I made the mistake of balking at some particularly unhinged Ukraine/Russia rhetoric offline yesterday and got called a vatnik, a tankie, a Russia lover and I was even suspected of being pro-Israel and apparently a nazbol Aimee Therese follower or something

I'm not even invested in this shit, I just find the insane saber-rattling and warmongering unsettling desolate

When someone tells you Putler's going to invade Estonia, Poland and Finland for Lebensraum next if he's not stopped in Ukraine, just nod your head solemnly

    • CptKrkIsClmbngThMntn [any]
      ·
      4 months ago

      There are ways to hide your power level but you have to be very accomodating, not get heated, and figure out what direction to guide someone to get them started questioning the dominant narrative, instead of going debate bro mode. People want to be listened to and respected, and will remember your tone, affect, and willingness to treat them like a person far more than they will your points 90% of the time.

    • zed_proclaimer [he/him]
      ·
      4 months ago

      Don’t: rant to people how you comment on here among communist hardliners

      Do: understand their language and worldview, twist it rhetorically to serve our ends. Class war against all bourgeois parties domestically, anti-imperialism abroad. These are essential to be pushed at all times among any western leftist.

      In groups settings, pushback and mockery can completely turn a vibe around.

    • miz [any, any]
      ·
      4 months ago

      I feel this, but at the end of the day I guess I'm not really interested in socializing with people who can handwave away a man holding his headless child