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.

  • BigBoopPaul [he/him]
    arrow-down
    11
    ·
    4 years ago

    I came to this website as a free agent with an open mind. I like to dip my toes in everything, a little ML, a little anarchist, and a little succdem (oh the horrors).

    If there's anything offputting about Communism/ML, it's its adherents. No sense of humor, intolerant, incredibly tribal, and ruthlessly toxic. And the manipulating and brigading of social media. They just don't play nice or fair.

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

        Hey, thanks for that I've been wondering why people used different abbreviations, but now I realize they are Social Democrat and Democratic Socialist and not both the same thanks to your post :)

            • gayhobbes [he/him]
              arrow-down
              6
              ·
              4 years ago

              If you guys are mad about getting banned all the time maybe you could form a vanguard party and...never mind.

                • gayhobbes [he/him]
                  arrow-down
                  4
                  ·
                  4 years ago

                  I'd like to point out that it's the MLs who are accused of having no sense of humor, unlike the super cool anarchists

                    • mrbigcheese [he/him]
                      hexagon
                      arrow-down
                      2
                      ·
                      4 years ago

                      I've been kicked from like multiple democratic socialist and "left unity" groups for arguing with people about shit like china not being fascist lol

                        • hogposting [he/him,comrade/them]
                          arrow-down
                          1
                          ·
                          edit-2
                          4 years ago

                          I was banned from anarchist-ran raddle for pointing out that there's one religious crank behind most of the "China bad" Xinjiang stories. They banned so many people that they killed their chapo community in the crib despite it starting at least a month before this place.

                          You can find shitty mods of all stripes, it's about the easiest thing to find on the internet.

                        • mrbigcheese [he/him]
                          hexagon
                          arrow-down
                          1
                          ·
                          4 years ago

                          i mean yes, there is my issue. that the largest most prevailing leftist movement in the us is still filled with a lot of deeply ingrained anti communist propaganda

                            • mrbigcheese [he/him]
                              hexagon
                              arrow-down
                              2
                              ·
                              4 years ago

                              Well i mean i was always arguing with libertarian socialists usually, and i found most people that were in those groups identified more as that and very staunchly "anti tankie" on facebook, discord, and reddit. theres a very large prevailing presence of libertarian socialists within dsa as a whole and id say its certainly the largest leftist "tendency" in the us if you can really broadly call it that. like the similarities between those dsa groups and anarchists subs on reddit and other "leftists unity" spaces are very striking in that regard is what i've found. usually very anti china, anti dprk, anti ussr, anti venezuela, maybe anti cuba, anti marxist, etc. (broadly described usually as just "anti tankie") and what i was referring to in the op. a lot of people i know in nyc dsa are very much like that, but they don't usually go out of their way to post about it or have arguments.

                    • gayhobbes [he/him]
                      arrow-down
                      2
                      ·
                      4 years ago

                      Every single person here can tell you about being banned from at least one or two left unity spaces online regardless of tendency but you're right, you're the only special person out there with the dangerous ideas who keeps getting banned

      • BigBoopPaul [he/him]
        arrow-down
        7
        ·
        4 years ago

        Yes, you are, and a great writer.

        But some of these other cats... I go through some China threads and it's like, "I want nothing to do with some of these people."

        • gayhobbes [he/him]
          ·
          edit-2
          4 years ago

          Aw :3

          Maybe my great writing can help you figure out China a little better

    • artangels [he/him]
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      4 years ago

      Only time I see MLs here being like that is when people parrot CIA talking points or whatever you wanna call it

    • RandomWords [he/him]
      arrow-down
      7
      ·
      4 years ago

      sounds just like "i won't vote for bernie because his voters are mean" stfu lib

      • BigBoopPaul [he/him]
        arrow-down
        7
        ·
        4 years ago

        Yup, that's the exact warm welcome I'm talking about.

          • BigBoopPaul [he/him]
            arrow-down
            10
            ·
            4 years ago

            Yeah, a normal empathic response would be, "Wow, sorry you feel that way, I know some MLs can get pretty passionate and upset because they feel it's an uphill battle against Western propaganda, but I'm sure if you stick around and see that not all of us are like that, I think you'll eventually come around."

            But you did the most predictable thing and basically confirmed what I was saying.

            • RandomWords [he/him]
              arrow-down
              4
              ·
              4 years ago

              If there’s anything offputting about Communism/ML, it’s its adherents. No sense of humor, intolerant, incredibly tribal, and ruthlessly toxic

              come in here calling all MLs intolerant, humorless, and toxic and expect a fucking welcoming committee? get fucked