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The original was posted on /r/askhistorians by /u/account4ece on 2023-08-18 06:29:11+00:00.

I watched Oppenheimer movie recently. Even though he was the main guy behind nuclear weapon, because his girlfriend was a supporter of communism or he was friends with people who supported it, the USA govt investigated him as they feared he is communist.

I am have high level understanding of what communism is. But I do not understand why does American govt treats anyone who supports communism as a threat to the govt. I have heard my American co workers use “communist” in derogatory way.

why is this?