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this post was submitted on 30 Mar 2025
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Alright, forget the word tankie.
People who
I get called tankie from time to time, but 1a. I hate Putin's corrupt fascist oligarchy 1b. I fully support Ukraine!
The Uyghurs absolutely were mistreated, but it is hard to care about at the moment when the US and Isreal are carrying out an actual genocide. Also, neo-nazis have taken over the US and are illegally abducting minorities.
I think the DRPK is very problematic, but they seem to be doing well despite the US putting such ridiculously excessive embargos and sanctions on them. Overall they are probably no worse off than capitalist India and they are probably better off than most 3rd world capitalist nations like Iran, Brazil, Haiti, Afghanistan, etc...
I don't know the rest of your political beliefs, but from this you don't seem to be a tankie from this.
Most Marxists do not uncritically support Russia, though opposition to the Nationalists like Azov in Ukraine is something common on the Left, and believe Russia's anti-US stance is beneficial for the Global South (see the string of African liberation movements in the past few years). Most Marxists can agree that the Uyghur people have been placed in re-education camps, but most do not believe they are being systemically murdered en masse like many people report. Most Marxists think the DPRK is doing surprisingly well for a country under extreme embargoes and was subject to more tons of bombs than the pacific front in World War II, not that it would be preferable to live there than in a highly developed country free from those problems.
Maybe they should stop playing devils advocate for Russia in general, If you have to have a conversation about the Genocidal Mob state, and throw a bunch of ifs, ands, or buts in the discussion. You're already stoking trouble.
America can be bad, and Russia can be equally bad in the same instance.
Russia is not a global Hegemon. Even if it wanted to be as bad as the US, it physically can't do nearly the damage the US does on a daily basis.
They are currently invading and occupying multiple neighbouring countries.
And unlike the places the US goes to, life is far worse under Russian occupation.
The US is the world's largest Empire. It plunders the Global South on a constant basis, and has committed numerous genocides and invasions. From Palestine to Korea to Iraq to Vietnam to Angola to Nicaragua to Afghanistan to Cambodia to the Phillipines to many, many more places, the US is on a ceaseless slaughter-course.
Uh huh, yup, cool.
Not what we were talking about at all, but okey dokey.
The US is neck deep in a genocide far worse than anything Russia is doing.
Oh, sorry, I forgot. They only practice corruption, warmongering, barbaric mass murder and ethnocide on a regional scale. I apologize
The US does it on a global scale, which is worse in my opinion.
not by a long shot, and thats the point.
Most of the people you are talking about, are not who I am referring to in the post.
I am talking about the majority of the people people on Lemmy call "tankies." Not everyone has your specific view and nuance of the word, yet when others see you use it to describe people, they think of the worst nightmare of McCarthy. It's better to not use the word at all, unless you want to antagonize Marxists in general, because that's what Marxists see it as.
What do you recommend I use instead?
My recommendation is to either refrain from using it, or use it with the knowledge that it's just an anti-communist pejorative. I don't recommend trying to claim you aren't an anti-Communist while using the modern version of "pinko," when everyone hears it as such.
My biggest recommendation, though, is to just visit places you feel are "tankie" and try to ask questions in good faith. Make a Hexbear account, and participate in the general megathread, browse the news mega, or just lurk, and then you'll get a better view of what these "tankies" are actually like when they aren't in an environment hostile to them and dedicated to misrepresenting their words at every instance.
Just FYI, I'm tagging you as "tankie" for future reference, because everything you've said so far is the most tankie of tankie takes.
You can do what you want, I'm a Marxist, if that's a problem then you do you.
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Thoughts on this user immediately coming in to immediately disagree with you about what a tankie is?
That definition doesn't even apply to the people you're critising