this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2023
269 points (99.6% liked)

196

16462 readers
2134 users here now

Be sure to follow the rule before you head out.

Rule: You must post before you leave.

^other^ ^rules^

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] toomanyjoints69@lemmygrad.ml 32 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I remember once building a nice charity program that would make meals for homeless people. I had deluded myself into thinking I was building some kind of revolution or whatever.

I had a book club where we all read theory, and it basically was just a tacked on addition to the food charity.

It was really stupid, but it also broke my heart when a guy deliberately sabotaged it because I was a tankie. It was set up in a very level way where we all basically took turns being the coordinator. He intentionally did nothing and told everyone that each role for that week (driver, cook, etc) was filled. Then when the day for distribution came he laughed about how it wasn't going to happen.

I had to buy like 10 pizzas that day, and I remember not having internet because those pizzas were my bill money. The group kept functioning for a while until it fizzled out, but not because of him.

Most people of all political leanings were willing to help me with my stupid idea, but not that guy. I think about that a lot.

[–] ItsYaBoiBananaBoi@lemmy.blahaj.zone 43 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Mutual aide is not really the issue with tankies, the problem is the authoritarianism. Mutual aide can be very effective when done properly. For example, anarchists tend to answer the question of "leeches" by giving them the resources to self-actualize, and if the "leech" does not care to do that, they can be kicked out of an anarchist community.

[–] toomanyjoints69@lemmygrad.ml 17 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Maybe those are problems with the ideology, but its not with the people who believe it. I've met a lot of people who have very incoherent beliefs. Nobody bullied them and so they absorbed the sane beliefs of the group.

I really just don't think exclusion or hostility are useful unless people are dangerous. A Nazi makes Jewish and gay members of a group scared. A tankie really doesn't because 90% of the time they're gay or trans.

Then I haven't even gotten to how a lot of people join extremist ideologies because they are lonely and need friends. So when you combine that with how small scale local activism is, kicking safe useful people out of a group is just abusing the socially inept.

[–] QueenVigor@r196.club 25 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I am a queer person, and I am scared of tankies because they support the creation of an authoritarian state which is fundamentally incompatible with the ideas queer liberation and self-determination.

I'm all for communism. Every day is a new day for me to witness and live the horrors of capitalism. Hell, I got laid off a couple months ago and I may be facing homelessness soon. I could go on a tangent here but it's very clear to me that we need a different system soon. But I don't want to build a "fiscally leftists, socially conservative" society. I want it all left.

[–] animelivesmatter@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

It's not just that, they support existing regimes that are known to be queerphobic. China is having its own trans panic right now, and their government is contributing to it, so when people support states like that it's not just that they don't support queer liberation, but it seems like they specifically want queer people gone entirely. It seems like they agree with fascists when it comes to queer people.

[–] MochiGamer@lemmygrad.ml 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I get you're trying to make a big point here about China, but within the last 3 years they opened a multidisciplinary trans healthcare clinic in Beijing and additionally a well known TV host in the country is transgender and this is easily findable even within US new sources. It may still not be culturally fully accepted but I don't see how the government is doing anything against us when they're literally opening trans healthcare clinics. Hell there were trans expat teachers who used to move to China for teaching before the changes in education laws for expat teacher licensing.

[–] animelivesmatter@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

The US and UK are also opening more trans healthcare clinics, and I don't think any reasonable person would argue that these countries don't have trans panics, or the the governments aren't capitulating. So, the existence of trans healthcare clinics doesn't really go against what I'm saying. The same goes for whether a single TV host is trans.

But as for whether the government is doing anything against us... they literally are. Just last year, the government cracked down on the sale of HRT drugs. This matters especially in China because of the severe legal barriers on every stage of medical transition. When it comes to being prescribed HRT drugs, you are required to undergo psychological intervention, have no criminal record, and have parental consent (even if they're an adult).

This is exactly what I'm referring to when I say the government is capitulating to a trans panic, a phenomenon that you can't so easily separate from social climate and cultural attitudes.

