this post was submitted on 20 May 2024
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Lefty Memes

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An international (English speaking) socialist Lemmy community free of the "ML" influence of instances like lemmy.ml and lemmygrad. This is a place for undogmatic shitposting and memes from a progressive, anti-capitalist and truly anti-imperialist perspective, regardless of specific ideology.

Serious posts, news, and discussion go in c/Socialism.

If you are new to socialism, you can ask questions and find resources over on c/Socialism101.

Please don't forget to help keep this community clean by reporting rule violations, updooting good contributions and downdooting those of low-quality!

Rules

Version without spoilers

0. Only post socialist memes


That refers to funny image macros and means that generally videos and screenshots are not allowed. Exceptions include explicitly humorous and short videos, as well as (social media) screenshots depicting a funny situation, joke, or joke picture relating to socialist movements, theory, societal issues, or political opponents. Examples would be the classic case of humorous Tumblr or Twitter posts/threads. (and no, agitprop text does not count as a meme)


0.5 [Provisional Rule] Use alt text or image descriptions to allow greater accessibility


We require alternative text (from now referred to as "alt text") to be added to all posts/comments containing media, such as images, animated GIFs, videos, audio files, and custom emojis.
EDIT: For files you share in the comments, a simple summary should be enough if they’re too complex.

We are committed to social equity and to reducing barriers of entry, including (digital) communication and culture. It takes each of us only a few moments to make a whole world of content (more) accessible to a bunch of folks.

When alt text is absent, a reminder will be issued. If you don't add the missing alt text within 48 hours, the post will be removed. No hard feelings.


1. Socialist Unity in the form of mutual respect and good faith interactions is enforced here


Try to keep an open mind, other schools of thought may offer points of view and analyses you haven't considered yet. Also: This is not a place for the Idealism vs. Materialism or rather Anarchism vs. Marxism debate(s), for that please visit c/AnarchismVsMarxism.


2. Anti-Imperialism means recognizing capitalist states like Russia and China as such


That means condemning (their) imperialism, even if it is of the "anti-USA" flavor.


3. No liberalism, (right-wing) revisionism or reactionaries.


That includes so called: Social Democracy, Democratic Socialism, Dengism, Market Socialism, Patriotic Socialism, National Bolshevism, Anarcho-Capitalism etc. . Anti-Socialist people and content have no place here, as well as the variety of "Marxist"-"Leninists" seen on lemmygrad and more specifically GenZedong (actual ML's are welcome as long as they agree to the rules and don't just copy paste/larp about stuff from a hundred years ago).


4. No Bigotry.


The only dangerous minority is the rich.


5. Don't demonize previous and current socialist experiments or (leading) individuals.


We must constructively learn from their mistakes, while acknowledging their achievements and recognizing when they have strayed away from socialist principles.

(if you are reading the rules to apply for modding this community, mention "Mantic Minotaur" when answering question 2)


6. Don't idolize/glorify previous and current socialist experiments or (leading) individuals.


Notable achievements in all spheres of society were made by various socialist/people's/democratic republics around the world. Mistakes, however, were made as well: bureaucratic castes of parasitic elites - as well as reactionary cults of personality - were established, many things were mismanaged and prejudice and bigotry sometimes replaced internationalism and progressiveness.



  1. Absolutely no posts or comments meant to relativize(/apologize for), advocate, promote or defend:

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[–] [email protected] 158 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (71 children)

I think the real division on the "left" can be boiled down to those using all the language and rhetoric of left wing ideology but in service of fascist and conservative ideas.

For example, tankies or people who have been brainwashed by tankies; a person can spend all day talking about how they support Palestine and BLM and LGBT rights etc. but then turn around and defend the CCP, which completely undermines any claim that they're actually on the left/center.

So in that way it's less of a "progressives never agree" and more of a "anti-progressive ideas are constantly pushed into progressive spaces to undermine them."

[–] [email protected] 42 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (3 children)

I mean, you can use that same logic on the US government, even Democrat run ones, which have supported genocides in the past and even current ongoing ones, and have tried to stomp out left movements, been racist, sexist, and homophobic. But people have still supported the US and the Democratic party and called themselves leftist. The point is, I assume as I'm not a CCP Stan myself or anything, is to give critical support to back an actual socialist project and give a counterweight to a pure single superpower world (esp. When that superpower has destroyed or undermined almost every left project it can in the world). Critical support meaning you pick out the good from the bad, supporting the good and criticizing the bad. China actually puts a leash on its billionaires = good. But they seem to be forcing some cultural integration of Uyghurs = bad. But they're providing lots of housing and cheap EV's = good. But they can have bad working conditions = bad. But they're helping support economies and infrastructure in the global South with the Belt and Road project = good. But they keep doing that shit with territory in the south seas = bad. But they seem to have a long-term plan for implementing communism that they are actually following = good. And so on. I do think some people go too far in being CCP supportive, but I also think some people on Lemmy go too far the other direction, and think everyone that gives the slightest critical support to China or analyzes some US propaganda on China a bit before swallowing it is a CCP troll.

