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]
    7·
    4 years ago

    How is that bullshit? Its literally how its always portraited in movies, tv, games, books, its always been presented in the mainstream in an intrinsically different way than communism has.

      • mrbigcheese [he/him]
        6·
        4 years ago

        I'm talking about the portrayal of anarchism itself in mainstream media and culture. I was constantly exposed to at least surface level anarchism among skater and underground rock scenes while growing up. It was a prevailing positive rhetoric of the ideology if not overly distilled, but there's a distinct difference in how western society portrays anarchism vs communism. I only ever saw communism as the bad guys you kill in video games. The deep anti communist rhetoric prevailing in the west always set up this situation and created a culture where "anarchism" becomes an easily accessible counter culture ideology and rhetoric for people to get into and get more familiarized and learned with.

          • Amorphous [any]
            4·
            4 years ago

            Talk to me when some mainstream film shows anarchism as an actually socialist anti-hierarchical ideology that doesnt want fucking Mad max.

            I don't watch films, but Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines has an entire faction of vampires literally called Anarchs. Now, capitalism and anti-capitalism are kind of irrelevant to vampires in that setting (since their system is more feudal) but they're definitely portrayed as a functional group of people without authority over one another and in opposition to the "standard" feudal system vampires use. They're also pretty uncritically treated as the "good guys" of the story, and the only people not trying to fuck you over as the main character.

            I'm sure I could come up with more examples, but that one was easy off the top of my head.

              • Amorphous [any]
                3·
                4 years ago

                please quote anywhere in this thread that i am "crying" or "moving the goalposts" you fucking clown

              • Amorphous [any]
                1·
                4 years ago

                So ... just showing anarchism in action doesn't count, they've gotta break the 4th wall and say, "This is anarchism, these people would be doing xyz if they existed in your time and place in the real world."

                Gotcha. Well, I see you've intentionally set the bar such that no media ever has or ever will clear it. Have fun with that, I guess.

          • mrbigcheese [he/him]
            6·
            4 years ago

            Yes it is portrayed as that in some media, tho is it among actual counter culture? Not at all. Also do i seriously have to explain the difference between one thing being portrayed as "juvenile" and the other as a murderous fascist ideology that evil people who want to take over the world espouse? fps shooters literally get boiled down to "murder the evil commies" like all the fucking time. how the hell do you equate that to anarchism being seen as "immature"

              • mrbigcheese [he/him]
                5·
                4 years ago

                They do just not in the same way communism has been largely presented. Anarchism has never been vilified the same way communism has. Its ridiculous we actually have to argue about this.

          • mrbigcheese [he/him]
            3·
            4 years ago

            its literally mainstream counter culture, who isn't exposed to it growing up that gravitates towards that? and it makes its way into mainstream media too