I recommend you see what Chinese trans activists are saying on this, because they say that the government is increasingly cracking down on their activities, they're getting erased from both official and unofficial media, social media is increasingly taking down trans accounts, and the idea of trans people being a "social contagion" is becoming increasingly popular among nationalists. In general, I would trust queer activists over any other group on this one.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] MochiGamer@lemmygrad.ml 3 points 1 year ago

There is nothing about the core ideology of Marxism Leninism that is opposed to queer rights. Actually there are a lot of queer people in the community at large who are communist and findable on YouTube or Lemmy. I'm one of them.

I'm not here to teach everything and I trust you know enough to be able to look up more as you wish. If you want an example of an ML nation that is pro queer look up the Cuba Family Code changes made recently. They're among the most progressive in the world and help to guarente rights for trans people, lgbt, and more. Additionally China has a large trans healthcare clinic first of its kind recently opened in Beijing and a well known trans TV host. Vietnam also has a vibrant lgbt community and even in North Korea homosexuality and cross dressing to my research are not criminalized despite lacking public interest/support.

The days of old are over and new communist nations can and are doing better to ditch reactionary tendencies especially around queer rights.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] tumble_weeds@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

A tankie really doesn’t because 90% of the time they’re gay or trans.

citation needed

[–] toomanyjoints69@lemmygrad.ml 1 points 1 year ago

Join the stupid phone meetings any American Communist party has. You will see that a strongly disproportionate amount are gay or trans. I'm gay and nonbinary. My husband is gay. Half my local Communists are lgbt. Leftists in general are often lgbt.

Tankies tend to be social outcasts and so do lgbt people. That might be part of the connection.

[–] TheGreatSpoon@lemmygrad.ml 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

Authoritarianism isn't a thing. No state wants to suppress dissent.

Dissent is suppressed when it needs to be because there's foreign powers trying to destabilize your state. Like when the most powerful country in the world creates a Central Intelligence Agency with the overt purpose of eradicating communism. Which they did covertly through the funding of internal dissent, terrorism and sabotage of infrastructure.

Unless you think the CIA just twiddled their thumbs for 70 years, of course. In that case I recommend reading the book 'Killing Hope' by William Blum.

[–] LambdaDuck@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

wait, so you’re saying that even the fascist states (e.g. the nazis) were only trying to defend themselves against foreign powers trying to destabilize their state? or am i misinterpreting you?

a state doesn’t have a mind of its own, it consists of people and those people are often power-hungry and do actively want to suppress dissent regardless of what would be good for the state. the whole point of socialism is to dismantle hierarchies, but by placing a powerful leader without accountability on the top you have undermined the whole concept

maybe cia actions were what caused them to be authoritarian, but that doesn’t excuse their actions in any way. the moment they became authoritarian, cia had already defeated socialism

suppressing “dissent” in the form of e.g. refusing to follow laws about distribution of resources (within reason) is one thing, but suppressing dissenting voices is a whole different thing altogether and those two shouldn’t be lumped together in one category. the former is a part of the normal job of a state while the latter is authoritarianism

[–] TheGreatSpoon@lemmygrad.ml 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

wait, so you’re saying that even the fascist states (e.g. the nazis) were only trying to defend themselves against foreign powers trying to destabilize their state? or am i misinterpreting you?

I was referencing socialist states, but yes they do both resist political pressure. The difference is fascist states are a minority class resisting domestic dissent by the majority class. It's a forced ideology undermining a natural uprising, which is why it draws so many parallels with socialism in its revolutionary anti-establishment sentiment but is as a result lacking in internal consistency. In other words it's reactionary.

The post WW1 German government was resisting political pressure from socialist factions that were especially dominant in Germany due to the aftermath of the war. There was constant turmoil including insurgencies, massacres, executions and of course the massive surge of the KPD into electoral politics that lead capitalists to fund the staunchly anti-communist Nazi party (read "Who Financed Hitler" by James Pool) and subsequently purged communist thought.

a state doesn’t have a mind of its own, it consists of people

The state is the monopoly of power in the hands of one class; they're a state because the interests of the people in it align. Though it can, the state doesn't have to be a conspiracy. What capitalists believe or think about on a personal level is irrelevant, their material interests lead them to support the same thing.

those people are often power-hungry

They're power hungry, so they appeal to the interests of the most powerless class in defiance of the most powerful class, only to then alienate the powerless class as well? They're power hungry so they isolate their state from the world stage and reduce themselves to running an impoverished nation? I think your view of 'authoritarianism' is shaped by the misconceptions about the cause of Nazi Germany addressed above.

