That's rich, coming from you.
Mind telling us what "existing socialist states" you're referring to? Do the PRC and DPRK feature in that list? Because yes, defending and obfuscating for those authoritarian and rigidly hierarchical ethno-states truly is something that tankies often do. How astute for you to point that out!
And no, if someone is capable of rational discourse and argues in good faith, then by definition they're not a tankie and I've never seen anyone call someone like that a tankie. Tankies are usually all about "less chat, more splat"