I'm old. What are 'Tankies'?
this post was submitted on 03 Sep 2023
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MeanwhileOnGrad
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Meanwhile On Grad
Documenting hate speech, conspiracy theories, apologia/revisionism, and general tankie behaviour across the fediverse. Memes are welcome!
What is a Tankie?
Alternatively, a detailed blog post about Tankies.
(caution of biased source)
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it's actually a very old term that was recently revived. Khruschev intervened against CIA-backed fascist "revolutionaries" in Hungary in 1956. This caused a split in the Communist Party of Great Britain. those who supported the USSR's antifascist action in hungary were called "tankies". I'm not joking by the way. Liberals using the term "tankie" today to describe the so called "authoritarian" (antifascist, revolutionary, anti-imperialist) left are totally divorced from the origins of the term. It's just something they picked up. They have no insight into the historical origin of term in CPGB infighting.
Do you have evidence?
I have evidence to the contrary. The Revolution had 16 reasonable demands including a reelection of the current government heads, the right for workers to strike, and the freedom of speech. The fact the USSR sent tanks to squash demands for freedom of speech definitely foreshadowed the tactics China would use in the Tiananmen Massacre.
Man, these tankies are fun. They have been sniffing their own farts so much, it really isn't subtle with them anymore.
You can even tell who they are if they have a gender pronoun tag next to their username. I get it might be helpful in casual conversation with these folk but the format of conversations here don't give too many chances for them to be used.