Even if we assume this is true, it's not a useful observation. It avoids pinpointing the conditions we need to address. There isn't much we can do about an 'evil' dormant in an undefined subset of the population. You're just fingerpointing, which is a primer for fascism.

by placing a powerful leader without accountability on the top you have undermined the whole concept

First, there's no lack of accountability. Socialist parties consist of MILLIONS in members and hundreds to thousands in parliament, which is much larger than all parties in liberal democracies combined. Socialist countries don't have singular dictators but operate through massive debate and cooperation. What they lack are people promoting goals contrary to socialism (and yes this does lead to wrongful punishment, that's par for the course given the chaotic nature of covert war). Accountability and dissent are WILDLY different things that can't be conflated. Every state is accountable to the material interests it serves.

Second, the concept of socialism is abolition of the state. There's no 'rule' or empirical justification prescribing socialism to be an erratic transition rather than gradual. The point of communism isn't just electing different leaders. Where you think socialism must come from tolerance to an undefined time of unchecked capitalist rule before an abstract 'mass revolution' ushers in socialism, communists simply think socialism must come from intolerance to capitalist rule but concrete tolerance to state functions that can resist capitalist subjugation until they aren't needed anymore.

By tolerating the bureaucracy of capitalism for the sake of awaiting 'principled' instantaneous global revolution, you're already admitting you're willing to compromise for the goal of socialism. So it doesn't make sense to pretend your aversion to socialist states has anything to do with principled opposition to a similar bureaucratic structure serving the working class(by providing housing, education, healthcare and food) instead of elites.

You can believe Leninism is a flawed way to achieve socialism and maybe even doomed to fail, but if you can't even appreciate it as better than capitalism, you're just not a socialist.

maybe cia actions were what caused them to be authoritarian, but that doesn’t excuse their actions in any way. the moment they became authoritarian, cia had already defeated socialism

'Authoritarian' is just a state, no more powerful than any other, at war. I don't understand what you mean by 'excusing actions' when you admit it's caused by US intervention. You're saying their actions aren't excusable while personally providing the excuse.

And what's the point in a 'principled stance' when this stance consists of letting your own people be massacred and condemning billions of people to extreme poverty? What's the point of 'principles' when it consists of tolerating the mass genocide of the entire planet? You tolerate the obscenely rich and 'peaceful' because dominant tyranny of capitalism, but the minority socialist states that always form in the countries with the worst conditions must be flawless and overcome hurdles with complete ethical perfection.

You don't seem to appreciate that the struggle for socialism is a war, not civil debate. You demand people meet artillery fire with a cool headed essay recital and wonder why anarchist communes are nowhere to be found.

[–] LambdaDuck@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

sure, it’s a war and violence might be necessary, but it’s a question of proportionality. you don’t meet a peaceful protest with artillery fire either

you also seem to be under the belief that anyone who dissents or in any way acts against the will of the state are doing so because of foreign interference instead of simply from their own volition. in neither case do deserve to be killed unless they are themselves violent or otherwise explicitly soldiers. i guess a more common issue than powerhungriness among communist leaders is the related issue of extreme paranoia which leads to tons of innocent people being killed or imprisoned. this is an example of something that can be triggered by CIA, but not excused by CIAs actions

why do leninist states even have a singular leader in the top if they’re trying to abolish hierarchy? why not cap it off with a committee with some further safeguards to prevent the power from getting to their head instead?

i doubt you yourself believe that all the actions of people in the top of the party represents the class of the proletariat that they are trying to represent instead of a hybrid between that an actions to further the class they themselves are now in as elite party members. this issue is furthered by corruption which all communist states are vulnerable to (especially since they are initially centralizing a lot of power) and which a very large amount of precautions need to be taken against to prevent it from collapsing the system on its own even without outside interference. now, capitalism isn’t better with corruption since the system is essentially a case of legalizing corruption under a formal system, but that’s also why it doesn’t collapse from corruption

i don’t mind the bureaucracy of a communist state at all, i don’t see where you got that. just the extreme actions against any dissenting voices, especially since they usually are talking about some real problem that needs to be addressed rather than just destabilizing for the sake of destabilizing

i also hope that you agree that russia is no longer in any way a communist state?