In the end, it's a mixed bag, but I do think there is some worth to not having a single hegemonic superpower in the world, so other leftist countries or colonized global south ones have alternative access to allies, trade, and support without bowing down to the US and their often reactionary policies. Cuba for example was doing pretty good until the Soviet Union fell and basically the only market became the western, US-controlled one that they had been mostly sanctioned the hell out of. I wish it was a better country than China, but hopefully they improve their social issues as they improve economically, which tends to be the pattern. I just wish they'd stop doing the aggressive maneuvers near the Philippines and Vietnam.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 11 months ago (7 children)

This is exactly what I see. Many people see critical support and assume it as uncritical support, then extrapolate nonsensical views from that. Like, if someone says they think it's cool that China has high speed rail, that doesn't mean they wish 100 Tianannmenn massacres annually and to personally fellate Xi.

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[–] [email protected] 27 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

But I’ve only seen good things about the CCP on TikTok.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

I think it is often more subtle than something like Tankies defending the CCP or Russia. A lot of people who call themselves left or progressive still think the world just needs the "correct" strong-man, when one of the biggest defining things of "left" is going against engrained power structures.

While it is possible to be left-ish and support particular leaders, it is seldom a sign of an actually enlightened person if they think only a "strong man" can fix things. Tankies fit squarely in the center of that, but there are LARGE fringes where people seriously do not understand some of the core axioms of "left" politics while also not being full blown tankies.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

thats because china is not right wing. we defend the mostly good things accomplished by the current and past socislist experiments in eg. cuba, china, ussr etc, not the bad things that happened there in the way here. the world is not black and white.

we MLs advocate for learning with past experiments and we were never urging anyone to view the tiannamen incident, the ukraine incident or similar, as exaggerated and propagandized as they were by the west as a good thing we should repeat. we don't want bad things repeated.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago (6 children)

While I agree largely with your conclusion that anti progressive ideas are pushed to undermine progressive spaces, I don't really agree with how you get there and with the examples you choose to arrive at that conclusion. There obviously are actual bad actors, and actual hegemony to get these bad actors into being, but there is also a lot of real people, actually still learning about the topics, or just plainly with a different perspective on some of the issues that you might be discussing.

For it to be an ideology that is self consistent leftism actually needs differences and disagreement, or said in another way: if we were to prescribe beliefs instead of trying to teach them we'd also just be trying to build our "own" authoritarian hegemony. I can invoke successes of or defend the CCP and the soviets just as I can invoke successes of the US or EU or India realizing that all states are fundamentally bad, still sometimes perhaps by accident they do good things. And that examples and mental shortcuts, as well as actual experiments that might be of a socialist nature, are just what they are argumentative tools.

I've been called a tankie just because I see the downfall or backsliding of the US as good thing and don't really accept that china would be as bad as the US has been for the last 40 years or so. Which is perfectly normal for someone who doesn't really reap the benefits of US hegemony, and sort of just ranks authoritarian institutions by size(strength)(wealth) to arrive at a measure of subjective dislike.

It's almost similar to someone calling me a tankie because I purchase Pepsi instead of coca cola on that given day, when we all know I should make my own tea or at least just buy the supermarket/local brand to begin with.

I don't know where you are and what kind of people you meet on a regular basis but to me the simple and fast ways of understanding other people almost never hold true, most of us humans just lead to complicated lives to easily subjectify us. And honestly I wish most leftists would not try to subjectify other people to begin with.

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[–] [email protected] 75 points 11 months ago (1 children)

[ In fake Scottish accent ] They're natural enemies. Like fascists and leftists! Or neoliberals and leftists! Or moderates and leftists! Or leftists and leftists! Damn leftists! They ruined leftism!

[–] CuriousKrypto 27 points 11 months ago (2 children)

You leftists sure are a contentious bunch.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 11 months ago

YOU JUST MADE AN ENEMY FOR LIFE

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[–] [email protected] 57 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Nah leftists true enemy is the luke warm centrist who will agree in theory but not in action. Fascists are atleast honest and easy to spot. Its the people in the middle who bothsides evey argument till we are sitting here watching genocide happening before our eyes and still nothing is done to stop it.

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[–] [email protected] 52 points 11 months ago (3 children)
  1. Anti capitalism is just anti capitalism. That's not a theory for how a society free from capitalism should work. Those theories will of course be diverse, and there will be disagreement.

