this post was submitted on 01 Dec 2025
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I am pretty sure 90% of people who get called tankies on Lemmy are not communists. Tankie-calling is by far the most obnoxious Lemmy community pastime. But I'll give them this, it's an extremely annoying word, much more annoying to be called than "fascist". We need an unjustifiably smug sounding pejorative for people who call everyone tankies, to call them in exchange so that they can see how not epic their insult is.
The key thing is that the insult needs to seem like you think it's really badass and brave of you to call them that, and it should seem like you think they're seething at you, when in reality it's a super lame insult. Like so:
"You're a tankie"
"Oh no the Tankie-twister has arrived!"
"Wtf kind of lame insult is that lol"
"Now you know how everyone else feels about being called tankies"
Does the person deny the human rights violation of USSR and China? Then they're tankies. Simple as that.
I mean, ACAB. I'm sure you can find human rights abuses anywhere you want to look.
But what does this have to do with decarbonization? Is China's production of photovoltaics materially more abusive than America's production of hydrocarbons?
Was George Bush Jr a Tankie when he invaded Iraq? Is Trump a Tankie for invading Venezuela?
Or is the whole Blood For Oil thing Based and Freedom-Pilled?
I should add, those who defend China and USSR as if they can't do anything wrong are DEFINITELY tankies.
I've yet to see anyone - left, right, or center - that has suggested an entire country's worth of people has never done anything wrong in its history.
"Tankie" has a real, actual, honest to god historical definition. Its not just "people who liked the Soviet system more than the capitalist system". Its an explicit advocacy for non-interventionism during the Cold War. Specifically, it is British progressives who didn't want the UK sending support to Hungarian reactionaries during the 1956 revolt.
The British media portrayed any reluctance to intercede on behalf of anti-communists abroad as pro-Khrushchev puppets who wanted to see Russian tanks flatten all of Europe. That's what a "Tankie" is supposed to mean. It's a person accused (by anti-soviet British media) of wanting a Soviet conquest of the planet.
That's an interesting spin I have ever seen of whitewashing crimes of communist regimes. You're definitely a tankie.
If you definition hasn't evolved since the 50s it might be a little out of date. That definition could draw retirement at this point.
How do you read English?
Not the same as old or middle English I'll tell you that. I also don't speak Latin or Germanic despite those being the origin of many of the words I use.
Did you drop a decimal point? Middle English isn't 50 years old. Hell, the Transatlantic Accent isn't 50 years old.
You'll never make it as a proper Catholic.
Are you trying to argue that language is static? Because we both know that's bullshit. Especially when it comes to slang. At this point I don't know what you're trying to argue. It seems like you're trying to derail the conversation instead of defending your position.
We're also talking about 70 years ago. It's hard to remember that the 90s weren't 10 years ago, but let's stay on topic.
I'm pointing out a term's historical roots. You just seem to be arguing through hyperbole. FFS, even if you don't want to acknowledge the existence of Latin, you might at least recognize the existence of etymology as a field.
Brother, wait till you find out how old Arabic numerals are.
Not for the last 3 replies you haven't. If that's your only point then we aren't in disagreement. You and I both know where the term originated. It seems like you're fighting the idea that it could change since then. If that's the case I'll reiterate, language changes. Slang changes faster than most.
You would have to make sense the first time for it to matter
Now I'm pretty sure you're just talking in circles. Go enjoy your day because this conversation has ended.
Hey! That's the spirit. Touch some grass, bro.
Probably an offshoot of just how many tankies there are on Lemmy. Some people are definitely getting caught in the crossfire.
The reciprocal word I've typically seen is "liberal".
Do people get upset about that
That's just tossing a hand grenade into any political discourse.
It's funny, because the term was coined back in the 1950s to describe British progressives who opposed NATO intervention in Eastern Europe.
If anti-interventionism is what passes the bar for Communism, I suspect Lemmy might be flush with the little red bastards.
A lot of people dont deserve a reply. Works great for me. I'm sure thats been me many times in the past. (And future)