this post was submitted on 14 Jul 2023
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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by BouncyFerret to c/nostupidquestions
 

I've run across these terms several times, but without enough context to figure out what they mean. Could someone help me out, please?

ETA All of you are amazing! A huge thank you to everyone who responded, and an extra thank you to those who have provided links or explanations to further and/or related information. I am learning so much by reading all of these comments!

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[–] Earthwormjim91 165 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Sealioning is the constant bad faith, feigning ignorance, asking for evidence of everything under the guise of “just asking questions”. Then ignoring any evidence presented and moving on to the next demand. Used to shut down discourse entirely.

Tankies are leftists that defend or deny the atrocities committed by authoritarian communist regimes like the Soviet Union or the CCP. It was first used to describe communists in Great Britain that defended the Soviet Union for using tanks to crush anti-communist revolutions.

[–] [email protected] 38 points 1 year ago (15 children)

It doesn’t have to be leftists, anyone who does that is a tankie.

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[–] skepticalifornia 85 points 1 year ago (5 children)

“Tankies” is slang for communists who align with the philosophy of authoritarian rule, like the Soviet Union who used violence to keep countries under their control in check.

Sealioning is something I saw a lot on Reddit, but not so much here - it is when someone responds continuously asking questions, trying to seem like they are engaged, but in reality they are trolling you. Like when you say something like “The sky is so blue today” and the come back with “That is interesting, do you have a link to some information that I can learn more about that?”

[–] SacredHeartAttack 31 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Oh my god I get sealioned in real life. Now I can call people out on it with a title.

[–] Sheltac 20 points 1 year ago (2 children)

That’s interesting, do you have a link where I could read more about that?

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Asking for proof isn't necessarily trolling. Someone making wild claims should have to source their knowledge

[–] givesomefucks 11 points 1 year ago (9 children)

They're not really communists tho, because (like you said) they defend the use of violence by a ruling class

A ruling class just wouldn't exist under actual communism. Which is the main reason communism won't work for any group more than like ~200 people in size.

They're fans of fake communism like the Soviet Union or China

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[–] [email protected] 70 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Tankies are the cringe "communists", authoritarians that beleave that no one but them (definitely not rich people) should have power. You can generally spot them because they often idolize the Soviet Union and CCP, despite the fact that both were/are authoritarian shitholes.

Sealioning is when you repeatedly ask someone basic questions in an attempt to annoy them or make it look like they don't have any. Often sealioners pretend they just want to engage in debate, but in reality ignore or deny any evidence or arguments presented.

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[–] [email protected] 51 points 1 year ago (13 children)

Tankies are Red Fascists. They're essentially communism-flavored authoritarians. I would contend they do not qualify as "left", "leftists", etc but far-right. They support and defend Soviet Russia and the CCP, specifically defending their atrocities and oppression.

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[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 year ago (1 children)

One thing about sealioning that I haven't seen mentioned yet is that it's a tactic designed to utterly exhaust the other person by asking question after question with no willingness to listen to the answers. It's there to waste time and grind down your opponent until they have had enough of your bullshit and tell you to fuck off. At that point you can feign offense and declare victory.

[–] CodeMonkeyDance 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

A quick jab can help cure sealioning.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

Or a club to the fucking head.

(For legal and animal cruelty reasons this is a joke.)

[–] [email protected] 34 points 1 year ago (7 children)

For sea-lioning, here’s the comic the term originated from to explain it

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[–] FatsLardenfeldt 16 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Sealioning originiates with this comic strip. Tankies is a perjorative term broadly applied to anyoneone with marxist-leninist beliefs, applied by centre left and liberals. It refers originally to the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia with the implication being that "tankies" support the crushing of resistence to Soviet authority but used more generally just do dismiss anyone with militantly anti-capitalist ideals.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago

applied by centre left and liberals

It's a term that originates with the left. Specifically, those who broke with the USSR over imperialist invasions, referring to those who did not. More broadly, it refers to the authoritarian left (as opposed to the anarchist left).

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago
[–] BouncyFerret 8 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Thank you all for your help, it is much appreciated!

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