It’s lemmygrad, we’re the spectre. I’d bet at least half of the other instances out there block us, there’s only like 300 dedicated users on this instance, and they still can’t stop complaining about lemmygrad/tankies

  • protist@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    7
    arrow-down
    35
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    Sure, this instance defines itself as pro-Marxism/pro-socialism, and there is a serious conversation to be had about the pros and cons of different systems of economy. I struggle to understand, however, why people on this instance are so pro-Russia today, where Russia now is so blatantly a capitalist kleptocracy. This undermines any perception that people on this instance are approaching this in good faith, and gives the impression lemmygrad is the product of Russian troll farms.

    As to why this small instance gathers so much attention within Lemmy, it keeps showing up in my “All” feed, that probably has something to do with it 👾

    • ImOnADiet@lemmygrad.mlOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      46
      arrow-down
      4
      ·
      1 year ago

      because it’s a bad faith argument that we’re “pro-Russia”, we are anti-Nato. Sometimes we’re sloppy with our language in here because we expect other comrades to engage with us in good faith and not assume that we are pro Russian. The United States is the great Satan, and any country that opposes it is our temporary ally.

    • Black AOC@lemmygrad.ml
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      39
      arrow-down
      3
      ·
      1 year ago

      why people on this instance are so pro-Russia today,

      You, just like every other tourist from afar, miss the point of "critical support". Deliberate emphasis on the ‘critical’. We do not uphold the kleptocracy. We do not uphold Putin. We do not uphold the federation. But right now, at the same time, Russia is one of like… The three or four world powers currently spitting in the Evil Empire’s eye. That, we critically support, in that we can support one action while holding critique bordering on condemnation for everything else they do.

    • ☭CommieWolf☆@lemmygrad.ml
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      30
      arrow-down
      3
      ·
      1 year ago

      We are not “Pro-Russia”, this is a bad faith label that is used to smear us. We SUPPORT Russia in the current conflict against Nato and the west. Which is what any principled anti-imperialist would do.

      • curryandbeans@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        arrow-down
        25
        ·
        1 year ago

        So just to wrap my head around this, the anti-imperialists are the ones who have invaded a sovereign country twice in 8 years?

        • ☭CommieWolf☆@lemmygrad.ml
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          26
          arrow-down
          2
          ·
          1 year ago

          The anti imperialists are the ones preventing the expansion of the organization that attacked Iraq, took part in several conflicts in former Yugoslavia, invaded Afghanistan, attacked Iraq again and then Libya.

          All while expanding to 15 countries in the last 30 years. That is the imperialism we are opposing.

          • curryandbeans@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            3
            arrow-down
            24
            ·
            1 year ago

            So the anti-imperialists are the ones who invaded twice and annexed Chechnya, rolled tanks into Georgia, invaded Luhansk, Donetsk and Crimea in a blatant land grab, levelled Syrian cities (which is ongoing btw) and used chemical weapons on civilians, aggressively pursued Russian interests in Mali, Libya and Sudan with the Wagner group, and started a full scale invasion of Ukraine which is ongoing… and they’re the good guys?

            It’s wild that you can look at them and say yeah, russia are the good guys in this whole thing lol. There’s a reason why countries want to be in NATO in 2023 and that reason is Russia.

            • CriticalResist8@lemmygrad.ml
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              25
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              1 year ago

              There’s a reason why countries want to be in NATO in 2023 and that reason is Russia.

              Don’t sell NATO short; I’m sure the Afghani opium and Iraqi oil is also a pretty good motivator to get countries in NATO!

            • ☭CommieWolf☆@lemmygrad.ml
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              19
              arrow-down
              2
              ·
              1 year ago

              You did not just compare Russia preventing a Jihadist breakaway state from forming in their country to the US destroying Iraq for made up reasons and creating the catalyst for all modern Islamist terrorism, Jesus fucking Christ.

        • IntoDaLagoon@lemmygrad.ml
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          20
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          Is that the measure? Then you must agree that the US, after (at a minimum) it’s genocidal invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, can never be trusted on matters of foreign policy again, right?

          • curryandbeans@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            arrow-down
            13
            ·
            1 year ago

            Absolutely not, that’s ridiculous. I’m not automatically pro-russian (and therefore pro-genocide) because the US is supplying arms to Ukraine. I’m not pro-US either by any measure and never have been.

