Why am I laughed at for being Socialist?

I mean, I know why. It's because the American 'educational' system tells us that socialism is bad because socialism = communism, and communism = Russia and China, and Russia and China = bad. But browsing through this site, I've seen a rediculous amount of people whose political leanings indicate that they are socialist. Is America filled with a bunch of closet socialists? Or is it just this site? Maybe our generation is the one. Maybe we're the ones who will take this country to the next level. The level of humanitarianism and equality and social justice and something other than a fucking 400% gap between the CEO's and the entry-level employees in most of our companies. There's nothing wrong with being rewarded according to your contribution to society, but I'm going to take a stab in the dark here by saying that I don't think that Bill Gates is billions of times better as a human than the rest of us. Who amoung us doesn't get angry when it's brought up that 95% of Americans won't escape the class into which they're born? What asshole thinks that massive companies are not responsible for global warming, and if they are, that 'the market will fix itself'? Am I the only one who doesn't feel like we need to pay 99 cents for a 24 pack of socks? What ever happened to paying a few bucks extra because we want our money to stay in our community, rather than adding an extra layer to some fat old white bastard's pockets and turning the gears of the global exploitation market? Supposedly the American Dream is still possible, but if that dream is to start a business that will be shut down as soon as the wal-mart opens, but all the while buying mayonnaise and shoestrings in bulk from the very people taking your job, then who the hell wants it? Maybe China taking over as the global superpower is just what America needs. A swift kick in the pants and a reminder that life can suck when everyone is just looking out for themselves. Who'll be laughing then?