Pinko is a derogatory term for a person sympathetic to a Communist Party, but not necessarily a communist. In modern usage, the term communist party is generally used to identify any political party which has adopted communist ideology. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ...

History

The word pinko was coined by Time magazine in 1926 as a variant on the noun and adjective pink, which had been used along with parlor pink since the beginning of the 20th century to refer to those of leftish sympathies, usually with an implication of effeteness.^[1] In the 1920s, for example, a Wall Street Journal editorial described supporters of the progressive Robert La Follette as “visionaries, ne’er do wells, parlor pinks, reds, hyphenates [Americans with divided allegiance], soft handed agriculturalists and working men who have never seen a shovel.”^[2] Time (whose trademark is capitalized TIME) is a weekly American newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report. ...

Pinko and pink were widely used during the Cold War to designate those accused of supporting the Soviet Union, including many of the supporters of Henry Wallace's 1948 presidential campaign with the Progressive Party. The word was predominantly used in the United States, where opposition to Communism grew strong among the population, especially during the era of the McCarthy hearings. It was also in common use in South Africa during the apartheid era. One of the most infamous uses of pink is a quotation attributed to Richard Nixon, talking in 1950 about Helen Gahagan Douglas: "She's pink down to her underwear!", referring to the fact that at the time, pink was the main color of women's undergarments. In his presidential campaigns, George Wallace often railed at "the left-wing pinko press" and at "pseudo-pinko-intellectuals."^[3][4] For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... Henry Wallace may refer to: Henry A. Wallace (1888–1965), U.S. Vice President Henry Cantwell Wallace (1866–1924), U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, father of Henry A. Wallace Harry Brookings Wallace, former Chancellor of Washington University in St. ... Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin between 1947 and 1957. ... Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. ... Helen Gahagan in the 1920s Helen Gahagan (25 November 1900 - 28 June 1980) was a United States actress and (under the name Helen Gahagan Douglas) a politician. ... George Corley Wallace, Jr. ...

The word pinko likely has its origins in the relations between the colors white and red. Since pink is a lighter shade of red, the color most associated with communism, pink could be thought of as a "lighter form of communism" practiced by mere supporters of Marxism or socialism as opposed to card-carrying communists. Marxism takes its name from the praxis (the synthesis of philosophy and political action) of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ... Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community. ...

One of the most famous uses of the term in popular culture was the ironic use by Charlie Daniels in his breakthrough 1972 hit "Uneasy Rider." The dope-running hippie narrator is stuck with a flat tire in Jackson, Mississippi. Attempting to avoid a beatdown by the local rednecks, he attempts to deflect attention to one of the locals by accusing him of being "a friend of them long haired, hippy-type, pinko fags" sent by the FBI to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan. Charlie Daniels performed at a USO concert at Camp Victory, Iraq on April 10, 2005 Charles Edward Daniels (born October 28, 1936 in Wilmington, North Carolina) is an American country music, Southern rock, and jazz singer, fiddler, and guitarist. ...

Recently, the term was used repeatedly on the television series John Safran vs God when Safran is referring to his target demographic. Safran is likely to have intentionally referenced Daniels' "Uneasy Rider", and notably Safran had on a previous episode infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan. John Safran vs God is an 8 part television documentary series by John Safran which was broadcast on the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) of Australia in 2004. ... This Australian media personality is not to be confused with the American author Jonathan Safran Foer. ... Members of the second Ku Klux Klan at a rally during the 1920s. ...

Notes

1. ^ Joseph J. Firebaugh, "The Vocabulary of 'Time' Magazine", American Speech, 15, 3, October, 1940.
2. ^ "Mirrors of Washington", The Wall Street Journal, September 26, 1924.
3. ^ "Wallace Campaign Aims at McCarthy Elements", Washington Post, Mar.23, 1964.
4. ^ "The Wallace Challenge -- and Opportunity", The Wall Street Journal, Mar. 13, 1972.

is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar). ...

See also

• Fellow traveller
• Useful idiot
• Anticommunism
• Political colors