            In this current war, that Russia started twice (!), I am pro-Ukraine. That the US is supplying arms to Ukraine is not only something I can live with, it’s something I fully support

        • taiphlosion@lemmygrad.ml
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          19
          arrow-down
          2
          ·
          1 year ago

          🗣️ IMPERIALISM DOESNT MEAN “ONE COUNTRY INVADES ANOTHER PLEASE GET THAT THROUGH YOUR HEAD”

          • curryandbeans@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            3
            arrow-down
            25
            ·
            edit-2
            1 year ago

            Aight I googled it because learning is fun

            • a policy of extending a country’s power and influence through colonization, use of military force, or other means*

            Sounds like it fits mate

            • ☭CommieWolf☆@lemmygrad.ml
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              27
              arrow-down
              2
              ·
              1 year ago

              Lmao, you probably think the soviets pushing into Nazi Germany on the eastern front is Russian “imperialism” too, since a military entered a foreign country. Read a book.

              • curryandbeans@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                3
                arrow-down
                19
                ·
                1 year ago

                Not at all dude. Russia defended its land in an existential war against a fascism in way not dissimilar to what Ukraine is doing right now. I suppose the question is why does Russia 41-45 have the right to defend their sovereignty while Ukraine 2014-present does not? Don’t forget that the Soviets benefitted massively from US and British arms and equipment much like Ukraine today.

            • taiphlosion@lemmygrad.ml
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              15
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              1 year ago

              Okay then can you tell me how Russia is extending it’s power and influence when it isn’t colonizing Ukraine?

              Why didn’t Russia invade it’s other neighbors if it’s sOoOoOo imperialist? There are easier targets than what was one of the larger armies in Europe?

              • curryandbeans@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                2
                arrow-down
                6
                ·
                1 year ago

                Crimea ticks every box of being a colony lol

                And errrrmmmmm RUSSIA DID INVADE ITS NEIGHBOURS! And regularly does!

                You guys are fucking psychos haha

          • curryandbeans@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            3
            arrow-down
            24
            ·
            1 year ago

            Ukraine is fighting an existential war against a country that NATO was formed to defend against. Are you seriously suggesting that not defending your territory from a very literal and an extensively documented attempt at genocide is the only valid option in your world view? Because holy fuck guy.

              • curryandbeans@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                2
                arrow-down
                20
                ·
                1 year ago

                Ah yes those imperialist interests in Latvia, Estonia and North Macedonia. I’m not reading Lenin dude. After an hour with you lot I’m worried it’ll turn me into a fucking moron lol

                  • curryandbeans@lemmy.world
                    link
                    fedilink
                    arrow-up
                    2
                    arrow-down
                    6
                    ·
                    1 year ago

                    I don’t see you as my opponent. I see you as weird, very niche, and extreme for reasons none of you are willing to articulate beyond [points to US flag], but I don’t see you as an enemy or nothing.

                • CannotSleep420@lemmygrad.ml
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  arrow-up
                  20
                  arrow-down
                  1
                  ·
                  1 year ago

                  After an hour with you lot I’m worried it’ll turn me into a fucking moron lol

                  You say that as if you aren’t already.

                • Black AOC@lemmygrad.ml
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  19
                  arrow-down
                  1
                  ·
                  1 year ago

                  After an hour with you lot I’m worried it’ll turn me into a fucking moron lol

                  What an amazing way to say “I’ve never once done a lick of introspection a day in my life and I don’t intend to start now”

                  tl;dr an utter ballbag

                • Addfwyn@lemmygrad.ml
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  19
                  arrow-down
                  2
                  ·
                  1 year ago

                  I’m not reading Lenin dude. After an hour with you lot I’m worried it’ll turn me into a fucking moron lol

                  You never read anything that doesn’t already support your existing world view? Yikes, that…explains a lot.
                  How can you even begin to argue against something that you refuse to even understand to begin with?

                  I would say critically reading things you disagree with is even more important than reading things you already agree with.

            • IntoDaLagoon@lemmygrad.ml
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              25
              arrow-down
              3
              ·
              1 year ago

              Are you seriously suggesting that not defending your territory from a very literal and an extensively documented attempt at genocide is the only valid option in your world view? Because holy fuck guy.