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] kartonrealista@lemmy.world 17 points 1 year ago

And then the bus driver clapped.

[–] aidnic@lemmygrad.ml 16 points 1 year ago (2 children)
[–] ItsYaBoiBananaBoi@lemmy.blahaj.zone 50 points 1 year ago (2 children)

For idolizing the soviet union and the people's republic of china, who have done some very evil things. Tankies always try to undermine the sins of authoritarian regimes. They keep trying to instate authoritarian regimes knowing full well that they have killed so many historically.

If you want truly based leftism, try anarchism.

[–] toomanyjoints69@lemmygrad.ml 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I've created no authoritarian regimes by giving food to homeless people. It was basically just unpaid charity work covered in red paint.

People's ideas are fluid anyway. I made a lot of leftists into tankies by just being nice and tolerant. I've seen tankies become anarchists because they're surrounded by them. I never succeeded at anything, and neither did they sadly. I wish they had. It was really nice helping eachother. I've never had so many friends. We should all become activists because it gives us so many friends.

It was really nice and I wish more people were like that online. In real life that's how it is.

[–] katve@lemmy.blahaj.zone 17 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Maybe you've also absorbed your beliefs from people around you, maybe not. I'd recommend you read this essay by comrade ziq, give it a thought factcheck it if you want to. I find standing in support of the states or atleast the supposed ideologies of the states that have done terrible things (that at least don't fit in my ideology of tolerance) to among others, queer people and other leftists, very distasteful and repulsive. It's not that we say "fuck tankies" for giving food to homeless people, that's not an uniquely tankie thing. It's the tanks yall.

[–] toomanyjoints69@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I'd rather just be nice to people. I'm not going to go around and find an excuse not to associate with people unless they're dangerous or counter productive. Tankies like me are neither when it comes to any kind of activism. You could make a case for not letting their organizations help you if your values don't align with them. However there is really no reason to exclude good faith participation of every single individual in that group.

I'd really just say that after a long time of thinking it over a harmonious existence is better than one where everyone around me is correct.

[–] Korne127@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Well, many people don't want to be around people with terrible opinions. You could make the same arguments as someone from the far right.

[–] tumble_weeds@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I’d rather just be nice to people.

You could start by not labeling yourself after a weapon of war who's sole and only purpose is to kill humans.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] aidnic@lemmygrad.ml 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

List me some of the atrocities you talk about.

Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin: Stalin's rule was characterized by forced collectivization, which resulted in widespread famine and the death of millions of people, particularly during the Ukrainian Holodomor. Stalin's purges led to the imprisonment, execution, or exile of millions, including members of the Communist Party, military officials, intellectuals, and perceived political opponents.

The Great Leap Forward in China: Under Mao Zedong's leadership, the Great Leap Forward aimed to rapidly transform China's economy and society. However, the policies implemented, such as forced collectivization and the backyard steel furnaces, resulted in a disastrous famine, leading to the deaths of an estimated 20 to 45 million people between 1958 and 1962.

Cultural Revolution in China: The Cultural Revolution, initiated by Mao Zedong, aimed to reassert his authority and eliminate perceived enemies within the Communist Party and society. The movement led to widespread political persecution, purges, and violence, resulting in millions of deaths, as well as the destruction of cultural heritage, academic institutions, and economic disruption.

Khmer Rouge in Cambodia: The Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. During their regime, they implemented radical agrarian communism, forcing urban dwellers into rural work camps and carrying out mass executions, torture, and forced labor. It is estimated that between 1.7 to 2.2 million people died as a result of execution, starvation, and disease.

North Korea under Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il: The oppressive regime in North Korea has been associated with widespread human rights abuses, political repression, forced labor camps, and the suppression of dissent. The regime's policies have resulted in severe food shortages and famine, leading to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.

