Smh how can a black American support Mao over the Tibebetan slave owners?

    • DamarcusArt@lemmygrad.ml
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      1 year ago

      If you’re looking for a relatively serious answer:

      In the 1960s the Soviet Union sent military aid to their ally Hungary to squash a fascist attempt at overthrowing their socialist government.

      This was presented in the western media at the time that the evil soviets were attacking the “free speech” of these (fascist) protestors. So those who approved of the decision were labelled as “tankies” as a kind of derogatory term.

      The term was usually used by “leftcoms” or people who claim to be socialist or leftist, but explicitly exclude every socialist nation from “socialism” for not being pure enough.

      Until the rise of the term on the internet, where the term saw a resurgence, where the original meaning has almost been entirely lost, and usually just means “anyone who is actually left wing and opposes capitalism and imperialism.”

      It’s usually just used because “Commie” sounds too much like boomer redscare propaganda. But it has the exact same meaning as a boomer screaming “Commie” at someone who says that maybe free healthcare is a good idea. It’s a thought terminating cliche, a way of dismissing someone’s argument without directly engaging it and considering their position.

    • Tachanka [comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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      1 year ago

      the communist party of great britain got in arguments with each other over whether Khruschev was correct to invade hungary in 1956. One faction of CPGB argued that Khruschev was correct to do this, because America was funding nazi insurgents in Hungary. The other faction of CPGB argued that this was incorrect, and called the faction that supported Khruschev “tankies.” This term, “Tankies” remained an obscure term that communists used when fighting each other for about 4 decades, until it was revived on the internet in the late '90s. By the early 2010s, liberals were beginning to use it against anyone who was anti-capitalist, including anarchists and social democrats. Now it pretty much is used as a slander against anyone who has broad critiques of US foreign policy.