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[–] 75 points 5 months ago (96 children)

Tankies are so weird. I’m sure some of them are true believers, but I get the feeling most of them just want to watch the western world burn and kinda don’t care how it happens.

Well, and then there’s the fact that posts like this always get swarmed by users from .ml and other similar instances (around the time that the eastern hemisphere wakes up) with the message “both sides bad”

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  • [–] 48 points 5 months ago (31 children)

    I'm sure there's also a population of tankies that don't understand truly what they are saying and are just vaguely repeating talking points from their favorite podcaster/streamer.

    It would certainly explain why every argument with a tankie fits into 1 of about 6 of the same arguments with slightly different flavor.

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  • [–] 17 points 5 months ago (8 children)

    That's definitely the case with my ex. He used to parrot the "Russia had to invade Ukraine because NATO! It was self defence!" and I'm pretty sure he was just parroting whatever he heard on Joe Rogan and the other far right rabbit holes that led him to.

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  • [–] 11 points 5 months ago* (6 children)
  • [+] 4 points 5 months ago (6 children)
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  • [–] 18 points 5 months ago (11 children)

    Well, when you categorize everyone on the planet who isn't an ML as a liberal, that cuts down on the options.

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  • [–] 9 points 5 months ago (7 children)

    Exactly my point. If you categorize the vast majority of people as liberals, any given subset of people is fairly likely to be entirely contained within that majority.

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  • [–] 5 points 5 months ago* (2 children)

    Wayyyyyy too many young-adults tune into Hasan and believe he makes sense as he panders to his twitch chat for profit. I'm more and more convinced that this is Russo/China infiltration attempting to wedge-drive the left and distort reality. There are people on here who will complain about US imperialism on the daily but then turn a complete blind eye to Chinese or Russian atrocities conveniently. One can only conclude they're spreading the kool-aid, or chugging it.

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  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago (4 children)

    I'm sure there's also a population of tankies that don't understand truly what they are saying and are just vaguely repeating talking points from their favorite podcaster/streamer.

    I fee like some of them are neurodivergent and don't realise it. I was listening to an interview of a former neo-Nazi and he mentioned many of those who get sucked in by the far-right are very likely to be undiagnosed autistic. I imagine the same happening with the far-left tankie circles, given the childish statements they constantly make and the perpetual online presence.

    This is not an attack on neurodivergent folks by the way, and sorry if my comment sounds like I rub anyone the wrong way, but it is quite common for any extremist movements to try to recruit vulnerable people in some capacity, either those who are emotionally or mentally vulnerable, or both.

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  • [–] 5 points 5 months ago

    The thing about us neurodivergent people is that we’re people, which means we’re as vulnerable as any other group. Some might be more vulnerable than non-neurodivergent individuals others might be less. There is a broad spectrum of neurodivergence. I happen to be one of the less vulnerable. My autism predisposed me to questioning and trying to truly understand what I hear and why.

    Your comment did rub me the wrong way because to say that we neurodivergent folk are particularly vulnerable to these sorts of things (extremism) is belittling. I know you tried to mean well but that is simply what it is. We are a broad spectrum of people. Same as you.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago

    It would certainly explain why every argument with a tankie fits into 1 of about 6 of the same arguments with slightly different flavor.

    Butwhatabout <insert something shitty the US has done that nobody has condoned or even mentioned during the current discussion about China while completely ignoring the discussion about things China is doing>? You don't seem to have any problem with that, huh?

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  • [–] 11 points 5 months ago (57 children)

    I'm with them on the US at least, it has had way too much power to just trample anyone it feels like. Obviously not worth all the effects from what Trump has done but...

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  • [–] 7 points 5 months ago (56 children)

    I struggle to understand how the collapse of the United States would do anything but make life worse for literally everyone on the planet for decades if not longer.

    You want to make things better? Change the system from within slowly. You want to accidentally make things much much worse? Burn a system down and watch what emerges be horrible beyond what you could imagine.

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  • [–] 5 points 5 months ago* (5 children)

    Why would it automatically be "horrible beyond what you could imagine"? I have watched the US murder thousands of people through illegal wars, poison the entire planet, and now for years the US has supported an open genocide in Gaza, not to mention previous genocidal regimes propped up by the US.

    The things I have seen are already literally more horrible than I could have imagined. I wouldn't imagine they would send a Tomahawk missile into a crowded elementary school, and especially wouldn't imagine they would hit it two more times, ensuring nearly every young girl in a small town was killed. I wouldn't have imagined these things years ago except maybe from a country like Nazi Germany. But I've seen it, and there is ample evidence, and we know that there is more that they do in the shadows that we might never know. Tell me why we shouldn't stop it as quickly as possible? What would you say to the parents of these children? People have been pushing for change slowly and steadily for the entire history of the US and we are still a bloodthirsty, heartless monster, imprisoning more people than have ever been held in history.

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  • [–] 7 points 5 months ago (4 children)

    I have watcheed the US murder thousands of people through illegal wars

    Millions.Take Vietnam and the completely illegal bombing of Cambodia and Laos alone, and you're already at millions.

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  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago*

    We are in the middle of a historic mass extinction event because of the global ecocide commited by the wealthy elite. We will ALL suffer immensely and billions will die if nothing is done to stop them. Saying we can't do anything because it will just get worse is a position only the very privileged could take, able to ignore the massive bloodshed happening every day.

