As far as I knew, “Zionist” as a negative was primarily used by the Nazis for all that blood libel stuff. I think it may have been used under Stalinist communism as well. The KKK and other white supremacist groups use it. You also see Zion in hymns, usually as a reference to heaven.
FWIW, I’m not a supporter of Israel or the ongoing Palestinian genocide. I also think that most of the Muslim states are terrible as well. Organized religion and its involvement in the state is a cancer and it doesn’t much matter if it’s Judaism, Islam, or Christianity. Fundamentalism is terrible.
Anyhow, when I see “Zionism” to refer to support of Israel, it pings my bullshit detector. It isn’t a part of normal discourse as I know it in the US. It feels like whomever is spouting it has been propagandized when I see it. It seems to be accompanied by varying degrees of jingoism and anger. Tends to be a very black and white worldview, almost naive. Reminds me of Qanon brainwashing but for the Left.
As this is Lemmy, it’s not coming from neo-nazis.
What is driving this?
Is it tankies? (Which I don’t know a lot about, but they seem to be heavily propagandized and unpleasant.)
Is it Muslims?
Some sort of Left ideology that isn’t common in the US?
Is it politically naive kids that have been fed talking points?
Is it Russian, Chinese, or some other state level disinfo/propaganda?
You can probably consider me self educated, especially when it comes to history and culture. My public education occured in a state that is consistently ranked 49 or 50 and is far right. We were not even taught about evolution but given a statement that there is controversy between Evolution and Creationism, this was state policy in a publicly funded school. Prayers were common and led by authority. I was raised by Christian Fundamentalists and didn’t logic my way out of it until my 30s.
Anyhow, to make my way out of it I cultivated a finely honed bullshit detector. I think I’m lucky enough to be naturally skeptical and self trained in critical thinking. I learned to trust the scientific process.
I can sniff out far right bullshit from a mile away. I’m seeing a fair amount of far left bullshit on Lemmy that I don’t have a lot of experience with. The far Right doesn’t have monopoly on fanaticism. That’s why I’m asking about this. The whole Zion thing sets off my radar and I’m not all convinced it’s a false positive given the response in this thread.
I tend to trust my gut on this sort of thing. However, I am actually able to change my mind given clear information that doesn’t trip my detector.
I’m leaning towards the Zion thing being an indicator of tankie thought/Left fanaticism or a phrase that is common outside the states. The fact that it was used historically heavily by the Nazis and, I think, by the Stalinist communists is a large negative factor for me. I also think it may have been picked up by non-fanatics and not necessarily be a firm indicator.