  2. Divide and conquer works for detroying social movements, and is one of the ruling classes favorite weapons of class warfare. It's easy to get agitators to derail the conversation or movement as a whole. There are fundamental differences in what anti capitalists believe should be done and how power should be distributed. I don't believe all leftists think the same thing, but I believe that the vast majority of "leftist infighting" is just agitation by the ruling class.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Regarding point #2:

I am very particular about whom I allow into my circle of trust. That last 6% doesn't seem like much, but it is to me; if you don't believe every Nazi has a backpfeifengesicht, think capitalism should be "tweaked" instead of demolished, or complain about BLM or Pro-Palestinian protestors causing damage, then we're not gonna be best friends.

That being said, that 6% isn't nearly enough for me to consider you the enemy. Billionaires and the fascists they inspire are the enemies, and no attempt they make to divide and conquer us will ever be successful. I will march and scream alongside you in favor of the 94% we have in common.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 11 months ago

I don't care who's standing next to me when we eat the rich. The enemy of my enemy and all that.

The problem is not enough people see the rich as the problem. Or at least, not as big of a problem as they are.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago (2 children)

backpfeifengesicht: a face in need of a fist. German words are so awesome.

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[–] [email protected] 39 points 11 months ago (1 children)

You just triggered all the tankies. They're now chanting "nuke the west".

This is the third time this week.

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[–] [email protected] 36 points 11 months ago (2 children)

That's why even if I have my own personal views, I identify primarily as an anti-sectarian Leftist. Whether Marxism, Anarchism, or some other flavor of Leftism begins to truly lead the movement, it will be more important to push the movement forward than to spend effort on infighting.

Only a mass worker movement can get any real change.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

I can get behind that. I'm not nearly as left as a lot of folks on this platform but in the US we're so far to the right that at this point we should all just be pulling left. We can duke it out once we move the Overton Window a bit.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 11 months ago

I would even argue that open discussion of ideas is fantastic and shouldn't be discouraged, but that this shouldn't stand in the way of praxis and collective action.

If Marxist groups are leading the charge and Anarchists spend more time disagreeing with Marxist principles than actually moving forward, or vice-versa, then those people are no better than Counter-Revolutionaries.

Again, if the Revolution doesn't exactly take on the character I want it to, I am still supporting it far more than criticizing it, because movement to the Left is the primary necessity.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago (6 children)

Of all -isms that's probably Platformism. Whatever helps reach the goal. I find that pragmatic and rational.

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[–] [email protected] 35 points 11 months ago (2 children)

CIA’s Simple Sabotage Field Manual

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago

This should be required reading in every school

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago
[–] [email protected] 32 points 11 months ago (2 children)

You lefty’s are a contentious people.

[–] [email protected] 40 points 11 months ago (2 children)

You've just made an enemy for life!

[–] [email protected] 21 points 11 months ago

damn leftists, ruined socialism.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 11 months ago (1 children)

You lefty’s

This bothers me more than any political disagreement ever will.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 11 months ago

Holds 94% of the same political views, but misuses an apostrophe. Burn him!

[–] [email protected] 30 points 11 months ago (1 children)

MLK was spot on about the white moderate.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 11 months ago

Malcolm X had similar things to say

[–] [email protected] 25 points 11 months ago (1 children)

The Judean Peoples Front. Or is it the Peoples Front of Judea?

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Reminds me of when I was still religious lol. I was a part of the confusingly named Christian Church denomination (or something like that). But hey, because some churches believed in "once saved, always saved" we didn't get along! Which is hilarious because being away from it now all three of these very devisive topics

  1. Once saved, always saved
  2. You can lose salvation
  3. Pre destination

All are really talked about the same way. If you don't act in what people believe is a god fearing manner then you were never actually saved to begin with.

But for real, basically every other part of the doctrine is the same. Jesus was the son of God who was fully God and fully human who died and was resurrected 3 days later. But because they taught sprinkling instead of immersion for baptism oh my god what a horrible misunderstanding of the scriptures!

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 11 months ago

Feels sadly true sometimes

[–] [email protected] 15 points 11 months ago (1 children)

There's a reason for the "joke": if you put 3 leftists in a room out comes 5 political parties.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 11 months ago

Don't forget leftists that actually share all the same views but describe them in slightly different ways.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago (2 children)

This joke is old, but isn't 'leftism' is generally understood as aknowledging different and unique instead of cutting everyone to the same template?

[–] [email protected] 17 points 11 months ago (1 children)

The authoritarian "lefties" are more interested in authoritarianism than being leftist. They're praising economic systems like China's, which produces plenty of billionaires, or North Korea's, which cannot even keep its lights on.

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