Origin of the turm
According to en.wiktionary.org-
- From red (meaning communist) and the traditional child's fear of a monster lurking under the bed.
- Noun- Red under the bed (plural reds under the bed).
- (slang) An insidious communist presence; a communist who has infiltrated capitalist society.
Political slur
It was used as a way of smearing non revolutionary and non-communist left-wingers during the Cold War.
Also see
- Cold War
- Organisations
- Threat construction
- Terrorist organisations
- Red Brigades (in Italy)
- Politically Communist and/or Socialist
- House Committee on Un-American Activities
Sources
- http://www.nytimes.com/books/99/12/12/reviews/991212.12hambyt.html
- https://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/reds+under+the+bed.html
- https://www.balloon-juice.com/2016/12/10/reds-under-the-bed/
- https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=AwrBT4UkKq9YWWUAfcRXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEyMWk0czZoBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDQjMyMzdfMQRzZWMDc2M-?p=%22Reds+under+the+bed%22&fr=dss_yset_chr
- https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/red_under_the_bed
- http://alphahistory.com/coldwar/reds-under-the-bed/