this post was submitted on 11 Feb 2025
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Absolutely wrong. A tankie is a fake leftist who idolizes authoritarian regimes / leaders
"Tankie" is a caricature. The idea of a tankie is the ideal vision of a McCarthyian Communist. In reality, the overwhelming majority of people labeled as such don't actually fit that label, it's more of a way to cast an image of someone's positions based on, say, support for AES countries, and twist that into the evil Commie Pinko that haunts the dreams of 1960s children in the US.
So, yes, it's a pejorative, and not one I think is aiding leftists trying to understand the views of others. More often than not it's used as "commie" was: to shut down conversation and otherize people.
If someone supports authoritarians masquerading as leftists they subscribe to tankie ideology. Sucks for them that it's a pejorative TOO.
If people don't like being called it maybe they shouldn't openly support such behavior.
Edit it's funny, someone calling for mutual aid driven , equity based, collectivist society would never be called a tankie. It's other stuff that people are squirming out of the cracks to defend here. Like long running dictatorial rule, state control of information, ethnic cleansing and political prisons.
And before I'm hit with the ml special: a lot of that shit happens in the west too, and has for years. There's just different labels for it.
What makes someone a Leftist, vs an "authoritarian masquerading as a leftist?" What is "tankie ideology?"
JAQ elsewhere. Ample resources to look up.
My late edit had some keywords to can type in if you're unfamiliar.
It isn't "JAQ," I asked a specific pair of questions because vague gesturing isn't effective communication. For your edit, removing control from the Bourgeoisie, defending revolution, and having the Dictatorship of the Proletariat control the press is straight from Marx, so I guess you mean Marxism is "tankie ideology." I don't know what you mean by dictatorships, nor ethnic cleansing, this just seems to be more vague assertions.
So, it's a perjorative then.
Sure like calling a Nazi a Nazi is technically pejorative. More importantly, it's a warning identifier to others.
A Nazi is a real thing, there was a Nazi party that ruled a country, and there are still people nowadays who adhere to the ideals of that party.
There was never a "Tankie" party, it's something that only exists in your head and has no representation in the real world.
It doesn't have to be a defined party to be an ideology. It's pretty hilarious y'all are defending authoritarian Stans
So Zante was right.
It's clearly an ideology as well, which is what I was addressing. (Ideology/idolize)
Well no, it's clearly not. Like you said, it's a perjorative.
Two things can be true. By my word choice it is clear that "absolutely not" was directed at "ideology".
Edit How is it not? People believe in the actions of authoritarians larping as leftists. They further idolize their personalities.
That's not an ideology though, that's just you saying "they like people who I think are bad." That's like calling "woke" an ideology.
An ideology is defined as "a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy."
As such, believing in, supporting the behavior of autocratic regimes, and their perverse, fucked up zombified corpse of a true leftist community is an ideology.
No, an ideology is defined as what your believe, not who you support.
I didn't invent the definition. They BELIEVE it's ok to do the things autocrats do. It's not a side effect or byproduct.
Ok, but that's hopelessly vague, anyone who supports anyone a person anyone considered an autocrat has the same ideology? So Lincoln supporters are tankies, Nelson Mandela supporters are tankies, Martin Luther King was a tankie, opponents of the Vietnam war are tankies, and based on your own support of actions taken by US Presidents, you're a subscriber to tankie ideology.
Again "liking someone you don't like" is not an ideology
Obviously not. Go do your own googling on the origins and common figures, regimes, eras, countries that align with the definition. I've shared my opinion, and even some info. I'm not obligated to educate you on the logical connections of labels and groups and ideas.
See, this is why I continue to conclude that "tankie" is just a pejorative for "person to the left of me. Because whenever someone who insists that's not what it means gives me their definition, and I try to apply it consistently, they instantly get huffy and essentially admit that they can't give a different definition that actually matches with how they use it, exactly as you've done here.
I have done my own googling and research, and my finding has been that the only consistent feature of things that get you called a tankie is that they are to the left of the anglosphere Overton window.