https://i.imgur.com/FYeoXx4.png

anti communist propaganda and misinformation about virtually every communist revolutionary leader and movement throughout history has always been one of the most serious impediments to leftist growth in the west. It has created such a deeply ingrained rhetoric that anti communist propaganda has also been actively used by libertarian socialists to coopt movements and take advantage of this deeply ingrained hatred in the west by acting as a surface level alternative. The fact that there is so little pushback against anti communist rhetoric and propaganda among these leftist spaces is telling enough to its usefulness and the rhetoric largely centering around it.

In media you only ever see communism portrayed as the evil Russians that need to be killed and anarchism as the cool defiant and rebellious crowd fighting back against the oppressing government. Its dishonest to dismiss it as nothing important when this continual peddling of misinformation pushed by imperial media at the behest of capitalist interests always finds its way into the left and isn’t only not actually pushed back against, but also actively embraced opportunistically in many cases. I've seen it in many mainstream places including anarchist subs, dsa groups, iron front type antifa groups irl and online, and general "leftist unity" spaces. Its by far the most pervasive narrative on the western left today, and therefor the most harmful.

I'm tired of it being defended, brushed aside, normalized, and rationalized away as just "difference in tendencies", and I find it deeply dishonest to actively enable and not call this out in the name of some presumed "leftist unity". Where is this so called unity exactly? I see only antagonistic and opportunistic use of this anti communism and never any push back against it because its been such a useful rhetoric for this brand of western leftism. How are people still not understanding that this state department pushed rhetoric is an immense impediment towards any large leftist movement?

This is not sectarianism or anti whatever, no one has to be a communist, i have no problem against other tendencies even if we disagree strategically on what the best way forward is. This is just a call for leftists to do better and learn to deprogram themselves and be more critical of their own biases and understand that having grown in a world that has declared war on communism and has engrained in the collective consciousness of the west a deep seethed hatred that they themselves are also exposed and influenced by this. Its everyone's duty on the left to fight back against this petty reactionary rhetoric and get people to stop peddling state department approved narratives.

  • mrbigcheese [he/him]
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    4 years ago

    ok but "anti communism" manifest itself as a very specific thing. When we talk about it does it pertain to anarchists or more specifically to specific socialist states, socialist projects, and socialist leaders throughout history? Do anarchists get vilified the way communists do in media and in popular culture and throughout the history of the west? its dishonest to act as if "anti communism" has always been some sort of large prevailing rhetoric that applies to everything the same way. Obviously i'm talking about the specifics of the propaganda that exists in these spaces against what they view as "not real leftists". I'm not excluding anyone from anything, this just seems like dishonest semantics. idk why yall acting like you have no idea what i'm talking about

    • Chapo0114 [comrade/them, he/him]
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      4 years ago

      "Do anarchists get vilified the way communists do in media and in popular culture"

      Yes. The average person's idea of a Anarchist is a person that wants a mad max style hellscape. Anarchists are associated with bombs and terrorism.

      • mrbigcheese [he/him]
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        4 years ago

        yes but im not saying "anarchists are anti communists", i'm saying anti communist rhetoric, such as anti ml, anti china, anti ussr, anti dprk, anti cuba, anti venezuela, anti marxist, etc. is prevailing anti communist ideology among libertarian socialist spaces, and often beyond just disagreement and instead just plain peddling of propaganda and misinformation.