinapositionofpowerorauthorityoverme,andmightfeelthattheymaylosesomeofthat

authoritybyrevealingtoomuch.Iwouldbetterpreparethisparticipantfortheinterview,


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whichwouldincreasetheirlevelofcomfortandhopefullyprovidethemwithmoreincentiveto

disregardsocialdesirability.

Ibelieveitisfairtoconcludethat,ultimately,theCommunistregimeinRomaniawas

destructive.Thisissupportedbytheresultsofthisstudy,bythefactthattheparticipantswere

ordinarycitizensratherthanprivilegedmembersofsociety,anditisalsosupportedbythe

numberofoutsidesourcesthathavebeenpreviouslymentionedintheintroductionand

conclusion.

Perhapsmyconclusioniscorrectbutlimited.Thatis,CommunisminRomaniamayhavebeen

damagingforthepeopleandforthecountry,butCommunisminotherEasternEuropean

countriesmayhavebeenlessso.CommunismoutsideofEuropemaybeentirelydifferent.I

speculatethatperhapsotherEasternEuropeancountriesmayhaveenjoyedamorecivilized

revolution,butthecitizensofthesecountrieswouldnothaveaccesstomoreprivilegesintheir

everydaylives.

Clearly,furtherresearchisnecessary.DaytodaylifeinotherCommunistcountriesshouldbe

studiedandcomparedwiththedeprivationandhopelessnessthatwassopervasivein

Romania.ResearchonotherCommunistleaderswouldalsobeuseful:didthecultof

personality,andarulerobsessedwithadoration,negativelyaffectthepowerlesspopulation?

Mostimportantly,isRomaniaananomalyamongCommunistnations?

Ifitis,thenperhapsthereishopeforacountrywhereeveryoneisequal,nobodyisinneed,and

opportunitiesarenotsostronglylimitedbyfinances.If,however,theRomanianexperienceof

Communismisthenorm,thenitistimetoforgettheCommunistideologyandattempttofind

equalityamongindividualsanotherway.


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Hale,J.(1971).CeausescusRomania.London,England:GeorgeG.Harp&Co.LTD.

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(Ed.).Romaniainthe1980s(pp.117141).Boulder,CO:WestviewPress,Inc.

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321OralHistory-Pastia-KissTheHandYouCannotBite