• HobbitFoot
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    2911 months ago

    Yeah, but being a Tankie isn’t liking communism, it is saying that the Soviet Union did nothing wrong in Hungary in 1956.

    • Grayox
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      -911 months ago

      Yes that’s the OG definition, but as of late it has become a catch all for people anywhere left of classical lib.

      • @almar_quigley
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        2911 months ago

        Disagree. Maybe as used by right wing folks but it’s definitely used to describe apologists of authoritarian regimes claiming to be communist, ie China and Russia.

      • HobbitFoot
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        1011 months ago

        It depends where, but I’ve only really seen it said on Lemmy in discussions regarding international relations and my time on Reddit has been significantly reduced.

        I have also seen a lot of people on Lemmy who are obvious tankies argue that it is a slur against communist supporters rather than a specific criticism about tribalism, realpolitik, and internal imperialism engaged by communist countries.

        It is in the vested interest of tankies to change the meaning of the word.

        • @abbotsbury
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          311 months ago

          It is used as a slur against unapologetic socialists and communists sometimes, although actual tankies would like to pretend it’s only a slur and not descriptive of Stalinists.