              Lmao “genocide” I am begging liberals to realize that words mean things.

              The Russian Federation did intervene in Ukraine’s attempted genocide of ethnic russians in the Donbas though, which makes your cute little strawman up there particularly ironic

              • DamarcusArt@lemmygrad.ml
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                17
                arrow-down
                1
                ·
                1 year ago

                If words mean things, liberals can’t use them to say everyone they don’t like is a bad guy, and what’s more, with actual definitions, we’d quickly find that the west fits these definitions far more than any of their enemies. So naturally, words shouldn’t mean anything except “bad thing me no like.”

      • haohao@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        arrow-down
        36
        ·
        1 year ago

        Anti-imperialists that support the country trying to revive their imperial past.

            • ☭CommieWolf☆@lemmygrad.ml
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              25
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              1 year ago

              The alternative is to allow Nato to expand, so yes, I support Russia, and that doesn’t make me pro imperialist in the slightest.

                • DamarcusArt@lemmygrad.ml
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  19
                  arrow-down
                  1
                  ·
                  edit-2
                  1 year ago

                  Their understanding of Imperialism is just “A country invading another country a neighbour.” No nuance, and deliberate manipulation to try and paint all the strongarming and gunboat diplomacy the west does, including outright invasions as “not imperialism”

                  Their analysis has the same amount of thought involved as pointing and grunting.

                  • PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmygrad.ml
                    link
                    fedilink
                    arrow-up
                    16
                    arrow-down
                    3
                    ·
                    edit-2
                    1 year ago

                    Their understanding of Imperialism is just “A country invading another country a neighbour.”

                    Unless when it’s the capitalist core invading, then it’s “liberation”. Really, hard to attribute it just to their ignorance when the the proof is everywhere, even in the media they are consuming.

        • REEEEvolution@lemmygrad.ml
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          8
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          The imperial past of patiently attempting to stop a genocide with diplöoacy for 8 years before intervening to stop it after it became clear that the west had no intention of stopping?

          This conflict is ongoing since 2014, it did not start in 2022.

    • WhatWouldKarlDo@lemmygrad.ml
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      28
      arrow-down
      3
      ·
      1 year ago

      That’s the whole problem. In western circles, it’s socially unacceptable to say one word in favour of Russia. If you do, you’re branded as succumbing to russian propaganda or a bot. Because nobody reasonable would support Russia.

      There was an article posted here recently that was written by one of you. He served as the assistant general secretary for the UN. Not a troll, educated, and has no reason to support Russia (just like we don’t). Also “escaped East Germany”. He wrote this:

      https://www.meer.com/en/74782-will-the-ukraine-war-be-the-undoing-for-the-european-union

      It’s something that could well have been written by people here, aside from the swipes at the Soviet Union. I strongly suggest you check it out, if you actually wish to understand our viewpoint. It was written with liberals in mind as the target audience.

    • Addfwyn@lemmygrad.ml
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      16
      arrow-down
      3
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      I don’t speak for everyone here, but the prevailing attitude I see from most communists I associate with is not one of overt support for Russia. I have occasionally seen misguided nostalgia for the USSR, which the Russian Federation is not, but it isn’t common.

      Not supporting the US via a proxy war, or NATO, or Ukraine does NOT mean supporting Russia. A common misconception liberals have is everything must be black and white, us vs them. If you don’t support X you must support Y. In their minds, everything must be a simple “good guy vs bad guy” dichotomy. That simply isn’t true. When two imperialist capitalist countries are at war, we should only strive to encourage a peaceful resolution as soon as possible for the sake of the actual people affected ((EDIT: Just to clarify since I realized I might be unclear here, I am speaking in generalities. I don’t think this particular invasion has imperialist undertones, there are many more other underpining reasons it started). Supporting NATO would only serve to escalate and prolong their suffering. If they truly cared for anyone in Ukraine, they would not have repeatedly blocked attempts at signing peace agreements.

      We understand a lot of the underlying justifications for the war and the provocations that led to it, but again that does necessitate cheerleading for Russia either. It just means we know that Putin did not wake up one morning and randomly decide to invade Ukraine for fun.