:agony-4horsemen:

  • doesntmatter [none/use name]
    ·
    edit-2
    2 years ago

    not really. tankies is having a bit of a crisis in terms of meaning

    you absolutely have ppl who never heard of magacoms/"mecha-tankies" or nazbols or Larouche using it for lib/anarchist reasons to mean anyone who thinks communist states and their actions forcefully counter to Western hegemony are a necessity (usually to denigrate us for being "edgy" and "apologists" and having an actual understanding of imperialism and the horrors the US and its allies inflict in order to maintain it - edit: and implicitly that violent excesses by communists absolutely pale in comparison to what was happening because of imperialists before, during and after these excesses occurred... which isn't to be apologist but more to say that the nature of a state itself is violent, which needs to be acknowledged (among many other hard-earned lessons about revolution like the necessity of a state) to minimise Khmer Rouge type wanton loss of life and destruction.)

    then there are certain smaller numbers of twitter leftists who do and are using it like you say. but i think informed communists don't call them tankies because why would they - that's just what theyve always been called and if you have a wit about you, you wouldn't want to muddy the waters and associate yourself with Larouchites (as someone thinking this way)