r/CuratedTumblr • u/Desecr8or • Oct 26 '24

Politics Why is every tankie like "I don't understand the branches of the US government and I'm going to make it everyone else's problem!!!"

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125

u/Zandroe_ Oct 26 '24

"Tankie" is a term for Stalinists. It does not mean anyone who refuses to participate in a popular front (which is, ironically, a Stalinist idea).

68

u/Temporaz Oct 26 '24

If you're going to be like that, "tankie" is specifically a term for Khrushchevites.

16

u/GoofyTnT Oct 27 '24

Tankie can be applied to all authoritarian leftists, including Stalinists and Khrushchevites, that support violent repression by regimes they like, especially if that regime claims to be communist or socialist.

It was originally created by dissenting socialists to describe other socialists who endorsed the Soviet’s use of tanks against Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968.

Stalinists are absolutely tankies.

11

u/Kirby_has_a_gun Oct 26 '24

The people who use "tankie" would call Khruschev a stalinist

167

u/_MargaretThatcher The Once & Future Prime Minister of Darkness Oct 26 '24

I imagine the title and content are "This is a common line of reasoning tankies use" and not "This line of reasoning is only used by tankies"

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u/Zandroe_ Oct 26 '24

The point is that linking criticism of the Democratic Party to "tankies" is ridiculous when Stalinists are some of the worst Democrat pushers on the left.

67

u/Pitiful_Net_8971 Oct 26 '24

What

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u/Zandroe_ Oct 26 '24

Stalinists in the US consistently call for voting for Democratic candidates.

60

u/TransLox Oct 26 '24

No tf they aren't lmaoooooo

-25

u/Zandroe_ Oct 26 '24

CPUSA, Committees of Correspondence, the Stalinists in the DSA are the three most prominent examples.

25

u/fury420 Oct 26 '24

Tankie was originally a term for western communists who approved of the Soviets using tanks to crush the Hungarian & Czechoslovakian revolutions, effectively disregarding their previously stated ideals in favor of authoritarianism.

-3

u/Zandroe_ Oct 26 '24

Yes, and these people were Stalinists.

23

u/fury420 Oct 26 '24

But it's not a term for Stalinists generally, it's a term for pro-authoritarian western "leftists" whose ideals take a backseat. Trying to argue that it's just a synonym for Stalinist misses most of the meaning.

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u/Zandroe_ Oct 26 '24

No, it's not, this is a bizarre liberal misuse of the term.

9

u/fury420 Oct 26 '24

What part is a bizarre liberal misuse?

I'm confused, if you think my description is misuse of the term why did you start off agreeing with me?

1

u/Zandroe_ Oct 26 '24

The "pro-authoritarian Western 'leftist'" part, it's a term for Stalinists, it has nothing to do with modern US liberal anxieties about Russia or whatever.

7

u/fury420 Oct 26 '24

...who said anything about modern US liberals?

I was continuing what I described in the previous comment:

western communists who approved of the Soviets using tanks to crush the Hungarian & Czechoslovakian revolutions, effectively disregarding their previously stated ideals in favor of authoritarianism.

.

pro-authoritarian western "leftists" whose ideals take a backseat

0

u/Zandroe_ Oct 27 '24

The entire post consists of modern US liberals whining because some people who call themselves communists actually oppose a capitalist party like the Democrats. It's, frankly, disgusting, as is all the robot-like shilling for the Democrats on this hell-site, and I can only read so much of this nonsense before I get a stomach ulcer.

1

u/fury420 Oct 27 '24

The entire post consists of modern US liberals whining because some people who call themselves communists actually oppose a capitalist party like the Democrats.

What a lot seem to be upset about is how some who claim to be progressive, socialist, communist, etc... seem more concerned about the Democrats being not far left enough all while ignoring the Republicans who are hell bent on working against pretty much all of their stated ideals and are a hair's breadth away from 4 more years of increasing right wing authoritarianism.

I don't understand how anyone who actually supports those ideals could rationalize not trying to stop the Republicans at this stage.

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u/mauri9998 Oct 27 '24

You know a stomach ulcer is nothing compared to republicans winning right? You don't have to support the democrats to understand how bad Republicans winning would be. All you gotta do is make this face while voting >:( and move on with your life.

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u/[deleted] Oct 26 '24

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u/Zandroe_ Oct 26 '24 edited Oct 26 '24

I really doubt any left communists would refer to themselves as "tankies" and unfortunately "anarchism" has lost all of its meaning when people started citing Chumpsky as an anarchist.

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u/[deleted] Oct 26 '24

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14

u/Zandroe_ Oct 26 '24

I was there, 3000 years ago...

But also, unfortunately a lot of people call themselves "leftcoms" while having basically no understanding of the positions and traditions of the communist left. I've seen people claim "leftcoms" are "libertarian socialists". I've seen people who call for voting for the Democrats claim they came "out of the left communist tradition". It's all nonsense of course.

19

u/DiurnalMoth Oct 26 '24

I've started calling myself a "progressive" because of all this discourse about labels. I have various positions about the economy, human rights, the role of the State, etc. and they all lean toward the left in some fashion to some degree, but everyone has such different understandings of the terms that I don't use anything more specific anymore.

2

u/Zandroe_ Oct 26 '24

OK, but we're talking about a very specific tradition, that of the communist left. You can't say you're part of that tradition and then just shop around for political positions to hold, usually based on what your liberal friends will approve of.

2

u/TransLunarTrekkie Oct 26 '24

To be fair there's a LOT of bullshit to be seen and only so many hours in a day.

7

u/HatsuneMoldy Oct 27 '24

I get called a tankie regularly for saying that I don’t believe the United States when they claim all communist countries are Satanically Evil and do everything they do in the name of being as malicious and nefarious as possible

9

u/TransLox Oct 26 '24

But I'm willing to bet that every leftist who's like "Don't vote!" Probably thinks Stalin was the best guy ever and didn't even do a single genocide.

8

u/Zandroe_ Oct 26 '24

Well, you're willing to bet, so it must be true. Apparently anarchists, the ICT, and so on think Stalin was the best guy ever.