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  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago

    Sure the nazis are killing millions, but do we really need to take military action? Who will take up the power vacuum? It can always get worse. Billions. With a B. Shocked yet? Yeah, that’s what I thought.

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  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago (10 children)

    I sort of agree with you but the chance for that is over. I can't come up with a single way to change anything slowly at this point. We've had 46 years of pillaging the working class and now we're about to get nuked by an illegal IPO during the biggest bubble we've ever seen. Please help me understand how we'll have the option to change anything once Palantir rolls out the robot dogs next year.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago (2 children)

    Go outside and connect with your neighbors

    RIP autistic people

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  • [–] 7 points 5 months ago (5 children)

    When was the last time a system remotely this bad was actually redeemed slowly? The Mongols were defeated by disease, storms, and violence; the Nazis were defeated by extreme violence; the Japanese Empire was defeated by extreme violence; the French monarchy and Napoleon were defeated by extreme violence; the Russian monarchy was defeated by extreme violence.

    Things get worse before they get better with a revolution, but they can get better. That isn't to say that we should decline to reduce harm inside the current system, but it seems naive to expect the current system to stop being terrible. Harm reduction is a temporary measure.

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  • [–] 5 points 5 months ago* (3 children)

    And then they overthrew that monarchy, had a second republic for four years, Napoleon III declared himself emperor, the empire collapsed, and they had a third republic, which was overthrown by the Nazis, and then a fourth republic after the Nazis lost, which only lasted another twelve years before they changed enough laws to call it #5.

    Boy, I bet they would have preferred to skip ahead to overthrowing the monarchs indefinitely.

    And how the absolute fuck do you propose they could have reformed a monarchy that responded to protests with violence? Even the French don't overthrow their government without giving it a chance to respond to their demands.

    It's like suggesting that a union get concessions without striking. Sure, they'd like to, but if the company refuses to negotiate, there's only one (legal) path forward.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    That doesn't seem compatible with the summaries I've found. I'm not an expert by any means, but it looks like the constitutional monarchy you mentioned was repeatedly sabotaged by Louis XVI until he was violently deposed. You can argue against his beheading the following January all you like, but deposing him was not a change from within, it was a violent revolution. They stormed the palace and threw him in jail.

    https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/petr-kropotkin-the-great-french-revolution-1789-1793#toc27

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  • [–] 5 points 5 months ago (21 children)

    "Tear it all down" is for weak minded imbeciles who get frustrated trying to confront issues and think of practical resolutions.

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  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago

    I am not an american to do anything about it

    My solution is to organize in an alternative party that is out of the bourgeoisie imperialist democratic party and put candidates from those parties in elections, however elections would be just one part, keep organizing and keep spreading class consciousness. If you are looking for immediate leftist gains through electoralism vote for a 3rd party that already has significant base like for example the green party.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago

    No, it's for people outside the relative bubble of safety you enjoy in the imperial core. Your country has been on the wrong side of every war it's fought since WWII, resulting in the deaths of tens of millions of innocent civilians. You've had 80 years to get your shit together, you don't get unlimited chances. Death to America.

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  • [–] 5 points 5 months ago (10 children)

    I find "tear it all down" people hilarious. Like... yea, ok, we'll tear it all down. And who's gonna rebuild after? You and your keyboard?

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  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago (5 children)

    I am more aware about history than avg american lib whose ideology is shaped by pedophile billionaire owned media.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago (5 children)

    I vote more often than that and if more people did, society would be more aligned with that they want. But most don't, because stupid fucking morons like yourself convince them it doesn't matter.

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  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago (4 children)

    Voting does matter

    Voting democrats however dont

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  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago (2 children)

    If you dont try to build a 3rd party, they will never become viable

    You cant reform a liberal imperialist party like the democrats who have a long history of pursuing imperialist capital goals. Its like saying "we will reform nazi party to be sympathetic to jews"

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  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago

    Even you know both parties are:

    1. Pro american hegemony
    2. White supremacist
    3. Zionist
    4. Capitalist
    5. Imperialist

    The only thing they differ is on the culture war. There is not much difference if you really look at it

    Maybe you should go talk to those 3rd parties and tell them to…do something?

    I mean you guys call names to people who vote and organize for those parties, proves they are doing stuff for sure.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    When you grow up you're going to come to understand that politics/countries/humans can't be boiled down to black and white. There are many shades of grey.

    The U.S. isn't JUST evil. That you think so indicates that you aren't ready to have a real discussion.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago

    I think more what I meant was, I prefer none of this have happened, but when trump and his fellow cult members choose to do something insane, I'm pretty happy to see the rest of the world cutting us out of their decision making so this insanity is seen as unacceptable.

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  • [–] 8 points 5 months ago

    It seems like a lot of them honestly think that if a liar says something, it must be a lie. They realized that our government lies, and immediately flipped everything they thought they knew to the opposite of what they thought it was.

    "The US, which suppresses its own citizens, said that Russia, China, and North Korea suppress their own citizens? That must mean they're awesome! Ignore personal accounts from people who live or escaped from there, if the US says it's bad, it must be good, no question!"

    Like, yeah, both sides are bad. Suppressing your citizens is bad. We need to be rising up as citizens across the world to take the power back from all dictatorial governments everywhere, not arguing about which one is the worst as if that makes the others better.

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  • [–] 5 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    "Both sides bad" is a litmus test. If someone says it unironically it lets me know what IQ range they fall within.

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