[–] toomanyjoints69@lemmygrad.ml 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Because they want to bully someone, and tankies are acceptable. It's not any different from the tankies that kick people out of their book clubs for not worshipping a dictator from a country they've never even been in.

People only argue on the internet because they want to scream at someone - anyone.

I refuse to argue politics with people. It's better to ask a tankie "will you help me with my project?" They'll either say yes or reveal that they're a bully too.

[–] tumble_weeds@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Because they want to bully someone, and tankies are acceptable.

Nah, Trump morons and other fash are the go-to for that and there's certainly no shortage of those morons. Kinda funny how you all started sharing the same exact propaganda at some point, though. Funny that. I'm sure there's no insight to be made there.

[–] erusuoyera@sh.itjust.works 15 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I don't know what tankies are, and at this point, I'm afraid to ask.

[–] ChosenUndead15@lemmy.world 24 points 1 year ago (1 children)

A particular part of communist who fully support sending the tanks to suppress their pears just because they think differently. They worship Stalin, Mao and other monsters just because they used the banner of communists.

As you might expect, a lot communists don't like them.

[–] Elara@lemmygrad.ml 1 points 1 year ago

We support Stalin and Mao because they advanced the Marxist cause. We support them because they worked towards establishing communism. Most of what the west spreads about them is blatant propaganda. The CIA itself admitted in an internal brief that Stalin was never a dictator. I also personally know people who have lived under Stalin and speak very highly of him. If you read their works, it would be obvious that they're not monsters and they never were.

[–] Umbrias@beehaw.org 10 points 1 year ago

Fascists with red and gold aesthetic.

Known for their unshakable support of Russia and China.

[–] TheGreatSpoon@lemmygrad.ml 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Most people who are labeled tankies don't support Russia like the Beehaw user wants you to believe FYI, we just think historical conditions caused the Ukraine war and that those conditions show a trend of US expansionism rather than expansionist ambitions by a country with the GDP of Italy.

...But just like how not supporting democrats makes you a republican, not supporting America makes you a Putinist in their eyes. So wharever.

China is actually a controversial subject because a lot of people think the Deng reforms marked the moment China turned capitalist. Others think it was necessary to mature China's economy and particularly since Xi Jing Ping became chairman have had a lot of faith in China's transition plan.

What they said about tankies being fascists also doesn't make sense. Fadcists exist because of the threat of communism. They took state power to eradicate communists, preserve capital and, often times, establishing a superior racial class while doing so. Communists takes state power to abolish capitalism, eradicate poverty and create a classless society. They are literally opposites.

And always remember this suppression of free speech ONLY happened after western powers attempted to "strangle Bolshevism in its crib" through invasions, coup attempts and supporting reactionary groups.

So yes, surprisingly, socialist states suppressed dissent after the most powerful states in modern history openly declared a holy war on their existence (which includes supporting fascist states like Nazi Germany btw). Very strange.

[–] Discoslugs@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (4 children)

So does this include all Communists or just authoritarian communism? aka red fash

[–] Whattrees@lemmy.blahaj.zone 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Definitely not all communists or socialists, at least that was not the case for the subreddit. I'm pretty sure the mod for this community put out a clarification post if you want to check it out.

[–] animelivesmatter@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Noone except some liberals refer to non-authoritarian communists as tankies, and even then when they do that they know they're being misleading

[–] Discoslugs@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Thanks for clarifying.

[–] masquenox@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Dangle that slender thread of hope, tankie.

[–] animelivesmatter@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] masquenox@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You should be more appreciative... the other option is to call you chekists.

[–] animelivesmatter@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

So what, I say mean things about some liberals and now suddenly I'm a Stalinist?

Maybe I'll be willing to concede that it could also be stupidity instead of deliberate misleading.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] masquenox@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Be appreciative, tankie... we could always just go back to calling you chekists.

[–] mulcahey@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Hard to tell bc so many people on Lemmy use "Tankie" as "anyone to the left of me"

[–] animelivesmatter@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago

well, when you have activity on a community called "moretankie196" , you can see why people might be suspicious yeah?

load more comments
view more: next ›